Chapter 2036: 1964 A Novel Emergency Surgical Technique (Monthly Ticket 57,000 Bonus Chapter ×114)

Zheng Ren stood before the viewbox, propping his chin as he examined the images.

"Zheng Lao Ban, I don't think it's a tumor," Professor Feng said, stating his judgment first.

"Hmm, not likely. Only the periphery has blood supply; the middle should be a fecalith," Zheng Ren said.

"Patient…" Quan Xiaocao wanted to speak, but after uttering just one character she swallowed her words back.

"Xiao Cao, don't be timid—say what you have to say. Tell me what you're afraid of; even if you're wrong, I won't eat you," Su Yun encouraged her.

Quan Xiaocao had her hair done today; a strand of green ran through her black hair, making her look more and more like a little sprout.

"Hmm… hmm…" Quan Xiaocao lowered her head, staring at her toes, seeming to regret why she had spoken just then.

"You're so timid—what will you do when you encounter something later?" Su Yun, who had always been gentle toward Quan Xiaocao, encouraged her.

"The patient's bowel movements and gas have always been normal," Quan Xiaocao said, her voice as tiny as a mosquito's.

"That's indeed a problem," Zheng Ren said. "Having bowel movements and gas means intestinal motility is normal."

"I heard bowel sounds, 4–5 times per minute," Feng Jianguo added.

Zheng Ren silently examined the images; a relevant diagnosis had already formed in his mind.

"A large space‑occupying lesion, with no vascular signal inside—not considering an active substance; the likelihood of a fecalith is high," Zheng Ren reiterated.

Quan Xiaocao felt a bit dazed—hadn't she just said the patient's bowel movements were normal?

If there were such a large fecalith, the bowel obstruction would certainly be severe, with air‑fluid levels… Although this isn't an upright abdominal flat film, the CT would still show it.

During this period, Quan Xiaocao crammed clinical knowledge intensively, feeling her level had improved greatly.

But whenever she faced Zheng Lao Ban, she couldn't help feeling timid inside, no matter how baseless his words were.

She lacked the courage to question Zheng Lao Ban, to doubt this Nobel Prize‑candidate identity, a "senior" doctor shining like the rising sun.

"How is the patient now?" Zheng Ren asked.

"Severe abdominal distension, accompanied by tearing‑like pain, unable to eat or drink, unable to lie flat," Feng Jianguo said, seeing Quan Xiaocao stare at the floor, knowing her mind was blank, and then briefed Zheng Lao Ban on the patient's current condition.

Quan Xiaocao is diligent, kind, down‑to‑earth, and hardworking; apart from being a bit timid, there's nothing wrong with her—Feng Jianguo also felt helpless about that.

"Tell me your opinions," Zheng Ren said, looking at the images and speaking softly.

Feng Jianguo blinked, wondering what that meant.

Is Zheng Lao Ban testing himself?

"Zheng Lao Ban, I share your view—it's not a tumor. But if it's a fecalith… we still need to do a contrast‑enhanced CT," Lin Yuan said bluntly.

Feng Jianguo glanced at Lin Yuan, wondering when Zheng Lao Ban had acquired another female doctor beside him.

The white coat was left unbuttoned—a habit not common among domestic doctors; either some senior chiefs do it, or occasionally a brash young doctor shows off.

"Lin Yuan, you just didn't think of…" Su Yun's lips twitched into a knowing smile, then he paused, his tone gentle: "You should consider more, Boss—I diagnose a duplicated transverse and descending colon."

Zheng Ren nodded.

"Feng Bro, let's do an emergency surgery," Zheng Ren said. "I'll go check on the eye patient; Su Yun's diagnosis should be correct—the patient has a duplicated colon, with an extra segment of bowel in the middle containing a fecalith that compresses the abdominal organs and diaphragm."

"…" Feng Jianguo, seeing Zheng Ren about to see the patient, immediately said: "Zheng Lao Ban, I've also considered this rare disease, but generally the duplicated bowel segment shows gas imagery."

"We can tentatively attribute this to the patient's long disease duration—the hypertrophied duplicated bowel is packed with fecalith," Zheng Ren chuckled. "Give me the stethoscope."

Upon hearing Zheng Ren speak, Quan Xiaocao quickly pulled a stethoscope from her pocket.

But when she lifted her head, she saw the female doctor beside Zheng Lao Ban had already handed the stethoscope to him.

"Examine the eye patient," Zheng Ren said. "Regardless of whether it's a colonic duplication, we need to do an exploratory laparotomy. If it is, it'll be more troublesome than just removing a tumor."

Feng Jianguo understood Zheng Ren's meaning: although surgery for a duplicated bowel is relatively simple, the sheer amount of fecalith almost certainly means the patient will develop a severe infection, likely requiring bowel exteriorization and waiting for a delayed anastomosis.

Just thinking about these measures gives one a headache.

Still, let's first go see the eye patient—Feng Jianguo led Zheng Lao Ban straight to the ward.

"The patient was admitted today; his belly looks like a pregnant woman's, so the internal situation is probably severe," Feng Jianguo briefed Zheng Ren.

Zheng Ren nodded.

Entering the ward, Zheng Ren saw a male patient rolling about on the bed.

His abdomen was hugely distended, just as Feng Jianguo had described—like a woman ten months pregnant.

With intra‑abdominal pressure extremely high, no matter how he lay he felt miserable, unable to find a comfortable position even for a moment.

Everyone says the sick are anxious; feeling this awful, who could speak calmly?

Moreover, the patient's abdominal distension has persisted for ten or twenty years; this long torment has made his whole life feel like sinking into hell.

The system panel glowed scarlet; its diagnosis matched Zheng Ren's—duplicated transverse and descending colon. It also listed a bunch of other diagnoses, but those were merely non‑urgent complications, which Zheng Ren ignored.

He listened to the patient's bowel sounds; they were normal.

Taking the history, the patient hadn't eaten properly for three or four days; lately he'd hardly moved his bowels, but gas passage was normal.

As for overall treatment, Zheng Ren already had a plan in mind.

He examined the patient, finally confirmed his judgment, then left the ward.

"Feng Bro, handle the pre‑op prep; you take the next consult," Zheng Ren said.

"No problem—just come up when you're ready; no need for a consult," Feng Jianguo laughed.

Doctors from Zheng Lao Ban's General Surgery background get itchy hands at the sight of rare diseases—something Feng Jianguo had known for a long time.

"No," Zheng Ren said. "Give a preoperative enema, then intra‑operatively place a retrievable colonic stent."

"Ah?" Feng Jianguo stared, stunned.

"Surgery combined with interventional procedure? I've never heard of such a technique."

"A retrievable colonic stent? Are you planning to block the neo‑opening to prevent fecalith reflux and wound contamination?" Lin Yuan asked, frowning.

"As expected of a Harvard doctor—your judgment is spot on!" Su Yun remarked from the side.

He beamed with pride; there was no trace of sarcasm or bitterness.

Lin Yuan's brows knit tighter; she watched Su Yun warily, as if guarding against a thief.