Chapter 98: Everyone Has Moments When They Lose Their Heads

"We are doctors, we must have a conscience!"

The doctor sitting across from Ji Xiang looked like Mo Chenggui, a bit greasier than him, but when he said this, there was no righteous indignation, only utter dejection.

"Director, you are right!" Ji Xiang briefly recalled his identity, knowing he was this man's student and a junior doctor under him, so he hurriedly chimed in with support.

A junior clinical doctor, it really did suit his identity as a Standardized Training Student, Ji Xiang thought to himself.

"Tell me, why did I let the Patient go at that time? There are problems whether the surgery is done or not. It's difficult."

The middle-aged doctor's face was full of sorrow, his hands were trembling, and his complexion was deathly pale.

Seeing that something was wrong, Ji Xiang didn't know how to respond and tried hard to search his memory.

"I know that medical disputes have become increasingly serious over the years, but we still have to perform the surgeries we can. If we drive the Patient away, drive them to the Imperial Capital, think of how much more money that would cost!

You saw the situation at the time; if I didn't perform the surgery, the Patient would certainly have gone home to wait for death.

I don't know if it was better to do it or not either. If I did it, the Patient might recover. If I didn't, the Patient could at least live for a few more years."

The bloodshot veins in Geng's eyes grew more numerous, and he rambled to Ji Xiang with red eyes.

It seemed as if saying one more word would make him feel a little better.

"Teacher, it's because you have a kind heart." Ji Xiang offered a dry, awkward compliment.

Although he knew it was useless, he couldn't just sit face-to-face and say nothing, could he?

Taking advantage of this gap, he searched his memory for the matter they were discussing.

The person before him was Ji Xiang's teacher, surnamed Geng, and also the Director of the Urology Department at this hospital.

A month and a half ago, Director Geng was seeing patients in the Outpatient Department and took on a Patient. The Patient had undergone a Kidney Resection a few years prior and now only had one Kidney.

Renal Cancer is also called "lazy cancer"; it progresses very slowly, and especially if removed in the early stages, it can basically be considered a full recovery.

However, Renal Cancer has a strange characteristic—after a Renal Cancer Patient is treated on one side, the probability of a Tumor occurring again in the contralateral Kidney reaches 2-4%.

That is to say, out of every 100 Renal Cancer Patients, 2-4 might have bilateral Renal Cancer.

This Patient's luck was indeed not very good; after the first resection, a space-occupying lesion was found in the other Kidney, and it was considered malignant.

With a single Kidney, it couldn't be fully resected again, so Director Geng suggested the Patient go to the Imperial Capital to have it checked out.

Saying "have it checked out" was actually just driving the Patient away; the underlying meaning was already very clear—we can't treat it here, please go somewhere else.

The Patient looked about the same as a normal person, but anyone in Clinical practice knows where the trouble lies. Even if one isn't a Doctor, anyone with common life sense understands.

The risks of the surgery were too great; with only one Kidney left, it was so precious that no one dared to act rashly without one hundred percent confidence.

But is there ever anything one hundred percent in Clinical practice?

Risking one's head for no reward—few people indeed do such "foolish" things.

Upon learning the specific situation, the Family Member burst into tears, grabbing Director Geng's clothes, covered in snot and tears.

After the surgery, the Patient might not be a strong laborer anymore, but as long as they were there, the home was still whole. If the person were gone, the home would fall apart.

The walls of a hospital have heard more prayers than a church.

Doctors have also seen all kinds of life and death partings.

By rights, they should have long since become hard-hearted.

But people have moments when they lose their heads; facing the tears of the Family Member, Director Geng, this old Doctor, lost his head.

Seeing that the Patient's family had poor financial conditions and couldn't go to the Provincial Hospital or the Imperial Capital, Director Geng knew that driving them away meant waiting for death at home.

Thus, after several rounds of hospital-wide consultations, under Director Geng's insistence, he still filled out the surgical order, preparing to perform a partial Kidney Resection.

Before the surgery, Director Geng repeatedly explained to the Patient and the Family Member, breaking it down and explaining the potential post-operative complications, especially bleeding leading to Shock or even death.

The Patient and the family had no other choice but to agree.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly after the surgery, the Patient recovered well, and they left the hospital with endless thanks.

Today, a month and a half later, two hours ago, a major incident occurred.

When the Patient was sent in, their complexion was deathly pale and their whole body was cold and damp; one look was enough to know they were in a state of Shock.

Director Geng was immediately stunned.

The advantages of a partial Kidney Resection are clear at a glance, but there are also many disadvantages, and the most fatal one is post-operative delayed hemorrhage.

