Chapter 1959: 1890 Thank You

Xia Hua stared dumbfounded.

"Teaching" surgery, he thought it would be just a few casual words and done. Who would have thought Boss Zheng's hand is so ruthless!

Each time the hemostatic forceps struck Gao Shaojie's radial styloid, Xia Hua felt as if his superficial branch of the radial nerve were being struck invisibly, and his right hand twitched involuntarily.

But seeing Gao Shaojie not make such a movement, he guessed that Boss Zheng avoided the superficial branch of the radial nerve next to the radial styloid, striking only the bone and not involving the nerve, so it would not affect the surgery.

But even just that is painful……

As the angiography began on this side, Xia Hua looked around with lingering fear, easing his tense pressure.

This is still under the operating table; if I were to switch places with Professor Gao, I'd probably have collapsed already.

Seeing the anesthesiologist Old Huang beaming with excitement, he curiously asked, "Old Huang, why are you so happy?"

"Occasionally the live stream shows teaching surgeries, from foreign professors to domestic directors, Boss Zheng has been pounding away all along. I didn't expect watching it live to feel like this."

"Old Gao, does Boss Zheng's pounding hurt?" the anesthesiologist Old Huang asked with a chuckle.

Gao Shaojie didn't answer his question, but instead focused intently on the angiography.

Zheng Ren watched while explaining to him which vessel should be embolized first, where, and why.

Xia Hua felt dizzy after listening halfway.

In his mind, as long as the vessels feeding the tumor were embolized, that would be enough.

He hadn't expected that embolizing vessels, on Boss Zheng's side, would involve so many nuances; it's said that a few centimeters up or down makes a difference in the outcome.

The patient—namely, his own grandfather's postoperative pain and discomfort would differ; likewise, postoperative recovery would vary.

Boss Zheng is truly professional.

Following the lecture's logic, Xia Hua understood. If embolization is too light, the postoperative reaction is too small to be effective; if too heavy, the reaction is large, and Boss Zheng still worries his grandfather couldn't bear it.

Soon Xia Hua could no longer keep up with Boss Zheng's train of thought.

But he knew in his heart that the postoperative effect of this surgery would definitely be excellent, with minimal side effects.

Boss Zheng chose a method with minimal trauma and maximal benefit.

Time trickled by, the pap-pap-pap sound unceasing to the ears. After the hemostatic forceps struck Gao Shaojie's radial styloid, came Boss Zheng's leisurely explanation.

After 35′23″, embolization was complete.

"Old Gao, your surgical level has improved," Zheng Ren said with a smile.

Gao Shaojie wore a solemn expression; it seemed he hadn't heard Zheng Ren's praise, but was pondering everything Zheng Ren had just said.

They changed position and began placing the stent.

This step is relatively simple, but the risk is also relatively high.

After all, the tumor tissue is already near the heart, so stent expansion could compress the heart and cause cardiac arrest.

The anesthesiologist Old Huang stood cautiously beside the PICC line, rescue drugs already prepared. If any problem arose, he would push the medication directly in.

In his mind he recalled only the time Boss Zheng extracted a 12 cm clot, and the dedicated anesthesiologist's splendid performance.

Back then there was only a fleeting image—a line of epinephrine, like bullets, looking cool. The anesthesiologist has watched that scene countless times, each time feeling that this is what surgery is! This is what rescue is!

Zheng Ren watched as Gao Shaojie slipped the super-smooth guidewire in, then said, "Old Gao, I'll take it from here; watch carefully and later you can slowly appreciate it."

"Oh." Gao Shaojie understood; this is the simplest yet also the most difficult step.

Zheng Ren had the stent ready when he glanced aside and saw the anesthesiologist had laid out a pile of rescue drugs, poised for action.

"What's this…?" Zheng Ren glanced up at the anesthesiologist who was utterly bewildered by himself.

Someone can bewilder oneself, and Zheng Ren expressed that he didn't understand.

"Boss Zheng, if any problem occurs, rescue drugs, defibrillator, endotracheal intubation, etc., are all ready," the anesthesiologist said excitedly.

Boss Zheng finally noticed himself!

We must give Boss Zheng a feeling of coming home; the anesthetic skill of our Sheng Cheng Medical University Affiliated Hospital is no less than that of his personal anesthesiologist.

"No need," Zheng Ren chuckled, saying, "I'll be very careful; the range in which this stent opens won't trigger abnormal myocardial electrophysiological reflexes."

"……"

"However, thank you," Zheng Ren said politely, then smoothly pushed the stent in.

"Old Gao, note the range in which the stent opens here," Zheng Ren said. "Against the heart's right posterior wall, we want to let the esophagus expand open a passage as much as possible, but without stimulating the heart."

Gao Shaojie nodded.

"Here, 0.87 cm is enough; any more or less would be unsuitable." Zheng Ren squeezed the balloon, and the esophageal stent opened.

He spoke while watching the electrocardiogram.

The patient's ECG showed only a faint change, but it was no big deal.

"Old Gao, why is it 0.87 cm here instead of the limit? Because after surgery the tumor needs to undergo an initial edema‑necrosis process from ischemia. If we did the extreme procedure, I might also develop arrhythmia 2‑3 days post‑op."

"Now this way, the chance of arrhythmia is small. After surgery you should measure the esophageal tumor's size; once the tumor begins to shrink, then inflate the stent a bit more. Overall, about two to three surgeries are needed to fully open the stent."

Zheng Ren finished, withdrew the guidewire, turned and stepped down.

Having done this surgery, Gao Shaojie couldn't think of anything Boss Zheng hadn't considered. Perfect? Probably so.

No matter what, it's far more rigorous and precise than his own preoperative judgment.

"The surgery is done; postoperatively there's nothing special to note," Zheng Ren and Xia Hua instructed. "Just do many follow‑ups, and take good care of your grandfather."

As he spoke, Zheng Ren was about to leave when he suddenly felt something catch his clothing.

He turned and saw Xia Hua's father reaching out, straining to grab a corner of his clothes.

"Grandfather, what's uncomfortable?" Zheng Ren leaned in and asked loudly.

The grandfather strained to shake his head, but the movement was barely perceptible; his body was on the verge of collapse, making even this simple action difficult.

Zheng Ren looked at the grandfather's cloudy eyes, unsure what he intended to do.

Seeing the grandfather's lips twitch slightly, he leaned his ear in.

"Th… thank…" the grandfather whispered, using all his strength.

Zheng Ren smiled, took hold of the old man's hand, and loudly explained some things. Some matters, actually it's best to tell the patient themselves.

If the patient cooperates, the treatment will be twice as effective.

"You'll get better soon—tell Xia Hua what you want to eat and she'll make it for you! But you must be careful: when the time comes, don't eat too much; still, eat small meals frequently."

The old man blinked, indicating he understood.

The airtight lead door opened, and the nurses in the Operating Room began to get busy.

Suddenly, the circulating nurse walked in, she leaned close to Gao Shaojie and whispered something, and Gao Shaojie froze.