Zhang Xiao lifted the girl’s eyelid, exposing her eyeball. Liu Banxia took two deep breaths before taking the syringe from Shi Lei.
Even though a decision had been made, Liu Banxia’s heart was pounding with anxiety. This was entirely different from on-the-spot abdominal or thoracic hemorrhage control procedures; the operation site was the brain, a highly risky area.
Just when the needle was about to touch the patient’s eyeball, Liu Banxia withdrew his hand again.
"Banxia, you can do it. Just insert the needle from the upper outer edge of the eyeball to avoid more nerves and reach the location of the hydrocephalus," Zhang Xiao said.
"It’s similar to the feeling of an abdominal puncture. Your touch is so good; you don’t need to drain too much fluid. We just need to resolve the brain herniation and buy us ti to perform drainage in the operating room."
By then, the monitor had been connected, but it was just blaring alarms non-stop.
Liu Banxia nodded, holding his breath. There really wasn’t much ti to consider those things now.
As he began inserting the needle, he could clearly feel the position of the patient’s eyeball relative to the needle. His eyes were fixed on the needle tip, his mind recalling the patient’s brain CT images.
He had to construct a three-dinsional image in his mind, simultaneously visualizing his needle advancing within this image.
While there was a slight sensation as the needle tip pierced the tissue, it beca very faint after penetrating about a centiter. Perhaps it was due to his nervousness, or maybe because this part of the tissue was so soft.
Sweat broke out on Liu Banxia’s forehead. With every milliter the needle tip advanced, it felt as if a portion of his strength was drained away.
He knew he shouldn’t hesitate during such a procedure; even a slight pause could alter the needle’s trajectory upon further insertion.
Yet, no one dared to remind Liu Banxia or rush him.
This must have stemd from their absolute trust in him, because his hands were steady. Even though the needle advanced slowly, in Zhang Xiao’s judgnt, Liu Banxia’s hand remained perfectly still, maintaining its position.
In fact, it wasn’t just Liu Banxia; even Zhang Xiao, who was holding the patient’s eyelid open, felt his own fingers growing numb.
He was a neurosurgeon; the demands on his hands were equally high. He knew this numbness was due to tension, causing ischemia in his peripheral blood vessels.
At this mont, Liu Banxia’s hand stopped, and his other hand gently drew back the plunger.
All eyes were fixed on the syringe, everyone hoping to see fluid drawn out, not brain tissue or other matter.
"Water..." Xu Yino couldn’t help but exclaim, then quickly covered her mouth.
Seeing the fluid being aspirated, Liu Banxia also let out a long sigh of relief. His hand remained just as steady and slow throughout the aspiration process. Once slightly more than three milliliters had been drawn, the monitor’s alarms finally stopped.
"The patient’s vital signs are stabilizing," Zhou Qian announced.
Liu Banxia held his breath again. He still had to withdraw the needle. Any sudden movent could damage nerves or brain tissue.
"Banxia, well done! Quick, get her to the operating room!"
After Liu Banxia had pulled out the entire needle, Zhang Xiao patted his shoulder firmly.
Liu Banxia, who had been kneeling, collapsed like a deflated balloon from the pat, left gasping heavily for breath.
DING! Ergency Rescue Complete!
Gained: 500 Experience Points, 300 Diagnosis Skill Proficiency, 400 Dressing Change Technique Skill Proficiency, 3 Glory Points.
Mission Rating: Perfect. Reward: Additional 500 Experience Points, 500 Diagnosis Skill Proficiency, 700 Dressing Change Technique Skill Proficiency, 10 Glory Points.
Liu Banxia was now utterly exhausted. Even though the system’s rewards were generous, he still never wanted to perform such a procedure a second ti.
"Kid, that was incredible!"
"President Liu, amazing."
"Teacher Liu, can you tell us what that felt like?"
The first two praises sounded hazy to Liu Banxia, but he heard the last question clearly.
"What did it feel like? Like I was about to die," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile. "Let lie here a bit longer. I don’t have an ounce of strength left."
Only then did everyone notice the large damp patch on Liu Banxia’s shirt and the sweat drenching his forehead.
Indeed, his current state was the result of the last straw breaking the cal’s back. His mind hadn’t relaxed for a mont ever since he handled the Clostridium difficile patient earlier today. Moreover, as the chief resident, the pressure was unrelenting. He’d had a lot on his mind lately. Even though he had just taken two consecutive days off not long ago, the pressure remained substantial.
Liu Banxia lay on the ground for a full five minutes before wiping the sweat from his forehead and climbing to his feet. He was reluctant to exchange points for a Vitality Elixir to replenish his strength; it seed too wasteful.
"You rest for a while; I’ll keep an eye on things here," Shi Lei said.
