Chapter 39: Lifting A Rock Only To Drop It On One’s Own Feet
“Uncle, your wound doesn’t hurt much now, does it? And have you passed gas?” On July 29th, Wednesday, at 8:20 AM, Lu Cheng stood by bed 3, his voice calm.
Bed 3’s patient had an appendectomy performed by Chief Surgeon Lu Cheng on the 27th. This was Lu Cheng’s third appendectomy as chief surgeon.
Lu Cheng’s appendectomy proficiency was not improved by adding skill points, so his proficiency was not high. He relied entirely on his basic skills to sustain him, and it was a procedure Lu Cheng wasn’t absolutely confident about.
“It didn’t hurt yesterday, and I’ve passed gas. Doctor Zeng and the others said Doctor Lu had a rest yesterday.”
“But Doctor Zeng let me start drinking porridge after seeing me,” the patient, a middle-aged man in his forties, explained with a smile.
Having been hospitalized for a few days, he had also learned from other patients that Lu Cheng was a very meticulous and responsible doctor. He had expected Lu Cheng to check on him on his first day post-operation, but he didn’t expect Lu Cheng to have taken a rest.
“It’s okay, as long as you can pass gas, you can start drinking porridge. But pay attention to your diet. You can start having semi-liquid food today, like egg drop soup.”
“Avoid soft food, especially fried or cold things for now. You can get out of bed and walk now, you don’t have to walk very far, just around the Emergency Department. But be sure to avoid the emergency carts, be careful not to bump into you…”
“Where is your family member?” Lu Cheng asked after giving instructions.
“My wife bought me breakfast and then went to work. My mom will come to look after me later; she’s still taking the kids to school.” The middle-aged man chuckled honestly and then asked, “Can I have steamed egg for lunch then?”
A middle-aged man around forty, with elders above and children below, and needing to work to earn money. This is a time node with relatively the greatest pressure.
“Steamed egg is fine, but I’d recommend a thicker porridge, like lean meat porridge.”
“There’s nothing else special. Your wound is simple; changing the dressing once every two to three days is enough. And you only need to pay attention to rehabilitation like turning over and walking after getting out of bed; you don’t need to undergo tendon function training like the other patients.”
“If your recovery goes well, you can be discharged tomorrow and rest at home. Would you like that?” Lu Cheng asked.
Appendicitis patients have no issues with their legs or hands, and they can get out of bed and walk quickly after surgery.
“Then what should I do about dressing changes in the future, Doctor Lu?” the middle-aged man asked.
“Come here, or find a nearby clinic to change it. The stitches can be removed around twelve days after surgery, and if you’re in a hurry to get back to work, about half a month of rest should allow you to resume normal work.”
“Oh, right, I remember you said you work on construction sites. Then half a month won’t be enough; it needs to be at least a month.” Lu Cheng quickly corrected his medical order.
“Alas… I guess that’s how it has to be.” The middle-aged man was helpless.
He either had an external injury or got appendicitis while entertaining clients, which couldn’t have been predicted.
Lu Cheng had just finished checking on this patient when Du Daihua, who was on ward duty, walked in. He was taken aback when he saw Lu Cheng and then smiled, “Brother Lu, you’re here again?”
“Aren’t you on surgery shift? You didn’t have to come.”
After Lu Cheng’s previous ‘messy work,’ Lu Cheng’s surgery scheduling rights were revoked. When the clinic received patients, they first called Lin Qianlong, who then contacted Professor Chen Song, who in turn contacted Lu Cheng.
After all, Chen Song was the leader, so he was in charge of all surgery scheduling.
Lu Cheng chuckled, “Brother Du, I came to check on the post-operative patients. Can you let me join you for rounds?”
Although there were many skill points for performing surgery, Lu Cheng was still not entirely at ease about his post-operative patients, so he specifically came to take a look.
“Since it was you, Brother Lu, who did the surgery, of course, you’ll lead me.” Du Daihua smiled obsequiously. He had large eyes and a small nose, giving him a distinctive charm when he smiled.
Du Daihua was also only twenty-nine this year, younger than Lu Cheng by months. As for strength, qualifications, and ability, Du Daihua was self-aware.
