Chapter 48: After Becoming A Beginner, One Sees The Whole Journey
“Professor Tong, Professor Chen said you two are friends. He was supposed to be off today, but when he heard you were coming, he specifically came here to wait for you,” said Lin Qianlong, his pockmarked face and short chin splitting into a wide smile, his Adam’s apple almost showing.
If it weren’t for the policy of going down to the countryside, Lin Qianlong wouldn’t have gotten to know Professor Tong Yuan’an of Hand Surgery.
“Director Lin, you do your thing. I’m here with Xiao Peng to represent Orthopedics on standby in the Emergency Department…”
“Song Ge even waited for me specially, that’s truly great honor,” said Tong Yuan’an, his chubby face puffed up, smiling harmlessly.
The so-called Orthopedics standby in the Emergency Department is actually to learn from top teaching hospitals, where Orthopedics sets up an orthopedic emergency ‘department’ in the Emergency Department. If there are orthopedic emergencies, orthopedic doctors will receive them on-site as soon as possible.
Tong Yuan’an said he wanted to work on tendon suturing, and Peng Haibo dared not not support Tong Yuan’an’s work.
“Hello Professor Tong, my name is Zeng Huanqi, you can call me Xiao Zeng.”
“Professor Tong, my name is Zhang Tiesheng, you can call me Xiao Tie…”
Zeng Huanqi and the others also came forward for a round of greetings, and after getting to know each other, they all returned to their respective places.
In the lounge, Han Xiaoping and Lu Cheng, who were on duty, went to check on patients in the general ward, leaving only Tong Yuan’an and a few others.
Tong Yuan’an crossed his legs, enjoying the coffee offered by Peng Kun, and asked, “Young Master Kun, that’s what everyone calls you, right?”
Peng Kun immediately said, “Teacher Tong, those are just other Big Brothers teasing me. How could I be considered a Young Master? It’s more like I’ve learned very little. Please don’t take it seriously.”
“I love learning the most.”
“But if you want to have a good time in Long County, I should be able to find the right way if you point me in a direction.”
“Do you have any cadavers?” Tong Yuan’an asked, looking harmless.
“Pfft…” A few drops of coffee sprayed from Chen Song’s mouth as he snickered.
“Cough cough…” Peng Kun also coughed twice, “Teacher Tong, that’s too advanced, we can’t get that.”
Top surgical professors most enjoyed dissecting cadavers. Every dissection required utmost reverence, yet countless people still flocked to it, but cadavers were in short supply.
“Then what stage have you reached with your suturing technique? Can you suture tofu?” Tong Yuan’an asked.
“Barely,” Peng Kun said humbly for a moment.
Tong Yuan’an was stunned, “If it’s only barely possible, then I don’t think you need to follow my class. You won’t be able to learn tendon suturing.”
“From shallow suturing of tofu to suturing a tourniquet with tension, even those with the greatest talent would need about three months of dedicated practice.”
“After three months, I’ll be gone, and you still won’t have reached the beginner standard for tendon suturing…”
Tong Yuan’an completely buried Peng Kun’s modesty.
Peng Kun immediately said, “Teacher Tong, I’ve practiced shallow tofu suturing quite a bit, but when I suture the tourniquet, I often tear it.”
Tong Yuan’an directly advised, “That’s because your force is not uniform. You haven’t controlled the force and direction well; this takes time to practice…”
Peng Kun asked, “Professor Tong, to get started with tendon suturing, do I absolutely need to meet the basic skills standard for suturing techniques? Can I not suture if I don’t meet it?”
“You can, of course. You just need to explain to the patient clearly that it’s easy to break and they might limp afterward, and if the patient is willing to accept it, then you can.”
“If the patient agrees, unconditionally agrees, and actively requests it, that’s also an indication for surgery,” Tong Yuan’an said sarcastically.
Peng Kun quickly asked with a smile, “Teacher Tong, so if I can suture a stretched tourniquet, does that mean I can do all tendon suturing?”
“Snap!” Tong Yuan’an smoothly lit a cigarette and tossed one to Chen Song and Peng Kun, saying, “Who told you that? The layperson in the Emergency Department?”