Liu Banxia waved his hand. "It’s nothing, I just got too tense earlier. Get a bag of glucose; I need to quench my thirst."
Without a word, a nurse rushed to the dicine cabinet and brought him a bag of glucose.
Liu Banxia casually bit the bag open and drank, downing nearly half of it in one go. Only then did he feel sowhat revitalized.
"I still don’t know if I damaged any of the patient’s nerves. We’ll have to check after the surgery," Liu Banxia said.
"You did exceptionally well. It was an ergency, the cath labs on the first floor were all occupied, so this was our only option," Shi Lei said.
"Regardless, you saved a life. Go lie down in the break room; you didn’t get much sleep last night anyway. If you collapse from exhaustion, we’ll be even more swamped."
"Then I won’t stand on ceremony," Liu Banxia nodded. "I’ll lie down for 20 minutes. Call if anything cos up."
There was no need for false modesty or refusal. His body was genuinely tired; the exhaustion following such intense concentration was far worse than that from physical labor.
Lying on the bed in the break room, he finished the remaining glucose.
This was practically a surgeon’s essential nutritional supplent. Whenever extre fatigue set in, drinking a bag could help one push on a little longer.
As he lay there, he reflected. The main reason for his current state, he realized, was that he invested too much emotion in his patients.
It wasn’t that being empathetic was bad, but one needed to maintain a certain degree of detachnt. Going too far was as bad as not going far enough; if one beca too invested, it was impossible to maintain an objective mindset. Even if I verbally insisted that patients should make their own choices, I often, intentionally or unintentionally, guided them to a certain extent. This needed to change. Otherwise, I would inevitably beco more exhausted in the future, and I might even lead patients to make wrong choices. No one could guarantee a doctor’s advice was always correct, and potential complications could always arise.
He didn’t even lie down for the full twenty minutes before walking out of the break room.
"President Liu, not resting a bit longer? Everything’s calm now," Wang Chao said.
"I can’t stay lying down," Liu Banxia replied. "Even out here, I’ll just be sitting. The actual work still falls to you guys."
"I’m not afraid of work; in fact, I’m full of fighting spirit right now," Wang Chao said. "We just have to tough it out. Even when I beco an attending in the future, it’ll be the sa grind."
He continued, "These are the sunless days; we just get through them however we can. You’re about to escape this sea of suffering. I don’t even know when I’ll make it to shore."
"If you want to reach shore, that’s an option," Liu Banxia asked with a smile. "How about a stint in the ICU to toughen up?"
Wang Chao’s head shook like a rattle-drum. "Pediatrics, ICU—I’m not going to either of those, no matter what. I wouldn’t go even if it ant getting my attending contract a year later."
"Is it really that bad? You need to set a good example for the interns," Liu Banxia said helplessly.
"I used to think the ER was the most formative. Actually, this place isn’t bad either. But if you really want to temper your character, the ICU is the place to be."
"Once the ICU ward is fully set up and expanded, they’ll definitely establish a chief resident position there. We’ll see then if anyone else is interested. My thinking is we should fill it internally from our Ergency Center, no need to recruit from outside."
"Heh, well, I’m still not going," Wang Chao said. "A patient with a hand abrasion just ca in. I have to go see them." With that, he hurried off.
Liu Banxia grinned. The re ntion of the ICU makes people pale. He wondered when the hospital would finally be able to fully staff all positions; then everyone’s workload might ease up a bit. Right now, the Ergency Center was just built according to the initial plan; it was short not only of specialized departnts but also of personnel.
"President Liu, Director Zhou just finished surgery and is asking for you," a nurse reported, running over.
Liu Banxia had no ti for idle thoughts and hurried towards Zhou Shuwen’s office.
"I heard about it as soon as I got out of surgery. The rescue of this patient was beautifully done," Zhou Shuwen said with a smile.
"Director, I wouldn’t have dared to attempt it if Zhang Xiao hadn’t guided ," Liu Banxia said.
"No need for modesty with . How are you? Have you recovered?" Zhou Shuwen asked.
Liu Banxia nodded. "I’ve recovered, Director. There’s a patient with a complicated situation; I’d appreciate your input."
Then Liu Banxia briefly described the situation of the patient with Clostridium difficile.
Zhou Shuwen frowned. "This is a tough one. I agree with your assessnt; we can only wait. Even if the patient’s family opts for a fecal microbiota transplant, you must explain everything thoroughly."
"There aren’t many cases treated this way dostically. If the family does choose to proceed, you must keep detailed records."
"This represents a significant approach to resolving intestinal issues. However, the current risk factor is sowhat high, and there are many variables, so we must be extrely careful."
Liu Banxia nodded. Hearing Zhou Shuwen say this, he had to accept the inevitable. There aren’t that many miracles in this world; one can’t gamble with a patient’s life.
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