Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Wu Ting Takes Action! A Genius and Original Plan
After watching Director Yao Shi’s commentary video, the patient’s grandson immediately forwarded it to their "Loving Family" group chat.
"I just consulted a director from City Second Hospital. He said Grandma’s condition is critical and that with City First Hospital’s level of expertise, they most likely won’t be able to come up with a good treatment plan. He recommended we transfer her to another hospital as soon as possible."
The patient’s grandson, Yuan Ming, shared his thoughts.
Watching Director Yao’s confident and seemingly well-reasoned analysis, the patient’s family began to have doubts.
"That’s right. She’s been hospitalized for so long. Dr. Song said they were going to hold a consultation to create a surgical plan, but it’s been ages. Can they even do it or not?"
The patient’s son had had enough and immediately called for the head nurse.
"Nurse Xiao, can you please get the doctors to give us an answer already? If your City First Hospital can’t come up with a good plan, then get in touch with a higher-level hospital for us. We want a transfer."
"Exactly! Look at how much pain my grandma is in. If you can’t treat her here, don’t waste our time."
"We just consulted Director Yao from City Second Hospital on that video platform. He said that for my grandma’s condition, a conventional laparoscopic appendectomy has major drawbacks. If you can’t offer a better treatment plan, let’s not waste any more time."
The patient’s family was becoming agitated.
Nurse Xiao, of course, knew this patient’s case was very unique. She explained with a gentle and pleasant expression:
"Please, everyone, try not to worry. Our medical team is already in a consultation. Director Huo from our department and Director Zheng, the expert in acute abdominal conditions from General Surgery, are both involved. I’ll go ask for an update for you right now and get back to you as soon as I have an answer."
"Fine, but be quick about it."
Deep down, the patient’s family wanted the surgery to happen at City First Hospital. After all, it was close, making it easier for them to visit and care for her; it was more convenient in every way. They would only choose to go to Xiao City or Xianglin City if the doctors at City First Hospital were truly incapable.
"Sigh, are the doctors in our Fan City really this useless? They can’t even handle a minor appendectomy."
The patient’s family was very annoyed.
「In the consultation room」 Nurse Xiao rushed over.
She pushed the door open, looked at Director Huo and Director Zheng, and took a moment to catch her breath.
"The family of the grandma in bed 20 is making a fuss. They want us to provide a treatment plan as soon as possible. If our medical expertise isn’t up to par, they want us to be straight with them and arrange for a transfer."
Nurse Xiao sounded helpless and frustrated.
At this moment, Director Huo and Director Zheng couldn’t come up with a plan either.
"How about this: ask the family to wait a little longer. We’ll wait for Wu Ting to finish his surgery and come here to discuss it further. Dr. Wu has a wide range of knowledge; perhaps his out-of-the-box thinking can lead to some new ideas."
Jiang Ming wanted Xiao Xixi to calm the patient’s family down first.
"Understood. I’ll go right now."
Xiao Xixi sighed, feeling annoyed. If it were just an ordinary, quiet transfer, that would be one thing. But this time, Yao Shi from City Second Hospital had even commented on it publicly. If City First Hospital’s final decision was exactly what he predicted, it would be utterly humiliating.
Before leaving, Xiao Xixi added:
"The patient’s family just consulted Yao Shi from City Second Hospital on that video platform. Director Yao even posted a dedicated commentary video about it."
"Everyone, if this isn’t handled well, it will damage City First Hospital’s reputation."
Hearing Xiao Xixi’s words, Jiang Ming took out his phone. He had looked up Yao Shi’s profile before, back when he was questioning Wu Ting. This time, he found it again quickly.
He played Yao Shi’s commentary:
"...As for Fan City First Hospital, where the patient is currently located, I do not believe their Emergency Department and General Surgery Department are capable of performing this surgery perfectly..."
"...The hospitals in our Fan City, even the most comprehensive and skilled one, City First Hospital, still have a significant gap compared to the top-tier hospitals both within and outside the province..."
Listening to Yao Shi’s self-righteous commentary, Huo Yun and the others looked grim.
"That Yao Shi, he really knows how to kick a man when he’s down!"
"Last time he went after Wu Ting, and now he’s personally stepping in to humiliate City First Hospital."
"How despicable!"
