Chapter 174: Famous Overnight!
On October 14th, Thursday, it was lightly raining, and the night was already deep.
Lu Cheng, who had just gotten into the elevator, rushed down to the first floor. To save time, he didn’t even go to the underground garage and rode his electric scooter from the first floor to Long County People’s Hospital in the rain!
After entering the Emergency Department, the drizzle stopped. Lu Cheng didn’t bother with his wet hair and directly rushed towards the General Surgery operating room.
Upon entering, he grabbed two sets of surgical gowns, one to wipe himself down, and the other to wear.
Six minutes later, Lu Cheng arrived at Room 7 in the Surgery Building’s operating room. After pushing open the air-tight door, four or five heads turned towards him.
“Director Du,” Lu Cheng announced his arrival.
“Hurry up and wash your hands and get on the table,” Director Du Qiang’s voice was gentle but unquestionable. He glanced at Lu Cheng and then continued to focus on the surgery.
As Lu Cheng turned, Fang Baorui and Dou Siyuan, who were next to Du Qiang, felt a buzzing in their heads.
After exchanging glances, they saw confusion in each other’s eyes.
Didn’t they say that Du Qiang and Lu Cheng from the Emergency Department were enemies?
Didn’t they say that Director Du Qiang had smashed his desk corner when Lu Cheng was on duty?
Didn’t they say that Director Du Qiang was going to target Lu Cheng?
How come Director Du Qiang’s phone call brought Lu Cheng into the operating room in less than fifteen minutes?
Which of the rumors in the hospital was true?
Their internal questions went unanswered.
The operating room and the obstetrics and gynecology department were both gossip hotspots. Circulating Nurse Cao Yingying, who couldn’t quite figure out the situation, asked, “Director Du, this Doctor Lu, he…?”
“He really came?”
Du Qiang, being on the operating table, couldn’t personally make the call, so the circulating nurse making the call was routine in the operating room.
The operating room was one of the places where gossip spread the fastest. Almost the very next day after Lu Cheng’s last shift, the incredible news of Du Qiang smashing his office desk like a tough guy had spread throughout the operating room.
Everyone knew that Lu Cheng was probably in for some bad luck, being targeted by the director of General Surgery. Would he have any good days ahead?
Furthermore, General Surgery often took over surgeries from the Emergency Department. Procedures that were routinely performed in the Emergency Department, like appendicitis, were now handled by General Surgery.
When Cao Yingying heard Du Qiang ask her to call Lu Cheng, her head felt a bit strained. Now, seeing Lu Cheng arrive, she momentarily wondered if Lu Cheng was a masochist.
Did he have a tendency for self-abuse?
Du Qiang couldn’t be bothered with her. For Du Qiang, a circulating nurse could be replaced if she was unsatisfactory.
The same was true for the hospital, but Du Qiang couldn’t be replaced.
Two minutes later, Lu Cheng washed his hands and returned, proceeding to wash his hands and change into surgical attire as usual.
When Lu Cheng got on the table, the anesthesiologist Liang Huayao, who was initially concerned about the patient’s vital signs, couldn’t resist his curiosity and moved his chair closer to the operating table, wanting to hear what Du Qiang would say to Lu Cheng.
Du Qiang asked, “How is it? Can you handle it?”
Lu Cheng didn’t immediately start working; he asked, “Director Du, how did you talk to the patient?”
Du Qiang replied, “This was a call from a friend of mine; otherwise, I wouldn’t have called you.”
“Are there any scans?” Lu Cheng asked.
“We took a CT scan,” Du Qiang replied.
Lu Cheng turned around, crossed his arms, and began to meticulously examine the scans on the imaging viewer.
He stopped responding.
After about another minute and a half, Lu Cheng approached the operating table again and said, “Give me the hemostat.”
Liang Huayao watched as Du Qiang actually handed the hemostat he was holding to Lu Cheng.
However, unlike the bewildered expressions on Fang Baorui, Dou Siyuan, and circulating nurse Cao Yingying from General Surgery, the seasoned Liang Huayao immediately saw through the deal between Lu Cheng and Du Qiang.
He looked between the two with a playful expression.
Then, he quickly kicked the ground with his right foot, returning his chair to the anesthesia monitor, and started making urgent calls: “Blood bank, blood, quickly… the patient is almost gone… blood pressure 75.”
