Chapter 71 - Hysterectomy or No? (1/2)

Zheng Ren rushed to the first floor of the emergency department building and found Old Chief Physician Pan waiting for him.

The two men ran toward the ICU. At the changing room before the ICU entrance, they put on surgical caps and masks, changing into dark green sterile scrubs and even swapping their shoes for slippers before entering.

The ICU was like treasure vaults in movies, where one had to change their clothes and go through two rounds of scrubbing before being allowed in.

This was to prevent the risk of contamination as most ICU patients had tracheostomy tubes connecting them to ventilators. They had very poor immunity and microorganisms that were usually commensals could become lethal pathogens.

Inside the ICU, many department chiefs were already there on the case.

The System display at the upper right corner of his vision told him that it was a placental abruption of the hemorrhagic sort.

The patient was a young female, 20 months into pregnancy. Due to pregnancy-induced hypertension, the placenta had detached from the uterine wall. The distance between the placenta and the uterus was half the length of the placenta.

The patient was bleeding excessively, resulting in a pallid complexion. She was sweating profusely and her heart rate was rising while her blood pressure was plummeting. She was exhibiting symptoms of hemorrhagic shock.

Fetal asphyxia had set in and the fetal heartbeat was undetectable. The baby was already dead.

This was a tricky case…

As this was the patient’s first pregnancy, a hysterectomy would close the door on any future pregnancies. It was a cruel thing to do to an expecting mother.

However, if an emergency hysterectomy was not performed, the bleeding would not stop. The obstetric and gynecology department had tried to manage the bleed but antihemorrhagic drugs had helped little.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

A few of the department chiefs that came to consult had the same opinion. The case was a tricky one. They frowned at the worrying numbers on the vitals monitor, deep in thought.

The diagnosis was simple, but the biggest problem was the decision to remove the uterus.

Su Yun stood by the patient’s bed with a blue clipboard in his hand. His coat was white as snow and a stethoscope hung over his neck. He stared at the department chiefs with an impa.s.sive look.

“I suggest that we discuss this in the office. Time… There should be only ten minutes left. Xiao Su, start prepping for surgery,” the ICU chief spoke.

The various department chiefs filed out of the ICU. Su Yun saw an un.o.btrusive Zheng Ren at the end of the crowd. Anyone would have missed his presence had they not been paying attention.

Su Yun gave the usual orders and the nurses got to work.

He left the observation room and went into the second room in the corridor. The room had clear windows and a large, makes.h.i.+ft table made up of a few office desks. There were a dozen or so chairs around it.

The ICU chief glanced at the clock and said, “We have nine more minutes.”

“I don’t think there’s much more to debate,” the obstetric and gynecology department chief, Su Yun, spoke firmly as he adjusted his horn-rimmed gla.s.ses, “We have tried many ways to stop the bleed but none were effective. Any more delays and the patient could go into hemorrhagic shock. By then, surgery won’t be a viable option.”

“Haih.” The anesthesiology department chief sighed audibly. He started to speak but paused at the last second.

“Old w.a.n.g, what do you have to say? Don’t sigh and just say it.” The ICU chief was in an agitated mood and did not welcome dithering.

“If we only had an interventional surgery expert,” Anesthesiology Department Chief w.a.n.g said. It was what everyone was thinking.

“Ask if the endovascular team can help us out.”

The ICU chief’s expression was dismissive. “The endovascular team has 18 myocardial infarction patients today among the three wards, all lined up for surgery.”

If a myocardial infarction acted up without surgical intervention, death was guaranteed for the patient.

It was unlike the pregnant patient in the ICU who had the alternative of a hysterectomy to save her life.

These razor-sharp contradictions were a daily occurence in the hospital. Which lives were more virtuous? None. In the face of death, every person was equal and the only inequality lied in society.