Chapter 136: 0133 Very Well-Behaved and Very Independent

The preoperative briefing took nearly ten minutes, and the few relatives waiting in the office all turned ashen.

Every preoperative briefing is like this, covering almost all complications that have ever occurred over the years.

Although the probability of each complication occurring is less than one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand.

But to the relatives, especially those who dote on the little girl to an extreme, it sounds like a verdict: after signing, that lively little granddaughter will never recover, but will die outright and sink into hell.

Zheng Ren wasn't in a hurry either, anyway the Chu sisters needed about ten minutes for anesthesia, and this time was more than enough for them to consider.

Having said what needed to be said, Zheng Ren waited quietly for the patient's relatives to sign.

"Doctor Zheng, will there be no problem?" the old man with a ruddy face asked weakly; the redness on his face had faded, leaving only worry and anxiety.

"The vast majority of patients will be fine, but we cannot rule out that a small number may experience various complications." Zheng Ren answered with the most standard wording, flawless, yet amounting to saying nothing.

That's true, but no doctor can give a patient a hundred-percent guarantee.

That's why those divine doctors and Chinese medicine masters who claim to cure all illnesses are so popular.

After hesitating repeatedly, it wasn't until the middle-aged man came down panting, saying the anesthesia upstairs was done and they were just waiting for Doctor Zheng to perform the surgery, that he finally wrote his consent on the preoperative form and signed his name.

Other tasks were handed to Chang Yue, and Zheng Ren walked with a relaxed pace to the operating room, changed his clothes, and headed straight to the operating area.

"Miss, you're really pretty; when I grow up I want to be a doctor like you."

"Miss, do you like spicy strips? When I get better, I'll treat you."

"Miss..."

When Zheng Ren entered the operating area, the little patient with twin tails was chatting happily with Chu Yanran and Chu Zhizhi, showing no fear at all.

Zheng Ren saw that the preoperative preparations were all complete; Su Yun stood in the first assistant's position, ready and waiting, holding gauze and a forceps.

After scrubbing up and donning a sterile surgical gown, Zheng Ren took the surgeon's position.

The girl was still happily "chatting" with the Chu sisters when Zheng Ren made one incision, opening the skin.

The subcutaneous fat layer was thin, making separation easy; the surgery went smoothly.

"Big brother, will there be a scar?"

The appendix had been found, and Zheng Ren was separating the appendix artery when the twin-tailed little girl suddenly asked.

"Big brother, if the scar looks like a centipede, I won't be able to wear swimwear anymore, right?"

He ligated the appendix artery and cut the appendix ligament.

"I think, if there really is one, I'll go get a tattoo."

He tossed the appendix with the forceps into the pathology basin; the forceps struck the metal basin, making a clear sound.

"Big brother..."

The little girl's innocent fantasy had just begun when the surgery ended.

Zheng Ren took the appendix from the pathology basin, left the operating room, and went to show the relatives a look. After all, this patient had been referred by Director Su, and also had connections with Director Pan; treating everyone equally, Zheng Ren felt he should say a few more words to the relatives, as a courtesy to the two directors.

Outside the operating room, the four elders paced like ants on a hot pan, unable to sit still.

The middle-aged couple kept urging, but all they got in return was complaints.

All kinds of complaints, dating back over ten years, continued to be aired.

The operating room door opened, and Zheng Ren appeared in surgical attire, cap and mask, holding a pathology specimen basin containing a fresh, spicy appendix.

"The surgery is finished; the appendix needs to be sent for pathological examination," Zheng Ren explained.

"Will the pathology be okay?" an elder asked nervously.

As soon as Zheng Ren mentioned pathology, he recalled that just moments ago, during the preoperative briefing, he had said there was a probability of one in a thousand to five in ten thousand of an appendix tumor.

"Judging by the situation, there probably isn't one." Zheng Ren didn't want to joke or frighten the elders.

Their earlier impatience was within the range that Zheng Ren could understand and tolerate.

This wasn't intentional medical disturbance; what was there to be angry about? Zheng Ren patiently explained, "Elder, look at the base of the appendix: there's only a small amount of inflammatory edema, visible tissue, and no signs of malignant change."

"What about the parts not visible to the naked eye?" The elder's mood didn't ease from Zheng Ren's explanation; instead, it grew more tense.

"That's why we need to send it for pathology; you also know the probability is very low." Zheng Ren felt helpless but continued to explain patiently.

"Mom, Doctor Zheng already said it's fine." The middle-aged woman could no longer hold back and urged.

"She's a piece of flesh cut from your own body—how can you not feel sorry for her!" The elder said, and a surge of grievance and heartache welled up, eyes filling with tears.

"It should be fine; the pathology report will come back in about three to five days. If you're not reassured, you can ask Director Su to follow up—the pathology doctors see many cases, and just looking at the cut specimen with the naked eye can usually give a clear answer."

"Can you be sure?"

"..." Zheng Ren finally ran out of words.

He shook his head and left in silence.

After the two-child policy was relaxed, the number of only children decreased; perhaps such situations will become less common, Zheng Ren thought.

But this child is truly fortunate—someone cares for her, someone thinks of her—unlike me, who has spent a lifetime striving for myself alone.

Moreover, this little girl is completely a rarity; able to grow independently and wildly in such an environment.

I just hope she isn't spoiled by overindulgence, and continues to grow independent.

Back in the operating room, Su Yun and Chu Zhizhi had already pushed the cart out.

Zheng Ren didn't follow to send the patient back to the ward; instead, he handed the pathology specimen to Xie Yiren, took off his gloves and surgical gown, and went to the changing room to change clothes.

Sitting in the smoking room of the changing area, Zheng Ren carefully read through the "Lone Tree Doesn't Make a Forest" task once more.

The deadline is one week, but I must first ensure the patients' surgical quality; I absolutely cannot hand over all surgeries to Su Yun just to finish the task.

Like the surgery introduced today by the senior director and Director Su, he shouldn't be allowed to do it.

Thus, the problem arose.

He boasted that he could handle any surgery after seeing it once; Zheng Ren also believed him to some extent, after all, he had seen Su Yun perform appendectomies with hardly any flaws.

Why not let him try laparoscopic appendectomy, hernia, or cholecystitis?

Or perhaps just observe for now; Zheng Ren isn't particularly interested in the master-level CT 3D reconstruction skill rewarded either. Honestly, it's just an auxiliary skill that CT room doctors should master.

He smoked half a cigarette, Zheng Ren extinguished the cigarette, and carefully put the remaining cigarette back into the cigarette box.

He put on the White Coat and walked out of the Operating Room.

The Jizhenbingfang was very quiet; at this hour, the IV drips had basically finished. As long as the patients' conditions allowed, they all went home; nobody wanted to stay in the Hospital even for an hour.

Chang Yue communicated with the patients' families in the ward, while Su Yun sat in a chair, fiddling with her phone.

"Doctor Zheng, thank you for your hard work." Seeing Zheng Ren come down, the middle-aged man eagerly grasped his hand and said.