Although the systolic pressure was actually 79, Liang Huayao deliberately lowered it by four points to get the blood bank to prioritize.
Lu Cheng stood on the opposite side of Du Qiang. After Lu Cheng took the hemostat, Du Qiang still wanted to explain something to Lu Cheng.
But Lu Cheng’s left hand pushed Du Qiang’s hand away slightly, and then he plunged his left hand into the patient’s tangled intestines.
Du Qiang said nothing, nor did the expected criticism from Fang Baorui and the others materialize.
Blindly controlling bleeding is very difficult because you don’t know where the bleeding point is.
The preoperative CT scan also couldn’t precisely predict the bleeding point, meaning you had to rely on experience or other cues to anticipate the bleeding source.
Blind operation, blind exploration.
Of course, before Lu Cheng arrived, Du Qiang had already done his best to manage the visible bleeding points, giving Lu Cheng time to explore.
Lu Cheng’s left hand fumbled around as if he were “feeling for clams,” looking rather mysterious.
After a full three minutes, Lu Cheng’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had sensed something. The hemostat in his right hand moved inward along his left arm.
After more than ten seconds, a crisp click sounded.
At the same time, the air-tight door of the operating room was pushed open, and an aunt called out, “Plasma and red blood cells have arrived.”
Liang Huayao and the circulating nurse had been waiting for this. They quickly went to verify and immediately began administering the transfusion.
The only fundamental way to save a patient with severe blood loss is through blood transfusion. Without it, even the best surgeon’s skills might be useless.
The result of not being able to keep up with the demand would certainly be insufficient surgical time.
Just as Liang Huayao and the circulating nurse finished administering the donated plasma and red blood cells, Lu Cheng and Du Qiang spoke again.
“It’s about done. The patient’s major bleeding points were likely the left renal artery and vein.”
“Currently, the intra-abdominal hematoma is under control.”
“Director Du, the rest can be handed over to the Urology Department for consultation,” Lu Cheng said.
“There is no damage to the patient’s solid organs, and bowel injury is something your General Surgery is most adept at, so I can’t be of further help.”
Du Qiang nodded, “Don’t leave yet.”
Lu Cheng stepped aside, ceding his position to Fang Baorui and Dou Siyuan from General Surgery.
“Beep, beep, beep…” The electric sphygmomanometer immediately began to work.
The measurement results came out twenty seconds later: “79/65mmHg!”
The crimson light flashed, but to Liang Huayao, this was not good news.
The last time he measured the blood pressure was two minutes ago, and the systolic pressure was 79 then.
When the patient entered the operating room, the systolic pressure was 100. In less than thirty minutes, it had dropped by 21.
At this rate, he estimated the current systolic pressure might be only 75.
The fact that it hadn’t dropped now likely meant the hemostasis was effective. The drop in blood pressure was even less than 1mmHg, so it was outside the sphygmomanometer’s measurement range.
Since it was a limb blood pressure measurement and not central venous pressure, it wasn’t as sensitive.
Lu Cheng didn’t wait by the operating table but walked back to the imaging viewer to conduct a more detailed evaluation of the patient’s preoperative CT results.
When Lu Cheng had gone to the imaging viewer earlier, he had already upgraded his CT scan interpretation skill from proficient to （ Specialized Level 10/20 ）（ Skill Points – 20 ）!
With the CT scan interpretation skill improved, Lu Cheng turned back to carefully read the details of the CT plain films, and he found many more points to observe.
From the CT scan before the patient entered the operating room, he could not only see the rupture on the renal artery but also the ischemic damage to the intestines.
He could even faintly see the trajectory of the aortic arch, iliac artery, and iliac vein.
If he weren’t wearing a sterile surgical gown and sterile gloves, Lu Cheng would have wanted to rub his eyes.
Could so much be seen from just a regular CT scan?
Why hadn’t he noticed it before?
Of course, Lu Cheng didn’t dwell on it. Being unskilled was the original sin.
【 Proficient （ 10/10 ） CT Scan Interpretation 】 was indeed useful, but it was certainly no match for a specialized level skill.
The more he examined, the more issues Lu Cheng could identify on the CT scan level, such as multiple bleeding points in the intestines, intestinal ruptures, and signs of intestinal edema.
These things seemed to form a three-dimensional structure, presented in Lu Cheng’s field of vision, each in its own direction.