“You teach your class, don’t make veiled attacks,” Chen Song raised his chin.
Peng Kun quickly shook his head, “I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking… Teacher Tong.”
Tong Yuan’an blew out a smoke ring, but the expanding ring couldn’t hide his face.
Tong Yuan’an, who looked deceptively simple, was extremely aloof, “If you can suture a stretched tourniquet, your basic suturing skills are sufficient to learn the modified Kessler technique. If you can suture a floating foam board, you can very comfortably learn the Tsuge Suturing Technique.”
“Of course, before the floating foam board, you can also get started with the Tsuge Suturing Technique.”
“However, to learn the modified Tang method and pass the clinical practice with a good success rate, if you can’t suture artificial small blood vessels or the small blood vessels inside a chicken leg, then don’t even think about it.”
“If you continue practicing at your current pace, it should take another two or three years to master tendon suturing in the upper limbs.”
Peng Kun’s shocked.jpg, he looked up, stunned, his expression stiff, his mouth twitching, his somewhat delicate face contorting slightly, “Lu, Brother Lu he…”
Tong Yuan’an took a deep breath but didn’t give Young Master Kun any face, and with straightforward, light laughter, said, “Yes… it’s one month for him, and two or three years for you. Is there a problem with that?”
“If you were Lu Cheng, you wouldn’t need to learn from me at all!”
Tong Yuan’an had performed very precise calculations in his mind.
Peng Kun would need three years to master tendon suturing, and it would require undivided attention and sufficient diligence, otherwise, it would take even longer.
Peng Kun’s general learning curve was evident, and Tong Yuan’an had gone through the same thing back then, so he knew the intricacies very well.
Peng Kun felt a bit dejected, “Teacher Tong, when I suture a stretched tourniquet, I can barely complete half of it. Can the time be shorter?”
Tong Yuan’an said, “Well, it will probably be a few months shorter… it specifically depends on your own progress… anyway, it’s roughly like that.”
“I suggest that from now on, you buy a large quantity of tourniquets and operating boards online, then go into seclusion for about half a month to twenty days, and then you can come out of seclusion to learn the modified Kessler technique,” Tong Yuan’an’s advice was specific.
Tong Yuan’an ignored the despair on Peng Kun’s face and began to speak formally, “When you learn from me, you can’t joke around. At least I won’t joke with you.”
“If you try to practice before meeting the standard, I’ll run away. If you work hard, I’ll teach you carefully.”
“Actually, with your current basic suturing skills, it’s sufficient for you to do flap donor site preparation and flap suturing in your Orthopedics department.”
“But if you want to be the chief surgeon for flap transplantation surgery, then the basic suturing skills are still unavoidable. Mastery of suturing techniques is the lifeblood of us hand surgeons…”
“If you can’t master suturing techniques, you can’t learn them; there are no shortcuts.”
Peng Kun left, his back somewhat dejected, his expression a mixture of distress and sudden realization…
The sudden realization was that Lu Cheng hadn’t sought revenge on him, and the distress was that he still needed about twenty days of secluded, arduous practice to get started with tendon suturing, yet Lu Cheng had already mastered tendon suturing in a month.
This, damn it, was too discouraging…
“Old Tong, weren’t you a bit too much?” Chen Song asked with a half-smile.
Tong Yuan’an said:
“If I say a few nice words to him, he won’t learn any faster.”
“Which of the students in our department hasn’t suffered more PUA than him?”
“It happens all the time that junior brothers defeat senior brothers, and students defeat their teachers. In such situations, where can you go to seek justice?”
Chen Song paused and asked, “You still can’t beat Professor Zhou, right?”
Tong Yuan’an rolled his eyes, “It’s not that I’m more capable than my Master, but rather that Xie Ziyuan in our department took a godson student, and now he walks on eggshells every day… constantly being PUA’d by Professor Liao…”
Xie Ziyuan is an Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, while Professor Liao is a Professor and a Big Boss.
Chen Song was speechless, and after his mouth opened and closed for a while, he said, “That… is truly… uncomfortable!~”
