Chapter 14: How Did You Improve So Much?!
“I can handle it if the patient is willing to stay and have it done,” Lu Cheng replied with a smile.
“Brother Han, I know what you mean, but you should know how great it is to have days without night shifts?”
Han Xiaoping was one year older than Lu Cheng and also an attending physician. He was easy-going and one of the few in the department who genuinely treated Lu Cheng like an older brother.
Han Xiaoping had a square face, so his face looked very large from the side. He said in a low voice, “Xiao Lu, you’re not on support shift or day shift. You can refuse this kind of surgery.”
“Your on-call hours have already been very, very long. There’s no need to push yourself so hard. Can you finish the surgery?”
Han Xiaoping belonged to the “lying flat” faction in the department. He did as much as he could to get by and clearly understood his role as a referral doctor in the Emergency Department.
He was very responsible when he was on duty, but if you wanted him to work overtime, he wouldn’t budge unless it was a “support shift.”
“It’s fine, Brother Fang… Brother Ping!” Lu Cheng almost blurted out the nickname for Big Brother Fang Tou.
“I’ll go check on the patient I operated on for tendon suturing earlier. Brother Ping, call me when you’ve finished talking to the patient and getting their consent.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Brother Ping. I’ll buy you a drink later.”
Lu Cheng knew that, given Han Xiaoping’s personality, if he showed the slightest hesitation, Han Xiaoping would want to send the patient away.
After all, if he were to go into the operating room, Han Xiaoping would have to follow.
In principle, it was the ward doctor and the support shift doctor who would enter the operating room for emergency surgeries. Director Lin Qianlong would only be called if the emergency was unmanageable.
For tendon suturing, a support shift doctor wouldn’t be of much help, but since Lu Cheng couldn’t do it alone, he had to ask Han Xiaoping to assist.
Han Xiaoping shook his head, “Xiao Lu, this isn’t about buying you a drink… Forget it, the more I explain, the more confusing it gets. I’ll treat you to coffee.”
“You’ll be able to sleep after drinking coffee tonight, right?” Han Xiaoping asked Lu Cheng.
“Absolutely no problem,” Lu Cheng replied and went to the ward.
…
The patient who had undergone tendon suturing earlier was practicing gripping exercises by the window.
After tendon suturing, as long as the technique is good and the method is appropriate, functional exercises need to be performed as soon as possible. This is one of the rapid recovery concepts in orthopedics and hand surgery to prevent tendon and muscle adhesion.
He heard footsteps and turned his head slightly. Seeing that it was Lu Cheng, his smile became kind. “Doctor Lu, didn’t Doctor Han say you were off today?”
Lu Cheng replied, “Another patient with a tendon injury came in, similar to your situation. I’m here to operate and also to check on you.”
“How are you feeling? Is it not as painful today when you do your rehabilitation exercises as it was a few days ago?”
The young man showed Lu Cheng his flexion and extension abilities, then gave a thumbs-up with his healed hand and grinned, “Doctor Lu, please don’t be mad at me for one thing. I sent a video of my postoperative recovery to a friend.”
“My friend knows orthopedic doctors at other hospitals, and they said my recovery is very good, and the surgery quality is very high. My flexion and extension functions will basically not be affected in the future.”
Now, it’s not just the era of self-media; communication is also developed. It’s no longer the information-blocked era of many years ago.
It’s not uncommon for patients to ask their doctor friends about their condition before and after surgery, and it’s not something the attending physician can prevent.
Lu Cheng felt a slight headache: “It seems like you still don’t quite trust Professor Chen, Big Brother?”
“This is actually not right. Even if you think Professor Chen is a bit showy for not operating on you, you shouldn’t doubt his technical skills, should you?”
“Professor Chen said your recovery progress is very good.” Lu Cheng didn’t boast about his own skills, but he was very happy in his heart.
The young man rolled his eyes and muttered, “No matter how good Professor Chen’s technique is, someone as aloof as him can’t bring me much benefit.”
“It’s you, Doctor Lu, though. I’ve heard people say many times these past few days that no one else at People’s Hospital dares to do my tendon injury…”
“I didn’t expect you, so young, to be able to master such a unique skill.” The young man’s tone became kind.
Lu Cheng could solve his problems, so in his eyes, he was a good doctor.