Lu Cheng watched for about another two minutes, and then Director Du Qiang finally located the hemostat.
Then he sniffed and said, “So it was the renal artery and renal vein causing the trouble!~ This is located in the retroperitoneum.”
“It’s usually not easy to stop,” Du Qiang said to Fang Baorui and Dou Siyuan.
Fang Baorui was inclined to ask how Lu Cheng managed it if it couldn’t be easily stopped.
Initially, there was no clear field of vision.
Naturally, in such a situation, Fang Baorui knew that Du Qiang’s remark wasn’t asking for an answer but stating a fact.
The reason Du Qiang had been unable to stop the bleeding.
Dou Siyuan had a solemn expression, gave Lu Cheng a slightly serious look, and then continued to diligently act as a humble assistant.
Lu Cheng returned to the operating table.
He looked back at the surgical field. There was still a small amount of oozing blood in the surgical field, but this level of oozing was within the normal range of surgical bleeding.
No special intervention was needed.
Even if the left kidney were removed, this patient should still survive.
However, with so many arteries in the patient’s abdomen, if Du Qiang had to precisely locate the renal artery in the retroperitoneum, the patient would likely have been claimed by the King of Hell already.
“Director Du, there’s nothing special. I can’t help with anything further. I just got home, and my parents are waiting for me to eat dinner,” Lu Cheng explained subtly.
Du Qiang had called him to help, not to steal the spotlight.
Du Qiang knew this well, and since he knew, there was no need for Lu Cheng to linger and be an eyesore.
“Doctor Lu, you can go eat. There shouldn’t be any further problems,” Du Qiang’s tone was calm.
It seemed like he was agreeing to Lu Cheng’s departure for dinner, but the content sounded like a report to Lu Cheng.
…
About ten seconds after Lu Cheng left the operating room, the Urology Department staff arrived.
Upon seeing the surgical field, Deputy Chief Physician Zhou Bingxuan from the Urology Department came in and stood by the table. After observing the field prepared by Du Qiang, he was stunned for a moment.
After a full twenty seconds of surprise, his expression turned solemn, and he asked in disbelief, “Director Du, how was this achieved?”
The renal artery is indeed one of the major arteries in the human body. Rupture and bleeding of the renal artery can directly lead to death.
Hemostasis of the renal artery is a standard surgical procedure, but typically, the renal artery injuries that can be salvaged are small tears.
The patient could tolerate a CTA before surgery, so the bleeding point could be clearly visualized on the CTA to be on the renal artery.
This patient did not have a CTA, and the rupture was not a simple tear in the renal artery but a ruptured aneurysm.
For the renal artery aneurysm to rupture and for Du Qiang to have seized its critical point is a capability that exceeds expectations.
At least, Zhou Bingxuan was not aware that Du Qiang, the Director of General Surgery, possessed such an ability, even though General Surgery also had the Vascular Surgery name associated with it.
But it was merely a nominal association.
“It wasn’t me; it was Doctor Lu Cheng from the Emergency Department who did it.”
After Du Qiang finished speaking, he further explained, “This was a call from a relative of mine, so I called him.”
Du Qiang’s explanation was standard.
Lu Cheng’s ability like this wouldn’t be used casually; he wouldn’t just jump into action for every patient.
Blind hemostasis is not a standard surgical procedure in principle; doing so is a gamble.
Therefore, Lu Cheng would not proactively initiate such procedures easily.
Only when Du Qiang led the operation and asked Lu Cheng to assist would Lu Cheng act as an assistant, not listed on the surgical schedule.
Moreover, even if such technology couldn’t be openly performed routinely, it was a life-saving technique.
If a relative or friend suffered from such a hemorrhagic emergency and called upon Lu Cheng, with the patient accepting the risks, Lu Cheng could come and help, saving a life.
In other words, such a life-saving technique was not for general use but for extremely special circumstances, acting as a “pillar of stability.”
Du Qiang’s words took Zhou Bingxuan about a minute to process before he turned and left the operating room in a daze.
He didn’t ask Du Qiang why he called Lu Cheng, nor did he ask about any past grudges between Lu Cheng and Du Qiang.
None of that mattered. What was most important now was that Du Qiang could summon Lu Cheng, and Lu Cheng could clamp and stop the bleeding from the ruptured renal artery aneurysm.
And!
