Chapter 129: Chapter 126: Applying for the National Natural Science Foundation
Wu Ting was amazed by Ling Ling’s talent. ’She’s a monster, all right. Just what you’d expect from someone in a direct PhD program at Union!’
It made sense. Otherwise, how could a medical student find the time and energy to learn programming, let alone to the extent of writing algorithms?
’Dr. Ling really is incredible.’
’But now, I, the great Director Wu, have it too!’
For a doctor, having a photographic memory was like giving a tiger wings.
"Dr. Ling, let’s start performing the related surgical techniques together over the next few days."
"All right, all right. My doctoral dissertation is really difficult anyway, since it involves both medicine and programming algorithms."
Ling Ling was a direct-entry PhD medical student at Jiuhua Hospital who had also minored in computer science at Shuimu University.
Jiuhua Hospital was the only higher education institution directly under the Ministry of Health. In 2006, per a close cooperation agreement between Shuimu University and Jiuhua Hospital signed by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, the Jin Country Union Medical College was renamed Qinghe City Jiuhua Hospital (Shuimu University Medical School).
Therefore, Jiuhua Hospital’s curriculum design was also quite interesting. The clinical medicine program was eight years long and divided into four stages. The first stage, the pre-medical phase, lasted five semesters and was spent studying in the biology department at Shuimu University.
It was during this time that Ling Ling also took courses in Shuimu University’s computer science department. With her photographic memory, she easily mastered the coursework of two daunting disciplines!
’Looks like I’ll be at this research center for a long time. I can just take it slow and improve my algorithm. Dr. Wu seems to be a man of his word. Outside of work, he’s spent a lot of time researching my project with me. He’s genuinely taking my work to heart. A director like him is really not bad at all!’
Ling Ling held Wu Ting in high regard, so she readily accepted his arrangements.
’I’m so jealous of Dr. Yan Xi. She produced results so quickly.’
「」
The official establishment of the Jin Country Laparoscopic Diagnosis and Treatment Technology Research Center sent a whirlwind through the medical community of Jin Province, causing a major stir.
Hospitals that considered themselves superior to City First Hospital, in particular, found it hard to believe. What had City First Hospital done to deserve this?
Even some hospitals, departments, and directors within Fan City itself found the news difficult to accept or understand.
"Isn’t this just a bait-and-switch? An international-level laparoscopic diagnosis and treatment technology research center at City First Hospital? On what grounds?"
"The doctors from Union, Haijin Port, and Saint An Hospital can’t possibly be holding clinics and performing chief surgery at City First Hospital all the time. It must just be some technical support. Can the doctors from City First Hospital alone really handle it?"
Director Zeng Minqin of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Department at City Second Hospital was one of the skeptics.
"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."
Director Zeng immediately screened the patients recently admitted to his own hospital.
Among them was an obese patient with a history of open abdominal surgery. After various enhanced scans, the case was deemed to be highly difficult.
Originally, Director Zeng had intended to perform a second open abdominal surgery on this patient. Now that such an opportunity had presented itself, why not persuade the patient to transfer to the research center at City First Hospital?
Director Zeng went straight to the patient’s family, had a conversation, and recommended they transfer to the research center at City First Hospital.
The family was initially reluctant to go through the trouble, but after seeing the introduction to City First Hospital’s research center and hearing that it was jointly established by Jiuhua Hospital, Saint An Hospital, and Haijin Port Hospital, they were indeed tempted.
After all, the reputations of these three institutions were just too renowned!
「」
「Inside City First Hospital.」
The research center’s newly purchased fluorescent laparoscopy systems and 4K high-definition large screens had all arrived and were quickly installed.
Under Dr. Yan’s meticulous guidance, the first batch of fluorescent laparoscopy camera assistants passed their tests and all successfully graduated.
With her photographic memory, Ling Ling remembered all the surgical details completely after seeing them just once. All she needed was some practice to familiarize herself with the procedures.
She learned the fastest and performed the best in the entire training class, already showing signs of catching up to Dr. Yan Xi.
Studying alongside Dr. Ling was enough to make the other doctors despair, especially Cheng Feng. He had been studying for a long time, yet he could only watch helplessly as he was surpassed.
’The people from Jiuhua Hospital really are all monsters!’
Cheng Feng’s own alma mater was not bad, but he was no match for Ling Ling at all.
’In our research center, only Brother Ting’s talent is greater than Dr. Ling’s. Come to think of it, Brother Ting is truly unfathomable.’
As the research center began admitting patients and performing surgeries according to plan, a rather special patient was admitted to Bed 23.
This patient had been transferred from City Second Hospital.
The patient was extremely obese and had a history of open abdominal surgery. Various preoperative examinations also indicated that his condition was very complex; any misstep in handling it could lead to problems.
As chief resident, one of Wu Ting’s duties was to manage inter-departmental consultations and oversee the daily work of residents, rotating doctors, visiting doctors, and interns.
At the same time, the chief resident didn’t have to be in charge of specific patients; he only needed to participate in a certain number of elective surgeries as he saw fit.
Wu Ting was also responsible for scheduling the residents, visiting doctors, and interns, so he held considerable authority in the research center’s ward.
For a patient like this, with a complex and risky initial diagnosis, the junior doctors would report to Wu Ting immediately.
This patient was admitted by An Jin. And although Yasui could now perform a fluorescent laparoscopic cholecystectomy as the chief surgeon, he still required a senior attending physician to supervise.
How would Yasui dare to operate on such a patient by himself?
Yasui reported to Wu Ting at once, and Wu Ting quickly came to the ward.
After reviewing the patient’s condition, Wu Ting decided to perform the surgery himself. And for his assistant, he chose Ling Ling!
