Surgery Godfather

Chapter 192: Chapter 0183: The Calm Professor Ye

During the 9th surgery, Professor Ye was performing the procedure with Director Guan and Chen Ge.

The procedure was a four-part reconstruction. The shape of the inter-condylar fossa had changed, and when creating the femoral tunnel, the interior condyle of the femur had been split. Now, things were complicated.

If Professor Ye was doing it, such an issue would not have occurred. The surgery had been underway for half an hour, though, and the reconstruction had failed. Chen Ge wanted to try. After all, Chen Ge, who was Director Guan’s PhD student and therefore a sort of academic nephew to Professor Ye, had worked with him for a year at the Third Hospital. Everyone agreed that it wouldn’t hurt to let him try.

Because the two bundles were formed during the reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament, there were two tunnels on the interior condyle of the femur, thus making the area crowded. Chen Ge was inexperienced, and Professor Ye, was somewhat negligent. As soon as the tunnel was established, it collapsed. The interior condyle split into three pieces, and the drill got stuck within.

Now, the drill needed to be retrieved from the bone. As Doctor Yang and Su Nanchen entered the room, Professor Ye had just completed the X-ray, determining the position and direction of the drill.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Without saying a word, Professor Ye, Chen Ge and Director Guan all frowned. The operating room was crowded with observers.

Pointing at the patient, Su Nanchen informed the anesthesiologist, “General Anesthesia!” Making it much easier for him to express himself.

Professor Ye studied the images on the C-arm X-ray screen, pondering how to retrieve the drill. He wanted to do it minimally invasively, that is, retrieve it without making an incision, under arthroscopy. It would be incredibly challenging.

“How on earth did he implement this drill?” Professor Ye cursed inwardly. He felt like hemorrhaging out of frustration. Had it been in the Third Hospital, he might have berated Chen Ge until he was blue in the face.

Retrieving the drill was only the first step. After that, they needed to stabilize the fracture, and then reopen a tunnel. Usually, if only the posterior portion of the condyle split, it wouldn’t affect the hanging stabilization. However, since this time the entire condyle had been shattered, it complicated the things a great deal.

Looking at the screen, Su Nanchen had nothing to say. The patient neither had osteoporosis nor any tumors or pathological factors, yet the interior condyle was shattered into three pieces.

Each step under these circumstances could be considered a challenging standalone procedure. Combined, they were extremely daunting.

Had it not been for Professor Ye, who was amongst the best in the country, they might have abandoned the surgery by now. Instead, they’d have made an incision to retrieve the drill, stabilize the fracture, and wait a few months—at least three—for the fracture to heal, then proceed with the surgery again.

Living up to his reputation, Professor Ye was calm and collected. He inserted a marrow clip into the joint cavity, retrieved a small piece from the bone, and handed it to the nurse in a swab soaked in saline.

He instructed, “Send it for pathology.”

This kind of unexpected fracture shouldn’t have happened. Once it did, as a conscientious professor, he had to consider pathological factors, particularly tumors. Although it didn’t appear to be the case, many things can’t just be determined by visual inspection. To be safe, Professor Ye took some bone tissue for a pathological test to rule out tumors.

Retrieving the drill under arthroscopy is a complex procedure that normally a general practitioner could not perform. They’d have to make an incision to remove the drill. However, it appeared that Professor Ye intended to use the arthroscope for extraction.

Adjusting the lens for the best view, he saw the drill stuck in the bone tissue. Only a little of it was visible. It was like it was buried inside the inter-condylar fossa. It wasn’t something you could extract whenever desired. You couldn’t reach it with instruments, and it was tightly lodged in the bone.

The drill was hollow, so Professor Ye used a guide needle under arthroscopic surveillance, passing it through the hole in the middle of the broken drill. The needle exited through the lower inner side of the thigh after piercing the skin.

“Use the thinnest drill!”

Professor Ye inserted the thinnest drill via the guide needle protruding from the inner side of the thigh, making contact with the broken drill. He aligned its tip with the broken drill, detached the electric drill, and slid the guide needle to be flush with the end of the thin drill.

“The hammer!”

After gently tapping with the hammer, the broken drill was gradually extracted.

It was indeed a master’s work. In any other hospital, such a drill would either be left as is, or an incision would be made to retrieve it—a process that would be quite protracted.

This method was ingenious but required abundant experience and a certain level of sensitivity. Otherwise, it wouldn’t just fail; it would also result in new fractures.

In just a few minutes, Professor Ye effortlessly retrieved the drill and handed it to the nurse, “Match it against the other half to see if it aligns. Prepare for a C-arm fluoroscopy.”

If the two halves aligned, it meant that there was no residue left. If not, there could be something left inside.

As expected, he was thorough in his operations. After retrieval, he had matched the ends and conducted a fluoroscopy to ensure that there was no room for error.

With the drill extracted, it seemed like Doctor Yang had nothing to do now. Su Nanchen assumed that Professor Su had called upon Doctor Yang for a consultation. Looking now, though, it seemed that there was nothing to be done and he was free to go.

“Professor Su, if there is nothing else, I can escort Doctor Yang back,” Su Nanchen carefully queried.

Professor Su said, “Hold on.”

He then turned to Doctor Yang and said, “Xiao Yang, could you wait a bit longer? Is the surgery at your place urgent? What kind of a procedure is it? Can Nanchen help instead?”

Seeing as Professor Su was adamant about keeping him here, it seemed likely he was needed for something else. Doctor Yang found himself unable to leave, “It’s alright, the team can handle the surgery. I just need to oversee it. Being a bit late won’t matter.”

“Professor Su?” Su Nanchen implied that if there was nothing to do, Doctor Yang should be allowed to leave.

Professor Su waved him off, not offering further explanation or acknowledging Su Nanchen.

“Pay attention! Watch how Professor Ye improvises and handles such situations!”