Lu Cheng was able to identify the renal artery injury without knowing about the renal artery aneurysm.
Lu Cheng hadn’t used an umbrella when he arrived at the hospital, so he naturally didn’t have one when he left.
Fortunately, he hadn’t been there long, and the rain was still just a light drizzle.
Hesitating for a moment, Lu Cheng didn’t make a fuss by calling Mu Nanshu to pick him up. He once again plunged into the rain.
He wiped the water off the seat of his electric scooter with his hand, sat down, turned the throttle, and headed home again.
After taking a shower and drying his hair, Lu Cheng sat down at the table to eat again.
By this time, Tian Hui and Lu Nan’s family had already finished eating and were watching television.
Lu Nan’s family changed the channel and then turned to ask, “Where did you go? You sent a message saying to eat without us after you got downstairs?”
“The operating room called, so I went to take a look.”
“They couldn’t wait for me to finish eating,” Lu Cheng replied with a smile.
Hearing that it was work-related, Lu Nan’s family didn’t ask further.
Since his family couldn’t help with Lu Cheng’s work, Lu Nan’s family tried their best not to cause him any trouble.
After eating, brushing his teeth, and washing his face, Lu Cheng went down to the underground garage again and drove back to the hospital.
Lu Cheng was on surgery shift today. Given the department’s usual behavior, Lu Cheng’s surgery shift would definitely not be quiet, mainly because Lu Cheng’s range of surgical expertise was so broad, there would always be cases requiring him.
He ignored surgeries at other times, so he simply stayed in the department during his surgery shifts.
This time, Lu Cheng brought an umbrella.
As he was shaking the water off his umbrella at the entrance, Zhang Tiesheng was escorting a patient with kidney stones to the ultrasound room.
He saw someone at the entrance of the Emergency Department and habitually looked over, thinking it might be a potential patient of his.
Upon seeing it was Lu Cheng, Zhang Tiesheng whistled and said, “Teacher Lu, good evening.”
“There’s some fruit in the office, go and eat it quickly. It was specially sent by a patient’s family member.”
“Which patient’s room is it?” Lu Cheng asked with a smile.
Zhang Tiesheng said jokingly, “It’s not from our department. The patients are still in the operating room. The patient’s family member sent it first.”
“They specifically asked to send it to you, Teacher Lu. If you don’t use your chopsticks, none of us dare to reach for it.”
It must have been Du Qiang who called his relative again.
He asked Lu Cheng to help, so dinner was ruined. Some fruit was certainly a gesture of thanks.
After shaking his umbrella dry, Lu Cheng walked towards Zhang Tiesheng, “Brother Zhang, you’re teasing me again.”
Zhang Tiesheng asked, “What’s going on? I don’t have any emergency surgeries under your purview.”
“Could it be from General Surgery before? Or Neurosurgery?”
“Your scope of practice is that broad?”
Zhang Tiesheng was on duty, so he was generally clear about any surgeries.
“It was from General Surgery, I took a look.” Lu Cheng did not explain in detail.
He walked into the doctor’s office with Zhang Tiesheng, grabbed two boxes of fruit, and went to the Emergency Surgery Clinic.
In the clinic, two cups of coffee were already on Zhang Tiesheng’s desk. Zhang Tiesheng naturally pushed one to Lu Cheng: “Director Du from General Surgery is really eager to learn.”
“As long as it’s your surgery shift, he will definitely find an opportunity to learn. This is something we should all learn.”
“For a director to humble himself and seek advice from a junior like you, such character, such dedication.” Zhang Tiesheng gave him a thumbs up.
It was unclear if the fruit was very sweet, or if it was admiration for Du Qiang’s patience.
Generally speaking, not everyone is willing to put aside their pride and seek guidance from a subordinate with a lower professional title.
Moreover, this was about a teaching surgery.
Zhang Tiesheng had only recently been promoted to Deputy Chief Physician, so he didn’t care about that.
But in reality, Director Lin Qianlong couldn’t let go of his pride, so he never mentioned wanting to learn surgery from Lu Cheng.
“Brother Zhang, we’re just doing surgery together, serving the patient. There’s no such thing as teaching.”
“What kind of teaching do we even have at our hospital?” Lu Cheng quickly explained.
“I won’t lose my composure.”
At the County Hospital, not teaching is the norm; everyone minds their own business. This is the atmosphere.