After Wu Ting made his decision, the team for this difficult surgery was assembled: Ling Ling as the camera operator, Yasui as the first assistant, and Cheng Feng to film the procedure.
Wu Ting led the young surgical team into the operating room.
Meanwhile, the Laparoscopic Diagnosis and Treatment Technology Research Center had recently spent a considerable amount of money to acquire a batch of brand-new fluorescent laparoscopy operating systems and large screens.
Furthermore, since it had just officially begun diagnosis and treatment, the hospital leadership was paying very close attention.
As it happened, Dean Tang and Dean Liu were both free today, so they came to the research center to observe.
Before the surgery, Wu Ting, Yasui, and Cheng Feng carefully performed a physical examination and took the patient’s medical history.
The patient was a 43-year-old male, a lecturer in the computer science department at Fan City University. He had previously been a programmer at a top international internet company. While abroad, his wife falsely accused him of domestic violence, causing him to lose his green card and forcing him to return miserably to his hometown of Fan City.
However, the patient was a computer elite with a top-tier academic background, so he was later hired by Fan City University. It was just that after his experience in the Southern Country, his spirit had been broken.
Fan City University was a mediocre school to begin with, and he was just coasting through life. As a result, he became overweight, gaining over a hundred pounds in five years. He also had a penchant for greasy foods like pizza and KFC.
This led to his cholecystitis. Originally, he had wanted to be treated somewhere closer to home, making it more convenient for his mother to take care of him.
However, when even Director Zeng at City Second Hospital didn’t dare to operate and instead recommended Fan City First Hospital, he accepted the plan after seeing that it was established in cooperation with three top-tier institutions.
Wu Ting was also very satisfied with this case. The situation was complex, and such an extreme case could better demonstrate the advanced nature and clinical value of fluorescent laparoscopic cholecystectomy!
Wu Ting was preparing to make this surgery a masterpiece of Daytime Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy!
Cheng Feng had already started filming from the side. Ever since filming Lu Xuejun’s surgeries, Cheng Feng had fallen in love with operating room photography.
He found the close-up shots of the surgical site to be particularly filled with a sense of artistry and the power of life.
For this operation, Wu Ting intentionally raised the difficulty and standards, preparing to perform a bloodless surgery.
In the observation room, Dean Liu and Dean Tang were both watching.
"This Wu Ting is certainly bold. The patient’s condition is so complex and dangerous, yet he still opted against open surgery. And he didn’t even place a nasogastric tube or urinary catheter preoperatively..."
The preoperative preparations for this surgery were quite lengthy. In addition to the intravenous injection of indocyanine green into the back of the hand, there was also National Medicine acupoint electrostimulation to regulate the flow of qi.
After these preliminary procedures were completed, the surgery officially began.
Thanks to Dr. Yan’s training, Ling Ling’s skill with the fluorescent laparoscope was absolutely first-class.
She quickly completed the fluorescence imaging, and a clear image of the extrahepatic biliary tract appeared on the screen.
Looking at the patient’s condition on screen, Yasui, Cheng Feng, and Ling Ling all gasped.
"This patient’s condition is too dangerous... The cystic duct runs parallel to the common bile duct for such a long way!"
"Without fluorescence imaging, it would be incredibly easy to damage the common hepatic duct..."
"What’s even more difficult are the severe adhesions in the patient’s hilar region... And there’s a variation in the biliary tract!"
In the observation room, the two deans were also astonished. In a normal surgery, it would be difficult to spot these subtle differences with the naked eye, but in fluorescent mode, the blue-yellow-blue separations were clearly visible.
In a conventional surgery, dissection at this stage would heavily rely on the chief surgeon’s experience. However, an anomalous biliary duct is outside the scope of experience. The more one relies on conventional experience, the more disastrous the outcome!
Fortunately, with this kind of fluorescent display, even a very junior doctor could see these distinct blue markers.
"Incredible."
Dean Liu had to admit he was impressed.
"This batch of equipment was well worth the cost."
"Of course. It’s not just the equipment. I never expected that Dr. Ling from Union and Dr. Yan from Haijin Port would both commit to staying here for the long haul. Especially Dr. Yan; this project incorporates her research findings. She has become a key figure in the first phase of our Laparoscopic Diagnosis and Treatment Technology Research Center’s development, teaching and training others on the operation of the fluorescent laparoscopy system."
Dean Tang’s words were a mix of emotion and praise.
Watching the surgery, Dean Liu couldn’t help but nod.
"Congratulations, Dean Tang! Our research center is off to an excellent start, far exceeding my expectations. The head of the center, Dr. Wu Ting, is indeed a talent worth cultivating!"
Dean Tang smiled and delivered even more surprising news:
"Now that Wu Ting’s Daytime Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy technique is nearing perfection, it’s also time for him to start applying for the National Natural Science Foundation program."
"As long as Dr. Wu secures this foundation grant, our research center’s foundation will be truly solid. We can then steadily enter the second phase of development!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Dean Liu’s eyes. A National Science Foundation grant was an incredible achievement. For Wu Ting to reach this level at such a young age!
The research center had successfully navigated its perilous first stage. Dean Liu could no longer voice any objections.
"Excellent. This is a joyous occasion for our City First Hospital."
"Dean Tang, I’ll have to ask you to take the lead on this. If there’s anything you need from me, I will give you my full support."
Having stated his position, Dean Liu was the first to leave. He was already starting to consider his strategy. Wu Ting was a brilliant young talent; he couldn’t be offended, alienated, or opposed. Instead, he should be won over.
A young man like that wouldn’t end his career at just City First Hospital.
Dean Liu decided that from now on, he would help Wu Ting whenever he could and forge a good relationship with him.
He had some experience with National Science Foundation projects; back in the day, he himself had been a recipient of the Youth Science Fund grant!
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