Chapter 571: 562 Attitude Flickering

"This way, Chief Zheng." The Inpatient Chief of General Surgery Department took Zheng Ren to the ward, introducing along the way, "The patient is in severe pain; when asking about medical history, the family's descriptions of his abdominal scar differ. Some say it's appendicitis, some say intestinal obstruction."

Zheng Ren nodded; in such a situation, he would certainly be careful.

Clinically, this kind of patient and family are most feared; some deliberately conceal medical history, some simply can't remember, but overall, regardless of the situation, it hinders diagnosis and treatment.

Entering the ward, the patient had a nasogastric tube inserted and had undergone gastrointestinal decompression.

His body was curled up like a shrimp on the bed, groaning from pain.

Zheng Ren instinctively glanced at the system panel in the upper right of his vision; the diagnosis shown was—intestinal perforation, intestinal obstruction.

Perforated? Zheng Ren stared for a moment.

Normally, after intestinal perforation the patient would show severe peritonitis signs, which matches his presentation. However, intestinal obstruction progressing to perforation likely means necrotic bowel, requiring resection.

Zheng Ren instantly tensed up; the patient's rating had risen from B to S.

No time to lose!

"Hand over the surgery consent, prepare for surgery." Zheng Ren said immediately, then went to the patient's side, had him lie flat as much as possible, and began the physical exam.

The Inpatient Chief of General Surgery Department stared for a moment, not understanding why Zheng Ren's attitude had suddenly changed.

An aura of a veteran senior physician rose from Zheng Ren.

It was the scent of confidence accumulated over years of clinical work, countless successful surgeries and rescues.

He stared for a moment, then immediately ran to submit the surgery consent.

"Chief Zheng, the procedure—"

"Exploratory laparotomy!" Zheng Ren said while examining the patient.

The professor stood beside Zheng Ren, frowning as he observed the exam.

The family were all surprised to see a tall, burly foreigner at Haicheng Shi Yiyuan; they fell silent, staring at Zheng Ren.

A quick exam showed the patient already had board-like rigidity; this confirmed the system's diagnosis of intestinal perforation was correct, and there was no escaping it.

We just don't yet know whether the bowel is necrotic.

"Family members who know the patient's condition, follow me," Zheng Ren said.

Several family members exchanged glances; finally two men in their forties or fifties stepped forward and followed Zheng Ren out.

The patient's family hesitated only a few seconds, by which time Zheng Ren had already walked far ahead at a brisk pace.

The two of them jogged all the way to the office.

Entering the office, they saw Zheng Ren sitting at the computer with the professor standing behind him; both were stunned.

"Have a seat," Zheng Ren said. "First briefly tell me the patient's condition, sign the surgery consent, then Chief Meng will speak with you."

"Oh." Both family members sensed a tense atmosphere and nodded dazedly.

"The patient's condition is urgent; provisional diagnosis is intestinal perforation and obstruction." Zheng Ren said. "This disease could easily lead to death; later Chief Meng will have you sign a critical illness notice. I see a surgical scar on the patient's abdomen—what operation was done before?"

Zheng Ren's eyes locked onto the two family members, observing their microexpressions.

The two family members' faces showed stiff, embarrassed expressions, yet they both remained silent, neither speaking.

Zheng Ren sighed inwardly; dealing with such family truly gives one a headache.

"This is crucial for the surgery; I hope you tell the truth." Zheng Ren intensified his tone a bit.

"……" The two family members glanced at each other again; Zheng Ren's tone was grim, making them sense something was off.

"Um… it was three years ago, same condition, an exploratory laparotomy done in our county." One family member said hesitantly.

"What was the postoperative diagnosis?" Zheng Ren pressed step by step.

"Exploratory laparotomy is just the beginning; what matters most is the next sentence—the result of the laparotomy."

Zheng Ren's tone was very solemn, even somewhat harsh, like a small knife.

He didn't want to give the family time to think; he only wanted to know the truth of what happened then.

But Zheng Ren was still disappointed.

His accumulated experience communicating with patients' families had been pushed to the limit, and although the family's attitude clearly wavered a bit, they ultimately fell silent again.

Zheng Ren truly had no recourse.

Performing surgery? The family's strange, weird emotions were like a landmine lying in the road—step on it and you could be blown to pieces.

But not doing surgery?

The patient will surely die.

Intestinal perforation, digestive juices leaking into the peritoneal cavity… Zheng Ren shook his head, unwilling to think about it.

"Doctor…" a family member whispered, "We also don't know exactly why."

Zheng Ren was certain the family was lying, because their eyes flickered, avoiding his gaze.

That said, the family looked honest and straightforward, not like people who would deliberately cause trouble.

Zheng Ren hesitated a moment, then made up his mind, saying: "The patient's condition is extremely serious, his state poor, surgery risky. Can you sign?"

"Yes, yes." The two stood up in unison, bowing repeatedly, "Doctor, please, save my father, please."

Zheng Ren felt he must still be asleep; surely so.

The family's expressions and actions represented two different intentions; this…

"Chief Zheng, the surgery consent has been submitted. Ma Shi is examining the patient, this side…" Chief Meng rushed back and said to Zheng Ren.

"Follow the instructions for exploratory laparotomy." After Zheng Ren and Chief Meng exchanged that sentence, he turned to the two family members and said, "The surgery, the specific procedure will be decided intraoperatively. When the situation arises, I will come down and tell you."

"Okay, okay." The two said.

Zheng Ren thought, picked up the phone, and called Su Yun.

"General Surgery Department, one exploratory laparotomy."

"Hmm, we'll discuss the specifics of the surgery later. I've already pushed the patient upstairs."

"Right, the Big External Operating Room."

Zheng Ren finished speaking, hung up the phone, and quickly walked toward the ward.

Because it was still early, not yet normal working hours, only the on-duty doctor and the Inpatient Chief were present.

Zheng Renhe briefly explained his judgment to the Inpatient Chief of General Surgery Section 2, then went straight to find Director Sun.

Zheng Ren kept this in mind.

The patient's family situation was very complicated, and Zheng Ren could not figure out their intentions.

The surgery can be performed, but the usual risk-avoidance measures are still necessary.

How to avoid it?

Naturally, it was to pull Director Sun onto the stage.

The patient came to see him; if anything happened, Director Sun could also bear some responsibility. Meanwhile, I am only the consulting physician on stage, with responsibility reduced countless times.

No matter how reluctant Director Sun was to perform this surgery, Zheng Ren firmly insisted on pulling him onto it.

Joking aside, being able to help with the surgery is already pretty good; you, a chief director, don't even have this much responsibility?