If you, as an individual, foolishly try to break such a norm and atmosphere, you are the one causing trouble.
Lu Cheng didn’t have such aspirations; he had come through hardship himself and wouldn’t break through such barriers to do something unconventional.
Of course, Du Qiang would certainly not say that Lu Cheng was teaching him surgery.
Only people in the Emergency Department knew about such things, and they wouldn’t spread it around.
Zhang Tiesheng then chatted with Lu Cheng for a while longer. Since there were no patients, they talked about everything…
Of course, it was mainly Zhang Tiesheng talking, and Lu Cheng listening.
Lu Cheng couldn’t chime in on what Zhang Tiesheng was talking about. He was explaining to Lu Cheng which of “butterflies, steamed buns, and abalone” were more attractive and felt better. This was not something Lu Cheng had ever encountered.
…
9:10.
Lu Cheng and Zhang Tiesheng had just shifted the conversation to which nurse in the department was better looking. Zhang Tiesheng stated it was Tian Duoduo, who had a hot body.
As he asked Lu Cheng to give his opinion, there was a knock on the door of the emergency clinic.
Then Du Qiang entered from outside: “I was wondering why I couldn’t find Doctor Lu in the office. You were resting here.”
Both Zhang Tiesheng and Lu Cheng stood up and greeted Director Du.
Du Qiang glanced at Zhang Tiesheng, then said, “Doctor Lu, thank you today. My cousin said he must treat you to a drink sometime.”
“Otherwise, the child is pitiful.”
Lu Cheng didn’t know who the patient was, or if it was a child.
“Director Du, please don’t be so polite. This is what I should do.” Lu Cheng quickly replied.
“Saving a life is not about what should or shouldn’t be done.”
“Saving a life is a big deal. Doctor Lu, you should also give someone a chance to express their gratitude.”
“Would you like to get some late-night snacks?” Du Qiang asked.
Zhang Tiesheng quickly said with a smile, “Director Du, no need, no need. You’re too kind. Xiao Lu and I have already eaten.”
Although Zhang Tiesheng didn’t have a good impression of Du Qiang, he wouldn’t offend him.
“Then you’ve worked hard. I’ll head back now.”
“Doctor Lu, thank you.”
“Speaking of this patient, he’s also my nephew.” Du Qiang cupped his fists slightly and turned to leave.
As Zhang Tiesheng sat down, his good friend Zhou Bingxuan sent a voice message.
Zhang Tiesheng’s phone was on speaker, and Zhou Bingxuan’s voice was almost explosive: “Zhang Tiesheng, Lu Cheng from your department is incredibly amazing.”
“He blindly stopped the bleeding from a ruptured renal artery.”
“Do you know Doctor Lu has such an ability?”
Zhang Tiesheng did not know.
So he looked up.
Zhang Tiesheng only knew that Lu Cheng could preserve the spleen, preserve the gallbladder, and perform limb replantation. What about saving a life from a ruptured renal artery?
Wasn’t Lu Cheng by his side?
How did the brothers from the Urology Department know about this before I did?
Zhang Tiesheng didn’t reply. Instead, he put down his phone and crossed his arms: “Buddy, you don’t consider me a brother, do you?”
“You hide everything from your brother?”
Lu Cheng had long been accustomed to this and sighed, “Brother, I am too insignificant to catch your eye.”
“I’ve also performed surgeries. The day Director Du Qiang was yelling, I explained it to you. What more do you want me to say?”
“Of course, it’s mainly because your halo is too strong, and insignificant people like us are too unremarkable.”
“My fault, I will definitely strive to keep up with your pace, Brother Zhang.”
He spoke to people as they spoke to him, and to devils as they spoke to devils. If Zhang Tiesheng wanted to talk like this, Lu Cheng could respond in the same way.
Seeing that his tactics were not working, Zhang Tiesheng quickly corrected his expression and tone: “Just kidding, Lu Cheng.”
“Tell me in detail, what happened?”
“This thing you did, it’s got something…”
Lu Cheng said, “It’s just hemostasis. When there’s bleeding, you stop it.”
After speaking, Lu Cheng considered that Zhang Tiesheng had just mentioned another method of compression hemostasis and quickly emphasized, “It’s not the kind of compressive expansion hemostasis or painful manipulation you mentioned earlier, with those alternative effects.”
“I’m talking about proper hemostasis.”
