Chapter 1506: Chapter 607: Strange Neck Stiffness, The Simplest Reflex Test Begins (2)
Zhou Can felt slightly more comfortable in his heart.
Following that, he gave this old lady, who was flaunting her official prestige, a lesson on the three views.
Not every doctor fears authority; when faced with a wealthy or powerful patient, they don’t just wag their tails. Most doctors have their own integrity and pride, adhering to the sanctity within their hearts.
If one day, doctors are forced to bow to power, that would be a tragedy for society.
Because it would also mean the allocation of medical resources would become unfair.
It is very necessary to uphold the interests and dignity of doctors.
"The old lady can’t speak well, young man, don’t take offense."
The old man quickly apologized to Zhou Can.
"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. As long as it’s clear." Zhou Can waved his hand. "Have you taken the child for a hospital examination? The medical standard in the Imperial capital should be the highest in the country. Why did you think of bringing the child all the way to Tuya Hospital?"
Zhou Can began to inquire about the reason.
Doctors not only have to learn how to treat illnesses but also how to protect themselves.
When encountering patients from other regions, it is very necessary to ask clearly.
"Let me explain!"
The owner of the inflatable castle took over the conversation again.
"After the child got injured, we immediately sent him to the nearest large hospital for treatment. After examination, the doctor initially diagnosed it as cervical nerve damage with high-level paraplegia. The hospital’s doctors recommended that we transfer to the Imperial Renhe Hospital for treatment."
The blood vessels and nerves of the cervical spine and the entire spine are extremely rich, especially the nerves, which, after leaving the brain, the nerve trunk inside the spine is equivalent to a major neural trunk line.
After millions of years of evolution, this neural trunk line is protected inside the spinal canal.
Under normal circumstances, it is not easily injured.
But these kinds of high falls are an exception.
Especially the cervical vertebrae at the neck, which are particularly fragile.
"What did the doctors at the Imperial Renhe Hospital say?"
Upon hearing that this child had been to at least two major hospitals, Zhou Can’s face grew more solemn.
Renhe Hospital has specialized spinal research departments and neurology departments, with the neurosurgery department even further divided. It can be said that Renhe Hospital’s research in the neurological field is undoubtedly among the top in the country.
If even that hospital couldn’t cure it, how could Zhou Can dare to challenge such a highly difficult case?
This child is probably difficult to cure.
"The doctors there also shook their heads after looking at it, gathered experts from multiple departments at Renhe Hospital for consultation, and conducted conservative treatment for a week, but there was still no effect. I happened to hear a friend recommend that there’s a young doctor named Zhou Can at Tuya Hospital who is very capable, and he might be able to cure this child. After discussing with the family, we finally decided to bring the child to have a look."
The owner of the inflatable castle spoke these words with a face full of bitterness.
A total of six people flew from the Imperial capital to Tuya Hospital, and just the travel costs, accommodation, and food were quite an expense.
Running an inflatable castle for a year probably wouldn’t earn enough to cover the child’s treatment.
"First, I must tell you, Renhe Hospital should be one of the top hospitals in the country in the neurological field. If even they say it’s incurable, we here are also likely unable to cure it. But since you’re here, we will certainly go all out. The child’s father is defending the border, and now his child is injured and paralyzed. We, as doctors, are willing to make our best effort to treat this child, striving to create a medical miracle so the hero can rest assured while defending the border."
Zhou Can also gave an attitude to the group.
At the same time, he gave them a preventative shot.
Doctors often like to speak about the illness more severely and discuss the consequences more negatively, hoping to lower the psychological expectations of the family and patient.
This can minimize medical disputes to the greatest extent.
"Thank you, Dr. Zhou! You don’t have to worry about the treatment costs. No matter how much we need to prepay, even if I have to sell my pots and pans, I’ll raise the necessary amount. By the way, we have insurance for the inflatable castle, so the insurance company can cover part of it."
The owner of the inflatable castle was trying hard to make amends.
At least his current attitude satisfied the family members.
