Chapter 499: A Rare Reasonableness

Zhai Yuhan was slightly startled upon hearing this, her hand feeling a bit numb.

But for some reason, she had always felt this would come sooner or later, so she wasn't overly surprised; instead, the heart that had been hanging in her chest finally settled.

It was a very strange feeling, and Ji Xiang's figure flickered before her eyes, refusing to fade away.

Zhai Yuhan didn't rush to ask what had happened, but instead glanced at Ji Xiang beside her.

Ji Xiang was explaining clinical diagnosis to Zhao Mengmeng, his logic clear and his points well-organized; he was explaining it better than she could, and he hadn't noticed her looking at him.

"Little Zhai?"

"Sister Cui, I'm here. What's going on?"

Zhai Yuhan asked.

"That post-operative patient admitted last night, you remember, right?"

"I remember." Zhai Yuhan's gaze toward Ji Xiang deepened and intensified.

"We did an endoscope this morning and saw an intestinal perforation in the duodenum, with a foreign object."

"A foreign object?!" Zhai Yuhan was startled.

"It looks like a titanium clip. I tried to grab it while doing the endoscope, but found it wouldn't budge. I didn't dare pull hard, so I came down to tell you immediately."

A titanium clip?

A titanium clip!

Memories from last night began to flash back in Zhai Yuhan's mind; her hand felt numb and cold, as if it no longer belonged to her.

"I'll go take a look. Sister Cui, have you spoken to the patient yet?"

"No, I told you first. You should go talk to Yang Zhuren."

The voice on the other end of the phone was serious and earnest, fearing that Zhai Yuhan might lack experience or try to brush the matter aside.

There was a problem, and since it wasn't the other party's fault, it absolutely could not be hidden.

Being able to buy some time and give her a heads-up first was already considered very loyal, and Zhai Yuhan understood this.

She took a deep look at Ji Xiang, and seeing that he seemed unaware of the matter, she went to find Yang Zhuren, full of suspicion.

"Boss." Zhai Yuhan walked into Yang Zhuren's office and recounted what had happened last night.

The more Yang Zhuren heard, the tighter his brows furrowed.

"Boss, what do you think we should do?" Zhai Yuhan finally shook off her previous subtle state of mind and began to feel a bit panicked.

This was a clear-cut accident; although it wasn't a liability accident, there was a problem nonetheless. If they ran into an unrelenting patient or family member, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Zhai Yuhan didn't dare to continue thinking about what would happen next.

"One possibility is that the titanium clip used to clamp the cystic duct or cystic artery after the cholecystectomy fell off and moved with the peristalsis of the intestinal tract.

When one end of the titanium clip pressed against the intestinal wall of the duodenal bulb, the local tissue was compressed. Over time, the tissue gradually necrotized, leading to an intestinal perforation. The titanium clip entered the digestive tract, and the titanium clip irritated the surrounding intestinal mucosa, causing ulcers to form around it.

But because this process is very slow, adhesions have already formed around the perforation, so it won't manifest symptoms and signs of peritonitis."

"Another possibility is that because the position where the cystic duct joins the common hepatic duct is relatively low, or due to anatomical variation of the cystic artery, the titanium clip clamping the cystic duct or cystic artery pressed directly against the duodenal bulb, causing the perforation to occur."

"Cystic artery... during the surgery, the patient's cystic artery was indeed on the lower side..." Zhai Yuhan followed her boss's words to recall the surgical process, and she found the source of the problem.

"That means the perforation was caused by the clip on the cystic artery pressing against the duodenal bulb."

After Yang Zhuren sorted it out, he stood up abruptly and asked with a serious expression, "The Digestive Medicine Department hasn't told the patient yet, right?"

"No."

"I'll go tell them."

Zhai Yuhan was moved to tears.

Her boss was still looking out for her in such matters; if she had to explain it herself, it would likely go wrong.

Yet the boss took on this difficult problem without any hesitation.

It is a piece of luck to encounter a boss who can shoulder the burden for their junior doctors and students.

Zhai Yuhan followed tremblingly by Yang Zhuren's side all the way to the Digestive Medicine Department.

Upon entering the ward, the Resident Chief of the Digestive Medicine Department followed them in.

Seeing the patient half-reclined on the bed, looking decent—not pale or weak—Yang Zhuren felt slightly relieved.

"How is it? Is your stool still black?" Yang Zhuren tried to make his tone gentler.

"Yang Zhuren, why are you here?"

The patient tried to sit up from the bed, but Yang Zhuren quickly stopped them.

"Just came to see you."

"No need, no need, Zhuren." The Family Member said. After speaking, they felt their words were a bit off and scratched their head, "Thank you, Zhuren."

"I heard there was blood in the stool?" Yang Zhuren asked, probing indirectly.

"Oh, it might be about the titanium clip. We just had an endoscope done to look at it, and I haven't had a chance to ask Doctor Cui yet."

The hearts of Yang Zhuren and Zhai Yuhan sank abruptly.

The patient actually knew about the titanium clip...

The Resident Chief of the Digestive Medicine Department was also startled; she rarely saw such an educated patient.

Actually, it had nothing to do with education, but rather professional knowledge.

If this were years ago, Cui would have thought they were medical agitators who had learned about the relevant possibilities in advance. Or perhaps some doctor in the industry had been stirring up trouble and told the patient everything beforehand.

But medical disturbances had become much rarer in recent years, and coupled with the patient's kind and humble attitude toward Yang Zhuren... she was a bit confused.

"A cholecystectomy requires titanium clips to clamp blood vessels; there is indeed a small probability that problems may arise." Yang Zhuren began to communicate with the Family Member.

He had his own judgment on this matter and hoped to minimize the issue.

But even with himself stepping in, Yang Zhuren wasn't very confident.

"It's fine, it's fine. Before the surgery, Doctor Zhai told us that such complications might occur," the Family Member said repeatedly. "But we couldn't just leave it and not do the surgery; we were mentally prepared. We feel at ease coming to this hospital, and since Yang Zhuren came personally, it's fine, it's fine."

The Family Member was somewhat nervous and spoke incoherently, but the several Doctors could understand the content.

They looked at each other, none of them having expected such a situation to occur.

Whether it was Yang Zhuren, Zhai Yuhan, or the Digestive Medicine Department Resident Chief, all considered this a major matter, a matter of the utmost importance. Once there was the slightest slip in handling it, it would inevitably lead to irreparable consequences.

But!

The Patient and the Family Member knew everything, and they seemed very understanding.

Yang Zhuren had a belly full of words he wanted to say, but encountering such a "reasonable" Patient, he did not need to say a single word.

No explanation was needed; although it saved him trouble, the emotions Yang Zhuren had been brewing the whole way felt like a heavy punch thrown into thin air, which made him stagger and left him feeling empty and uncomfortable inside.

"My spouse's condition rarely appears because the anatomical structure is different from a normal person's; I know all of this," the Family Member said. "Yang Zhuren, please rest assured, I will definitely cooperate with the treatment on my end."

Yang Zhuren glanced at the Digestive Medicine Department Resident Chief, and General Manager Cui shrugged, signaling that he knew nothing and that he absolutely had not told the Patient in advance.