The Surgeon's Studio

Panda Novel

With Zheng Ren’s reassurance, the patient’s family quickly agreed to the surgery.

The patient was pushed to the emergency ward to settle the paperwork and undergo preoperative preparations.

Zheng Ren made a call to Xie Yiren and the group. The thought of getting to share a car home with Xie Yiren later put a smile on his face.

Being inexperienced, he was happy with even the slightest opportunity to spend time with Xie Yiren.

Once he was done giving orders, Professor Rudolph asked, “Boss… Chief Zheng, why do you think it’s food residue?”

“Density,” Zheng Ren replied.

Was there a difference in density? The professor thought back to the scans. The density of food residue ought to be lower than that of fecaliths, especially after digestion.

Zheng Ren had to have misjudged it. Professor Rudolph abandoned the thought of heading back to his hotel to rest.

He wanted to watch the surgery. Even a small victory against Zheng Ren would be meaningful.

Professor Rudolph Wagner held his tongue, though. He would wait for the truth to unfold.

Although Zheng Ren had the hands of god, there were many aspects to medicine. Perhaps he was not proficient in interpreting radiological images and could not differentiate between a fecalith and undigested material.

1

An expert could identify the problem from scans but anything more in-depth was beyond their expertise. The professor was sure 95% of the doctors in the world were in such a group.

However!

Professor Rudolph was at the forefront of this field.

He was sure that he would win this argument, already imagining himself going back to his hotel room and popping some champagne in celebration.

Chang Yue’s presence expedited admission as she skillfully handled all the paperwork.

This brought Zheng Ren relief.

Trivial matters could be left to Chang Yue while he communicated with the patient’s family and focused on getting their consent.

He did not bother to call Su Yun. The man’s work in the ICU was more important.

Zheng Ren sincerely hoped for Yang Lili’s survival.

A brave and responsible person like her deserved to enjoy the good things the world had to offer. Her existence ought not be limited to the memories of the living.

Half an hour later, preoperative preparations were complete. The family had signed the informed consent document. Zheng Ren brought the patient to the operating room.

Along the way, he called Su Yun.

Professor Rudolph trailed behind Zheng Ren excitedly. The professor had no doubt the surgery would be a success.

However, that was not his focus.

He wanted to know who had interpreted the scan correctly.

Zheng Ren changed into a sterile surgical gown and entered the operating room.

It had been a while since he had to start a surgery. Su Yun was usually the one who handled the beginning.

There was an ordered bustle in the operating room.

Xie Yiren was in a dark green sterile scrub. She inquired about the procedure and proceeded to prepare the necessary tools.

Chu Yanran was finalizing anesthesia when Su Yun arrived.

Zheng Ren was in the midst of disinfecting the skin. The surgical drapes were already in place.

“Boss, you’re too fast.” Su Yun scrubbed his hands and put on a sterile surgical gown.

Zheng Ren was a man of few words while Su Yun was the opposite.

The operating room was silent, as if a terrible thing had happened.

“It’s normal for me.” Zheng Ren reached out for a scalpel, which he used to part the skin.

“What’s the procedure?” Su Yun asked.

“Patient has intussusception. Bowel obstruction surgery.”

“Why have there been so many cases of intussusception in adults recently?” Chu Yanran questioned as she knotted Su Yun’s surgical gown. Once she was done, Su Yun stepped up to the operating table, picking up the sterile gauze by the patient’s legs.

“Coincidence, perhaps, but this patient is a bit special. You’ll see soon,” Zheng Ren said.

“Oh?” Su Yun eyed Zheng Ren suspiciously. “I wonder sometimes if you have X-ray vision.”

“Don’t believe such nonsense. You’ve been reading too many novels. Was one called The Widowed Doctor with X-ray Vision?”

“Then how would you know?”

“Years of clinical experience.”

“I’ve never met someone as cocky as you!”

The two doctors bantered as they operated on the patient, parting the peritoneum to gain access to the peritoneal cavity.

As Zheng Ren had expected, the intestines were in a twist.

He used warm saline gauze to line the surrounding organs before cutting into the intestine.

Professor Rudolph’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched with anticipation.

Su Yun felt a tingling sensation and looked up. “Lil Fugui, why haven’t you gone home?”

Hm… How did Su Yun know?

“You know the professor’s Chinese name?” Zheng Ren asked.

“Don’t you read the group chat? Chang Yue was asking for opinions. I was the one who proposed that name. Not bad, right?”

“…”

“Prior to surgery, the patient had an abdominal CT scan. I believed it was fecalith causing the obstruction but Chief Zheng says it’s food residue. I wanted to see for myself.” The professor’s eyes did not leave the organ in Zheng Ren’s hand.

Su Yun instantly predicted the outcome. “Oh? Lil Fugui is offering up his face for a slap?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” The professor was confused.

“You believe Zheng Ren’s judgment to be wrong and want to witness the truth with your own eyes, right? You’ll probably smile in response and say it doesn’t matter but your heart will be aflutter,” Su Yun elaborated dramatically.

“Yes, why, that is accurate.” Professor Rudolph Wagner said excitedly, “Su, you are a master of descriptions. The Mandarin language is so intricate; two characters can mean so many things.”

Zheng Ren wanted to scream.

These two clowns were performing a ballad over a body.

He ignored them and requested a scalpel from Xie Yiren, making a 1cm incision on the obstructed bowel.

A moment passed and an entire almond was squeezed out of the incision.

The almond clattered onto the surgical tray with a thud, cutting through Su Yun and the professor’s conversation.

The professor was stunned… It was not a fecalith, but a whole almond…

Was Zheng Ren playing a trick on him?

Su Yun frowned. “And you say you don’t have X-ray vision.”

“The patient’s husband said they had a steamboat dinner and went for a karaoke session,” Zheng Ren stated as he squeezed out nut after nut from the patient’s intestine. The surgical tray was filling up quickly.

“And?”

“Between today’s symptoms and the karaoke session, what’s the likeliest snack they had? Almonds.”

“Your explanation makes absolutely no sense,” Su Yun whispered.

Professor Rudolph Wagner watched in astonishment as the almonds were removed from the patient’s gut, some whole, some partially digested.

As per Su Yun’s description, this was him being slapped in the face.