Jiang Ming and Zheng Duqing were both quite displeased.
Given Yao Shi’s current influence, if this wasn’t handled properly, he could really use it to stir up trouble, which would have a huge impact on City First Hospital’s reputation.
Moreover, the Emergency Department’s upcoming promotion for laparoscopic appendectomies would be severely undermined. People would only remember that City First Hospital couldn’t even handle a single appendectomy and had to transfer the patient to a higher-level hospital. How could that make them trust City First Hospital’s new minimally invasive and non-invasive research projects?
’That Yao Shi is a real schemer.’
However, faced with such an awkward situation, no one could find a way to break the deadlock.
Just then, Xiao Xixi rushed back in, her face pale.
"Director Huo, Director Zheng, you need to come with me to the ward right now! The patient’s condition has suddenly worsened. Her temperature is rising, she’s experiencing intense abdominal pain, and she’s struggling to hold on."
"The family is already in an uproar. If we still can’t propose a treatment plan, things are going to get ugly."
The media is too powerful these days. Patients have learned to use the power of public opinion as their judge, which is a terrifying prospect.
"Alright, Director Zheng, Director Jiang, you two continue waiting for Wu Ting here. I’m going to check on the situation and stabilize things."
"Song Qi, go hurry Wu Ting along again."
"Nurse Xiao, I’ll go with you now."
Huo Yun was the head of the Emergency Department, after all. When something happened, he had to be the one to step up. If it really came down to it, they would just have to swallow their pride and transfer the patient to a higher-level hospital.
After all, compared to the patient’s life, their own pride was insignificant. Besides, it was true that they lacked the skill; they had little experience treating extremely elderly patients with comorbidities like hypertension and coronary heart disease.
Just as Huo Yun was about to leave, Yasui arrived with Wu Ting.
Wu Ting had just finished a surgery, and Yasui had briefed him on the patient’s situation on the way over.
Seeing Wu Ting, all the directors turned to look at him.
"Director Huo, Director Zheng, I’ve just heard a brief explanation of the situation from Dr. An."
"For this extremely elderly patient, I have a treatment plan: we use a Suspended Gasless Abdominal Laparoscopic Appendectomy!"
Without wasting any words, Wu Ting walked straight to the conference room whiteboard and began to draw.
"The principle behind the so-called Suspended Gasless Abdominal Laparoscopic Appendectomy is to create the surgical space by suspending and lifting the abdomen. The intra-abdominal pressure remains the same as the atmospheric pressure, so it doesn’t increase cardiovascular resistance or affect diaphragmatic movement. It causes almost no interference with circulation or respiration."
As Wu Ting explained, he drew a precise anatomical diagram on the whiteboard.
"Because the subcutaneous tissue of an elderly patient’s abdominal wall is loose, we need to use a full-thickness suspension. This allows for puncture under direct vision, avoiding the abdominal wall’s vascular areas, making it safe and reliable. In fact, because the abdominal muscles of the elderly are more lax, it actually allows for the creation of a more effective surgical space."
"Of course, this surgical plan, being gasless, will have a more limited operative field compared to the dome-shaped space created by a traditional pneumoperitoneum. This means the chief surgeon needs to have a very high level of laparoscopic skill."
Wu Ting spoke with eloquent confidence, analyzing the entire surgical plan clearly and explaining both its advantages and disadvantages.
Huo Yun and Zheng Duqing stared at Wu Ting’s diagram and listened to his analysis of the principles, feeling as if they were witnessing something groundbreaking.
"You can perform a laparoscopic appendectomy like this! The only drawback to this surgery is that it places extremely high demands on the chief surgeon’s technical skill."
"Wu Ting, well done!"
After listening, Jiang Ming also understood the feasibility of this Surgical Technique. Even if they transferred the patient to a higher-level hospital, they couldn’t get a better solution.
"Wu Ting, let’s go to the ward together right now and inform the patient’s family about our new, improved technique: the Suspended Gasless Abdominal Laparoscopic Appendectomy!"
Huo Yun’s voice was loud and excited. Director Zheng, Jiang Ming, and Song Qi were all eager to get started.
Xiao Xixi’s eyes lit up. With her head held high and her chest puffed out, she led the way.
Today, Wu Ting had truly performed a great service.
