Chapter 226 - Lick the Screen (Part 3 of 3) (1/2)

When Dr Shen returned to the operating table, Su Yun had taken over his position.

“Pardon me, but the subsequent procedures are rather challenging. I’ll be more comfortable with the help of my a.s.sistant,” Zheng Ren said politely, but that was all he provided before he dove right back into the operation.

The phrase, “my a.s.sistant”, left Dr. Shen in a daze.

Even Department Chief Kong did not have an a.s.signed a.s.sistant. How had this young doctor gotten one of his own?

Dr. Shen left the operating table dejectedly and went into the operator console room, where he stood in place, feeling completely at a loss. He stole a glance at Department Chief Kong from time to time, fearing the man’s anger and castigation.

However, a few minutes pa.s.sed and Department Chief Kong had not looked over at Dr. Shen. His focus was entirely on Zheng Ren and Su Yun operating. Dr. Shen got even more worried.

Could this be the lull before the storm?

“Come over here and observe,” Department Chief Kong suddenly said.

“…” Dr. Shen was stunned. Department Chief Kong was not being his usual self.

He had made a serious mistake today; was he not going to be berated for it? Instead of receiving a full-blown lecture from Department Chief Kong, he was being called over to observe the operation?

‘How is this possible?’ thought Dr. Shen.

“Don’t be disappointed,” Department Chief Kong said in a benevolent tone, which was a rare thing. “Do you know who the a.s.sistant is?”

‘The a.s.sistant? Isn’t he just a handsome-looking chap that looks like a girl? Is he the son of someone important?’ thought Dr. Shen.

“I don’t know,” Dr. Shen answered honestly, not reckless enough to blurt out his speculations.

“He was the one who performed a heart transplant on mice two years ago and published the study in The Lancet,” Department Chief Kong said.

“Ah!” Dr. Shen exclaimed, astounded by the mere mention of The Lancet.

In order to earn his doctorate, he had to publish a journal that would be indexed in the Scientific Citation Index (SCI). However, the whole journey from conducting the study itself to getting it published was not an easy task. The only other option was to pay for one.

Dr. Shen’s heart dropped when he estimated the cost of a decent quality journal to be at least 50,000 yuan.

That sissy had managed to publish in The Lancet two years ago?

A journal in The Lancet in conjunction with a good impact factor would earn most people their doctoral degrees.

“Look at what they’re doing.” Department Chief Kong sat directly in front of the operating console room display, his eyes glued to the screen.

Dr. Shen finally regained his composure and began observing the procedure carefully. ‘What are they doing?’

The thrombolysis went through fine but was not that effective. Onscreen, the contrast media had moved forward less than 1 centimeter.

What were they doing? What else could be done at this point?

Something was not right. The microcatheter should not be that thick. Was he hallucinating? Dr. Shen adjusted his gla.s.ses and leaned forward.

“You don’t get it?” Department Chief Kong’s tone became much more serious.

Dr. Shen’s heart sank. It would be excusable if he could not perform this procedure. However, if he could not even understand what was going on… Department Chief Kong would kick him out of the operating console room then and there.

Beads of sweat suddenly began forming on his forehead. He could feel a chill run down his spine, as if someone was holding a knife against his neck.

“Is that a large catheter?” Dr. Shen had finally figured out what it was after a few seconds.

“Why is he using a large catheter?” he blurted out almost immediately after as if shocked by his own revelation.

“Look for yourself!” Department Chief Kong was very unimpressed with Dr. Shen, irritation growing in his tone.

Tears filled Dr. Shen’s face while an ache throbbed in his scarred heart.

‘How the h.e.l.l would I know why he is using a large catheter to navigate through such a thin blood vessel?’ thought Dr. Shen.

Nevertheless, his sanity kept him from voicing it out loud in front of Department Chief Kong lest he receive the chief’s wrath.

On the screen, the large catheter was inching forward slowly and gradually filling up the blood vessel, each step taken with caution.

This would result in injuries on the inner walls of the blood vessels due to friction. If the walls were punctured, there would be bleeding.

Even though the injury would not be fatal, local hematoma would be inevitable. In more severe cases, the hematoma formed due to deformation of the ophthalmic artery in the posterior cavity would result in compression on the cranial nerves.

‘What was Department Chief Kong trying to do, ordering him to observe such a risky procedure?’ thought Dr. Shen.