Director Geng had been worried about it all along, thinking about it for a long time after the surgery, but since the Patient had been fine, he felt it should be no problem.

A month and a half post-op, this delayed hemorrhage was a bit late, but it did exist, and the probability was not low.

Ji Xiang learned the sequence of events and looked at Director Geng with extreme helplessness.

"Xiao Ji..."

As Director Geng spoke, his eyes turned red, and tears began to fall in torrents.

"Director, look at you." Ji Xiang wanted to find a tissue to wipe Director Geng's tears, but there was nothing in the office, so he pulled a few pieces of Gauze from his White Uniform pocket and handed them over.

"I shouldn't have performed that surgery. If I hadn't performed the surgery, there wouldn't have been any bleeding; if there hadn't been any bleeding, the Family Member wouldn't have come to find me with the person. If no one had come to find me, I would be happily watching the game at home right now.

My life is bitter; why did I have to lose my head?"

Ji Xiang was startled.

Director Geng's rambling parallel sentences seemed very familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't recall where they came from.

"Director, the Family Member still recognizes your efforts." Ji Xiang, fearing some discrepancy in his memory, hurriedly reminded him.

"They think it's fine, but I can't stand it!" Director Geng wailed.

"..."

Ji Xiang felt it was strange.

In Clinical practice, let alone a great Director, even he himself had seen many life-and-death situations.

The surgery was performed, he had done his best, and when a problem occurred post-op, the Family Member hadn't said anything—why was Director Geng so distressed?

"Xiao Ji, you don't know." Director Geng sobbed, "I wasn't planning to perform the previous surgery, but I bit the bullet and did it anyway. After the surgery, the Patient recovered well, and the family sent me a chicken."

Ji Xiang watched Director Geng silently.

Although he looked a bit greasy, one could tell he was speaking from the heart.

Geng knew the Patient was surely beyond saving, and was just saying a few extra words to him to relieve some pressure.

When it comes to matters of life and death, anyone would feel immense pressure. Even if he acted out of good intentions and had already done his utmost, the outcome was not optimistic.

"I accepted the old hen, but I didn't notice there was 200 yuan as well. That won't do; I know that family is extremely hard up. That very day, I drove to the village, wanting to return the money."

"As soon as I entered the Patient's home, my heart ached. His parents were paralyzed in bed, and his wife was at home taking care of them. He had one and a half kidneys removed, and just as he was getting a little better, he fell ill again."

"He has to work; if the person falls, the family falls too."

"This isn't just one life, it's the life of an entire family."

Geng used the Gauze in Ji Xiang's pocket to wipe his tears, and finally blew his nose.

The Gauze was very rough, and Geng used a lot of force; his nose tip was bright red, and blood streaks were faintly visible.

"Director, is there really no other way?" Ji Xiang knew Interventional Surgery would be useful, but even after so many years, Interventional Surgery was still a high-end procedure, and there were truly not many people who could perform it.

"He only has half a kidney left; should we remove it all? If we remove it all, he'll need long-term dialysis, and his family can't afford it; they don't have the means." Geng's eyes were red and puffy.

Ji Xiang was speechless.

"Let's go to the operating table," Geng said. "Be sharp; I'm not in a good state today. You're young and have good eyes. Once we open the Retroperitoneal and see the Kidney bleeding, you must try your best to find the bleeding point."

"If we can find it and perform a Ligation, he might still live. If we can't find it..."

Ji Xiang sighed deeply in his heart.

He knew what Geng said was only a possibility, the most beautiful wish.

In all likelihood, upon seeing the Kidney, it would be a pool of blood inside, and nothing would be visible. The Suction Device would be huffing and puffing as it sucked the blood away, and before the bleeding vessel could be found, the person would be gone.

"Director, I will try my best, my best." After comforting him, Ji Xiang asked, "I heard the Interventional Department can perform hemostatic treatment, can we..."

"Only the Provincial Hospital can do it. It would take four or five hours to send him there now; do you think the Patient can hold on that long?"

Geng sighed and prepared to change his clothes.

He had considered all kinds of possibilities, but given the Patient's condition, family factors, and the hospital's technical capabilities, they could only go to the operating table and try to find the bleeding artery.

Hoping for a bit of good luck for himself, and hoping for a bit of good luck for the Patient, Geng prayed blankly in his heart.

"Professor Zhou, your surgery was truly excellent! You are truly worthy of being a top-tier Expert in the country; today, you've really opened my eyes!"

Suddenly, the sound of flattering words came from outside the door.

"Hehe, a minor surgery, simple." A hearty voice drifted in.

(End of this chapter)