Du Daihua was very eager to learn something from Lu Cheng, given how Lu Cheng was able to make progress in the Emergency Department.
“This bed 3 patient had a flexor tendon suturing. Today is the second day after surgery. The rehabilitation matters to pay attention to today are these. Dai Hua, if you have time, please come and explain them to him…”
“And this bed 4…” Lu Cheng knew his own surgeries by heart and had already drafted rehabilitation plans for them, so he was able to convey them without any pause.
Lu Cheng’s nonchalant demeanor made the patients trust him even more.
There were only five patients in the surgery group, and they finished rounds in twenty minutes.
The patient in bed 5 and their family member said busily, “Thank you, Doctor Lu. If it weren’t for you, we would have had to travel to the prefecture.”
“And… we might have encountered trouble.”
Lu Cheng jokingly said, “How could you encounter trouble when you come for medical treatment?”
“You’re right!”
“We heard that a patient who came before us had the same situation as ours, but was admitted to Orthopedics.”
“Their post-operative recovery wasn’t good… it’s pitiable…” The patient didn’t disparage the orthopedic doctors’ skills but rather used it to highlight their own good fortune.
It was already lucky that they themselves weren’t the ones to suffer misfortune.
Du Daihua lowered his voice and said, “Brother Lu, Young Master Kun and Director Peng’s tendon rupture surgery was completed, but the post-operative recovery isn’t very good.”
“You could see the difference on the operating table; this was reported by Xue Xue from the operating room…”
Lu Cheng went out and, tilting his head, quietly cautioned, “Since Director Peng’s surgery is finished, don’t gossip. The idea and goal of Director Peng and the others in Orthopedics wanting to learn surgery to serve patients is not wrong.”
As they were speaking, Lu Cheng saw Peng Kun, who was attending the department, arriving late.
However, as he walked out of the doctor’s lounge in his work clothes and met Lu Cheng and Du Daihua, Peng Kun’s expression was slightly surprised: “Brother Lu, have you finished your rounds already?”
“Didn’t you just have an operation at 3 AM last night? How did you get here so early?”
“Yes, I slept in the lounge last night,” Lu Cheng replied.
Seeing Peng Kun, Du Daihua immediately said with a smile, “Brother Lu, Brother Kun, I’ll go write medical orders, change dressings, and fill out medical records. You two chat.”
Currently, Peng Kun is shadowing the Emergency Department due to the ‘relationship’ with Director Peng of Orthopedics, but that won’t be the case next month.
Old attending physicians like Zhang Tiesheng certainly wouldn’t be willing to ‘shadow’ Lu Cheng, so his opportunity would come.
Du Daihua was also aware of Han Xiaoping’s laid-back personality, and Brother Zhuang was the ‘clown’ of the department that everyone avoided, so his learning opportunity would arrive.
Du Daihua had also witnessed how Lu Cheng treated Chen Song; being well-behaved and sensible was a prerequisite…
“Young Master Kun, did you break up with someone? You don’t seem very cheerful,” Lu Cheng casually asked Peng Kun.
“Alas…” Peng Kun sighed.
“We’ve encountered some trouble in the department.”
“Originally, our hospital had decided that Director Xiang Daihong from the Zhou People’s Hospital would go to the countryside, but I don’t know what Professor Tong from the Hand Surgery department at Xiangya Hospital was thinking, they also called our hospital.”
“But Director Xiang was already scheduled first… so Professor Tong seemed a bit angry after being refused.”
“My dad said if Professor Tong went crazy and went to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, wouldn’t that be a huge problem…” Peng Kun picked at his scalp.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital also has an Orthopedics department and is a ‘sister’ unit to the People’s Hospital’s Orthopedics.
But in this era, sister units are competitors. The previous arrangement by Peng Haibo has inadvertently sent a major figure to the County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital…
With Professor Tong present, any patient admitted would be trouble.
“Professor Tong? Which Professor Tong?” Lu Cheng’s tone tightened.
“Professor Tong from Xiangya Hospital. I don’t even know his specific name. Let me check…”
A few minutes later… Lu Cheng and Peng Kun were both puzzled.
