Chapter 146: 0143 Couple's Fight, Don't Draw the Knife (Part 2)

Warm saline irrigated the peritoneal cavity; although the system panel showed the surgery completion rate was already very high, Zheng Ren knew that closing the cavity would make it 100%, yet he still meticulously checked for any active bleeding inside.

This might be one of the obsessive-compulsive tendencies of a surgeon.

Not checking is simply not okay. If there is active bleeding, a second operation would cause the patient far more traumatic injury than a single surgery.

A second operation is what the medical field calls a "second entry into the palace," with extremely high risk.

Two thousand milliliters of warm saline were poured into the peritoneal cavity and repeatedly suctioned out; when only a faint, slightly turbid fluid remained, Zheng Ren and Su Yun closed the abdomen together.

Chu Yanran continuously monitored the patient's vital signs and the progress of the surgery.

When they began closing the abdomen, she recorded a note on the anesthesia sheet, preparing for the patient's awakening from anesthesia.

Chu Yan zhi looked around here and there, chatted with Xie Yiren for a while, then stood behind Zheng Ren and Su Yun to observe the surgery from different angles.

As they closed the peritoneal cavity layer by layer, suturing the final stitch, the patient's consciousness began to return.

Because the patient was sent to the hospital promptly, the bleeding volume was not large—just a mild hemorrhagic shock—so there was absolutely no need for intubation or a ventilator.

However, because the nursing staff in the emergency ward were limited, Zheng Ren still decided to send the patient to the ICU for one night.

Actually, the ICU wouldn't necessarily cost over ten thousand every day; for instance, for this patient, if the postoperative blood count shows hemoglobin not below 80, they probably wouldn't need a transfusion.

Relying on their own hematopoietic function, they could get through this.

After finishing the surgery, Zheng Ren stepped down, didn't rush to change clothes, but waited a few minutes, helped lift the patient onto a stretcher, and had Su Yun and Chu Yanran escort them back to the ICU; only then did he take a shower, change clothes, and return to the emergency ward.

Su Yun didn't come back; that's routine procedure.

Because they are postoperative patients from the emergency department, Su Yun habitually stays in the ICU for one to two hours, monitoring until the patient's condition stabilizes, and only leaves if no special intervention is needed.

One hour after surgery, Zheng Ren told the duty nurse, put on his white coat, and went to the ICU to check on the postoperative patient's condition.

As long as conditions allow, every surgeon will do this, unless it's some tiny, minuscule surgery.

Upon arriving at the ICU, the postoperative patient's condition was stable and they were fully awake.

Because the wound hurt, they were given a shot and were now drowsy.

On the monitor, the patient's vital signs were stable. Meanwhile, Su Yun wasn't like before when she tended to critical patients, sitting by the ventilator and monitor with pen and paper calculating.

He was somewhat leisurely, chatting off and on with the ICU nurse sisters.

Zheng Ren didn't catch what Su Yun said; anyway, the girls in the nearby monitoring room lowered their voices and laughed, shaking like blossoms in the wind.

The blood pressure of the elderly man with a ruptured hemangioma had basically returned to normal; the ventilator tube made him a bit uncomfortable, so Zheng Ren told him about the outside situation and comforted the old man.

The recovery is going well, really good.

Zheng Ren smiled and turned to leave.

Leaving the ICU, Zheng Ren saw the hallway chairs filled with patients' families, even the floor covered with bedding rolls, and he didn't know where the postoperative patient's loved one was.

That's how the ICU works—family members cannot enter, lest bacteria they carry infect patients with open airways. So they can only sleep outside, with no lounge, just finding any spot to lie down.

Like today's surgical patient, who is relatively mild and can be transferred out of the ICU after one night; such patients' families just need to pull an all-nighter, but if it's changed to a severe case that can barely stay alive on a ventilator, the family waits outside endlessly, day after day.

Zheng Ren called out a few times the names of the patients' families; his voice wasn't loud, but it wasn't soft either.

A sound came from the fire escape; Zheng Ren pushed the door and went in.

Tangxiu and that middle-aged woman were smoking in the fire escape to refresh themselves.

Seeing Zheng Ren, Tangxiu froze a moment, instinctively took out a ladies' cigarette, and offered it to him.

Zheng Ren waved his hand.

"The patient is recovering well; if nothing unexpected happens, they can come out tomorrow," Zheng Ren said.

Tangxiu and the middle-aged woman's faces both showed delight, but they immediately realized Doctor Zheng was referring to one person or two?

Zheng Ren also smiled and said, "Both are fine."

Both of their faces finally relaxed.

"Are you two arguing?" Zheng Ren asked lightly, probing.

The middle-aged woman felt a bit embarrassed, bit her lip, and nodded.

"Why resort to knives or guns?"

"He's usually honest, but this month he asked for more gift money because the festival allowance was high." The middle-aged woman explained sheepishly: "You know, the kid is in high school, exactly when money is needed. A single tutoring session costs several hundred; we're just ordinary workers, really not much money. These savings were scraped together from between our teeth."

"Then don't draw the knife," Zheng Ren said with a kind smile, "Now it's even worse—you've spent more."

As soon as money was mentioned, the woman's face showed a painful expression.

"But it's okay; you came in time, so the cost isn't high. Back in the emergency ward, I'll try to help you save a bit," Zheng Ren said.

"Thank you, thank you." The middle-aged woman nodded repeatedly, "Can medical insurance cover this?"

"Impossible." Zheng Ren shook his head, "Traffic accidents and knife wounds aren't covered by medical insurance. Besides, although it's you two fighting, normally if a prosecutor files charges, you could face imprisonment for serious injury."

The woman's face immediately turned grim.

"But as long as your loved one has no objection, no public prosecution will be filed. After all, we follow the principle that the people don't accuse and the officials don't investigate." Zheng Ren's expression was serious, "Tomorrow when your loved one comes out, don't be so stubborn. Apologize, let them vent. During recovery, if their mood is good, they'll be discharged soon and you'll save a bit; but if anger causes complications, follow‑up treatment costs could be astronomical."

Zheng Ren coaxed and threatened, and the middle-aged woman, looking embarrassed, nodded repeatedly, swearing she would never do this again.

This is why Zheng Ren chatted a few more sentences; he doesn't have Chang Yue's talent, but after years of clinical work, his grasp of patients' families' mental states is also quite advanced.

When facing such families—those who caused consequences through passionate impulse and have been scared silly—communication shouldn't be too simplistic.

"Doctor Zheng, how is my father?" Tangxiu, who had been waiting quietly, saw Zheng Ren and the middle-aged woman finish their topic and urgently asked.

"The old man is fine; fully awake after general anesthesia, I can speak and he can hear me. It's just that because he's on ventilator assistance, he can't speak; once the tube is removed tomorrow, he'll be fine."

The patient recovered smoothly; both Zheng Ren and the patient's family had warm smiles on their faces.

"Thank you, thank you." Tangxiu really didn't know what else to say; thousands of words boiled down to repeated thanks.

Zheng Ren waved his hand, turned and left the fire escape, took the elevator back to the emergency ward.

Xie Yiren had already left; Zheng Ren checked the WeChat group, the mahjong game was called off, after performing a surgery nobody felt like playing, and everyone went home.

Outside, the north wind howled, but the heated hospital was warm like spring.

The first half of the night was noisy, the second half turned calm, and they passed it peacefully.