The fashionable woman scarcely spoke, as if she were merely a vase following the owner. Whether she was his wife or secretary, no one knew.
Zhou Can began to conduct a preliminary physical examination for the child.
The child’s limbs were weak, limp, and felt a bit cold to the touch.
This indicated poor circulation at the extremities.
Nerve damage can affect circulation.
Moreover, if nerve damage is long-term without recovery, there is a more terrifying issue. The muscles throughout the body will gradually atrophy, ultimately resulting in a state similar to patients with motor neuron disease, with almost no possibility of recovery.
Early intervention, along with helping the patient to massage the muscles of the body and maintain muscle vitality, is very necessary to slow down muscle atrophy as much as possible.
"What day did the child get injured?"
"On the 3rd of this month."
"So, it’s been about eight days since the injury, right?"
"Yes!"
Zhou Can examined the child’s condition while inquiring about related information.
The child’s neck showed no external injuries, but on touch, there was a certain degree of stiffness on the right side, and it was soft on the left.
This was a very strange phenomenon.
Because under normal circumstances, neck stiffness does not differentiate between sides.
Zhou Can could spot this anomaly, and he believed the experts at Renhe Hospital would surely notice it too.
Mere speculation about the cause of such a strange phenomenon would not be very meaningful.
He decided to first look at the inspection results from Renhe Hospital.
For example, the electromyography signal conduction test.
This is also a conventional means of testing neural pathways.
By examining the strength and presence of electromyography signals, one can determine whether there is a problem with the nerves.
"Did you bring the examination reports from the previous two hospitals?"
"Everything is packed in these two bags. This is from Chaoyang Hospital, and this is from Renhe Hospital."
The child’s mother handed the two document bags to Zhou Can.
Zhou Can took them and looked at them carefully.
The first hospital performed blood tests, neck CT, electromyography signal tests, and other examinations for the child.
The blood test results were basically normal, with only slightly lower hemoglobin.
This could indicate that the child is anemic.
Nowadays, many children are picky eaters, or even treat snacks as staples.
This has led to them being perpetually in a state of subhealth.
The neck CT showed no obvious abnormalities, only a slight local hematoma. After eight days of treatment, the hematoma in the child’s neck had long since resolved.
This largely ruled out the possibility of the neck hematoma pressing on the nerves and causing paralysis.
Because if it was truly caused by hematoma pressure, the boy’s paralysis symptoms would gradually alleviate as the hematoma resolved.
Renhe Hospital also conducted a brain-enhanced CT for the boy, probably worried about potential brain trauma.
Unfortunately, there was still nothing discovered.
Zhou Can stared at the child’s examination results, repeatedly scrutinizing and comparing them in detail, hoping to find some clues.
Many experts had already examined them and found nothing wrong.
After looking for more than twenty minutes, he also found nothing.
No external injuries, nor was there anything abnormal detected in the head and neck. There were no fractures or even cracks found in the neck.
Where is the problem?
Faced with such an extremely difficult case, Zhou Can felt a sense of powerlessness.
His medical skills are impressive, but certainly not able to cure every ailment.
The only suspicion now is that the cervical spine suffered severe trauma during the high fall, resulting in disrupted nerve signals to the rest of the body below the neck.
"Come, help me support the child to sit on the bedside, with his legs naturally dangling."
Zhou Can directed the family members to help support the child to sit up.
You could see the child’s head drooping forward weakly, as if it had lost support.
A number of family members and medical staff gathered around to watch, all curious to see how Dr. Zhou would diagnose the child.
"Who has a percussion hammer? Let me borrow one."
Zhou Can asked the other medical staff.
"I have one, I have one. Director Zhou, would this work?"
Dr. Xie hurriedly handed a percussion hammer to Zhou Can.
It’s a chance to win favor with Director Zhou, not to be missed.
"It will do."
Zhou Can took it and struck the child’s knee.
The knee jerk reflex test is not commonly used in clinical medicine, but Zhou Can never diagnoses according to convention, and he decided to use it this time.