Lu Cheng replied, “How is this mastering a unique skill? If I could learn all of Professor Chen’s tendon suturing techniques, then I could say that in the county.”
“Let’s not talk about that. Your postoperative recovery is going well now, and your wound has healed nicely.”
“You’ll be discharged tomorrow at noon.”
“After discharge, continue with oral medication. When you get back, perform standard functional exercises. Remember not to do excessive weight-bearing exercises within a month. I’ve detailed the weight for you.”
“Do you remember?”
The young man nodded and sat down on the blue and white striped bedding of the hospital bed. “I remember, I remember. Doctor Lu, you’ve explained it at least ten times these past few days. I can recite it backward.”
“No!~” Lu Cheng’s expression was fearful. “You can not recite it, but please, absolutely do not recite it backward.”
“Brother, the weight is gradually increasing. If you recite it backward, aren’t you asking for trouble?”
The young man chuckled, “Doctor Lu, I’m joking. My body is my own. Would I play such a big joke on myself?”
“Thank you, Doctor Lu…”
“It’s nothing. Then it’s settled. Tomorrow at noon, you’ll be discharged with oral medication… Remember to do precise rehabilitation when you get back, and don’t push yourself!~” Lu Cheng continued to nag.
Doctors must be cautious and meticulous. No amount of nagging about medical orders is excessive.
The chief surgeon doesn’t fear a smart patient, but fears a patient who thinks they’re smart and acts on their own. This was Lu Cheng’s first surgery, so he had to explain it exceptionally carefully.
【 By repeatedly and precisely explaining the patient’s postoperative rehabilitation training plan, it is possible to a certain extent to avoid ‘overtraining’ and ‘substandard training’ during rehabilitation, gaining 0.1 Skill Points】
Another drop in the bucket.
…
After Lu Cheng left, another person in the observation ward said, “Xiao Zhou, the doctor who’s looking after you is very good. He’s careful and patient, and he’s handsome too.”
The person called Xiao Zhou nodded, “Doctor Lu is indeed very good, very patient, and explained things very meticulously! His attitude is also good.”
“Of course, his surgical skills are also excellent. My doctor friend said that Doctor Lu must have used the most suitable surgical procedure, which is why I can recover so quickly.”
“He said a lot of technical jargon, but it was too complicated, and I didn’t understand it. The summary is that he’s very good…”
After Lu Cheng and Han Xiaoping entered the operating room together, the anesthesiologist in the emergency operating room had already anesthetized the patient.
This time, Lu Cheng was much more composed than during his first surgery, and his movements were more unrestrained.
After all, his technical skill had improved somewhat compared to before.
【 Suturing Skill: Tendon Suturing Technique （ Proficiency 2/10 ）（ Skill Points -2 ）, Modified Kessler Suturing Technique （ Proficiency 3/10 ）（ Skill Points -3 ）】
【 Current Remaining Skill Points: 0.9】
Lu Cheng operated with ease in the chief surgeon’s position. Han Xiaoping watched carefully for a while and then realized that this was beyond his current learning scope. He then started looking around and even struck up a conversation with the circulating nurse…
“Xiao Xue, when are you and your boyfriend getting married?”
“We broke up,” Xue Xue replied with a cold voice.
“Broke up? Why?” Han Xiaoping was stunned.
“Scumbag!~” Xue Xue looked down at her phone and cursed.
Han Xiaoping: “Uh…”
While speechless, Han Xiaoping suddenly straightened his square head and pretended to watch the surgery diligently, carefully assisting Lu Cheng with the modified Kessler suturing.
Lu Cheng didn’t notice Han Xiaoping’s odd behavior and continued to meticulously handle the suturing surface.
After about two full minutes, Professor Chen Song’s slightly suspicious voice reached his ears: “Hmm? Your proficiency, how has it improved so much since last time?”
Chen Song’s flat eyes widened, his eye slits almost widening on their own, and his earlobes almost came off from him rubbing them.
Even Chen Song was somewhat stunned by the speed of Lu Cheng’s progress.
Lu Cheng looked up and said with a relaxed smile, “Teacher Chen, you taught me well…”
Lu Cheng was not surprised that Chen Song could discern the specific level of his technique, so he told the truth.
Although most of the technical advancements came from adding points, at least 0.1 was due to Chen Song’s guidance.
“Teacher Chen, why did you come over?”
