Chapter 404 - Aspiration Was Key (1/2)

“Oh,” Zheng Ren uttered a monosyllable reply.

Su Yun a.s.sessed the operating room and saw the basin of iced saline solution.

This… Zheng Ren was already fixing the ribs?

Su Yun was on his way to wash his hands but when he saw Zheng Ren fixing the ribs, he stopped. He approached the operating table to investigate.

Three rib fractures had been stabilized. The fix was not important because even without it, the fractures would fuse and heal on their own after a few days.

More importantly, Su Yun wanted to know how the patient’s lung was dealt with.

The tools used for stabilizing the rib cage were gone. The self-retaining retractors had also been removed. Su Yun could not see what was going on.

“Boss, what did you do?” Su Yun scanned his surroundings and found nothing odd. If a lobectomy was performed, he would have to present the damaged lobes to the family.

“Suturing. Didn’t you just speak of it?” Zheng Ren answered matter-of-factly.

Su Yun was speechless.

“Scrub in,” Zheng Ren told Su Yun.

“Do you still need me? Does my presence even make a difference?” Sarcastic Su Yun was back.

Brother Yun’s sarcastic remarks came whenever he felt like it.

An unhappy Su Yun would deliver a few lines of sarcasm.

A happy Su Yun would do the same.

The habit would be incredibly unflattering if it was anyone but Su Yun.

Su Yun had the skills and swagger to make derisive but honest comments because no one could fault him.

This was exemplified by the number of buddies he had back in Imperial Capital.

If he ever wanted to go drinking, there was a long list of contacts he could pick from.

Zheng Ren ignored Su Yun’s pointless question and continued with the surgery.

As usual, despite his complaints and rants, Su Yun went to wash his hand and put on the surgical scrubs.

He came back to the operating table fully-dressed. He used one hand to feel the right lung.

He could feel the thick double-stranded No. 7 suture in a figure-of-8 suture pattern.

It was the same technique Su Yun had in mind. Did Zheng Ren have some background in cardiothoracic surgery?

From a cardiothoracic standpoint, what Zheng Ren had done was extremely daring.

Su Yun had spent a lot of time thinking about the various methods to seal the two wounds while speaking to the family.

He landed on the same solution as Zheng Ren.

When he returned to the operating room, Zheng Ren was already done.

Su Yun glanced at Zheng Ren as he was fixing the rib fractures.

Zheng Ren’s attention was fully on the procedure, unaware of any unwelcoming stares.

The ribs fixation was a tedious process.

The actual procedure was not difficult but the damage to the rib cage extended from the second rib all the way to the ninth rib. They had to maneuver the clips in a restrictive operative field.

30 minutes later, the internal fixation surgery was completed. They checked for any active bleeds before closing up the chest.

“Su Yun, we’ll have to pay attention to the patient’s airways,” Zheng Ren instructed.

Zheng Ren was referring to whatever fluid that was lodged in the patient’s airways. After the surgery, the blood in the patient’s airways had to be aspirated.

“Don’t worry. The reason why I’m staying in the ICU tonight is to make sure all the blood is removed from his airways. If we followed the standard treatment workflow, the patient could lose up to 40% of his lung capacity.”

“Hmm, thank you then.”

“Yes, thank me.” Su Yun’s eyes s.h.i.+fted to Xie Yiren, then back to Zheng Ren. His eyebrows were questioning.

He was asking if Zheng Ren had made any progress.

This man was too nosy for his own good.