Chapter 496: The Role of Being on

"Xiao Ji, nobody really knows about our Interventional Department. Look at all the major medical websites; very few have a column for the Interventional Department. Even if they introduce it, people don't know what this damn name means, so they just skim over it and have absolutely no impression of it."

"Is it people you know from back home? What are they consulting you about? Is it regarding interventional surgery?" Ji Xiang asked.

Zhao Zhe noticed Ji Xiang's fingers moving slightly, as if he were twisting a guide wire.

"It's definitely interventional surgery. The person who called me is a doctor from my old department. Before, when I performed surgeries right under their noses, nobody cared, but now, they're actually calling me to ask," Zhao Zhe said proudly. "Xiao Ji, you don't know how hard it is to work at the grassroots level. Not to mention the doctors, every time I introduce interventional surgery to patients, the vast majority of patients and their family members are full of hostility."

"Hostility? Why?" Ji Xiang didn't quite understand.

"Right, just hostility, as if I'm trying to make a fortune off them with interventional surgery. I'm just a senior Attending Physician; even if there's money to be made, it's the director who makes it. Speaking of which, we..."

Seeing Zhao Zhe habitually go off-topic again, Ji Xiang, who was already used to it, immediately pulled the conversation back.

"Zhao Ge, if patients are consulting you about surgery, does that mean the volume of hybrid surgeries for renal cancer will increase after we go back?"

"It definitely will. Look at how much Lu Zhuren cares about being on TV, right? People of their generation trust television; otherwise, why were TV commercials once so incredibly popular? Although our program can't be on national television, online platforms are considered television to them."

"This stuff has credibility backing, but they don't know whose backing it is. The Spring Festival Gala—the ads are truly valuable. I used to doubt it, but looking at it now, it's indeed true," Zhao Zhe said with a smile.

Ji Xiang smiled. He didn't want to ponder the logic too deeply; as long as the surgery volume could increase after returning, that was good.

"It's not just patients or their family members; even doctors are the same," Zhao Zhe said. "Many doctors don't understand it at all, but since they are doctors, they just spout nonsense when friends and family consult them, which is why our patient numbers have always been low."

"I see."

"It's different once you're on TV, especially the animation production—it's truly fantastic! Look, just after the program ended, Bilibili already started having clips of the animation uploaded." Zhao Zhe opened the website and, with a random search, found content uploaded by a content creator who had clipped the variety show animation.

It hadn't been long, yet the views were already in the tens of thousands.

"That's good," Ji Xiang smiled. "Everyone knows that although many illnesses can't be cured, at least there's one more path."

"Ji Xiang," Zhao Mengmeng suddenly said timidly.

"Mengmeng Jie, what's wrong?"

It had been a few days since they started recording the program, and Ji Xiang had become increasingly familiar with this "top student" in his group, so their forms of address had changed.

"When did you learn interventional surgery?" Zhao Mengmeng asked. "During your internship? Or during your standardized residency training?"

"Internship," Ji Xiang replied casually to brush it off.

This kind of thing definitely couldn't be told.

"That's great." Zhao Mengmeng was silly and easily fooled; she had already imagined the scene of Ji Xiang studying diligently during his internship. "Talent is such a thing..."

"Is Doctor Zhai in?"

Just as Zhao Mengmeng was speaking, a voice came from the doorway.

The person knocking was a man in his fifties with graying temples. He was supporting a patient, who appeared to be his wife.

The patient was clutching her stomach, her face somewhat pale.

"Hello," Zhao Zhe stood up immediately, his face full of smiles. "Are you looking for Zhai Zong? Are you here for a medical consultation?"

"We are Doctor Zhai's patients; she removed her gallbladder here a month ago," the man said. "Today, she suddenly had a stomachache, so I... I just brought my wife up directly."

"Wait a moment, please. I'll go call Zhai Zong."

Zhao Zhe was very diligent, and his attitude was impeccable. For a senior Attending Physician, this was nothing; it was as normal as eating or drinking.

Seeing Zhao Zhe go to find Zhai Yuhan, Ji Xiang took the patient and her family member to the dressing room to prepare for a physical examination.

Along the way, Ji Xiang briefly asked about the patient's condition.

The patient was female, 53 years old. She had undergone a laparoscopic cholecystectomy due to gallstones accompanied by chronic cholecystitis. She didn't know how the surgery was performed, but her postoperative recovery was smooth, and the patient had no complaints of discomfort.

She was discharged 4 days after surgery and had no abnormalities after discharge.

This afternoon, which was 1 month post-surgery, the patient developed pain in the upper right quadrant of her abdomen without any obvious cause. Thus, the patient and her family member remembered the surgery from a month ago and came to the Affiliated Hospital again to have Zhai Zong take a look.

It seemed there shouldn't be any problems, Ji Xiang thought.

Zhai Yuhan was resting in her duty room. When Zhao Zhe said an old patient had come for a consultation, she put on her white uniform and walked out.

After meeting, the patient and her family member looked as if they had seen a relative and almost burst into tears.

Ji Xiang held a sense of approval for Zhai Yuhan in his heart.

During his recent time in the Hepatobiliary Surgery Department, Zhai Yuhan had treated patients well, so it was no wonder the patient treated her like a relative.

After a simple inquiry and physical examination, Zhai Yuhan said with a smile, "I don't think this is an illness for our department. You've had black stools for 3 days; it could be a delayed stress ulcer, so you should go to the Digestive Medicine Department. If you're worried, get an ultrasound to take a look."

A delayed stress ulcer? That's quite rare, Ji Xiang thought to himself.

He held his breath and focused, entering the System Operating Room.

"Doctor Zhai, how could there be gastrointestinal bleeding?" the family member asked with a worried expression.

"Stress," Zhai Yuhan explained. "Under stressful conditions such as severe trauma, infection, burns, or critical illness, bleeding is caused by necrosis and erosion of the gastric and duodenal mucosa."

"Before the surgery, Liu Jie was highly nervous, which could also lead to a stress ulcer, though it is not common in clinical practice. Considering Liu Jie's medical history, I judge it to be caused by a stress ulcer. The problem is generally not major; go get an ultrasound, and if there are no issues with the liver and gallbladder, go to the Digestive Medicine Department for inpatient treatment."

Ji Xiang's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

Zhai Yuhan wrote out the outpatient examination forms for the patient and told them to go get the examination done.

Ji Xiang was very enthusiastic; he picked up the examination forms before the family member could reach for them. "I'll take you there."

Zhai Yuhan glanced at Ji Xiang. In terms of familiarity with the hospital, Ji Xiang didn't seem to be as knowledgeable as the patient and her family member.

Was he going to be meddlesome again?

Zhai Yuhan looked Ji Xiang up and down. Seeing that he showed no signs of anything unusual, she simply assumed Ji Xiang was purely being enthusiastic and didn't think much of it.

Ji Xiang asked a nurse for a wheelchair and pushed the patient to get the examination done. Zhao Zhe wanted to follow, but Ji Xiang shooed him back.

"Doctor Zhao, is Doctor Xiao Ji this enthusiastic at your place too?" Zhai Yuhan asked with a smile once Ji Xiang had left.

"Doctor Xiao Ji is very good to patients," Zhao Zhe said earnestly. "It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he treats patients like family."

As Zhao Zhe spoke, he looked in the direction Ji Xiang had left with a face full of doubt.

(End of chapter)