167 Perform in Reverse (1/2)
Monday.
Ling Ran brought his research paper and went to Yun Hua Hospital in high spirits.
The hospital roused at five in the morning. Dozens of trolleys with breakfasts placed on them occupied the pedestrian sidewalks in the perimeter of Yun Hua Hospital. They headed to the parking lot. The guards had already started collecting fees. The scalpers, who were the most energetic bunch early in the morning, began selling consultation numbers for famous specialists, regardless of whether those specialists were chief physicians or associate chief physicians. The prices of these numbers differed based on how famous the specialists were, and the world was fair in this manner. It was so fair that sometimes, the doctors would use these prices to tease each other.
Long queues had already started forming in front of the consultation counters. The patients' first choice were the 13 RMB or 17 RMB tickets, which were the prices they had to pay to consult specialists. Only when the numbers for the specialists ran out would the people choose regular consultations, which were priced between 5 RMB or 7 RMB.
The scalpers who were mingled in the crowd could raise the prices of specialist numbers costing only 17 RMB to 60 RMB, 80 RMB, and even 180 RMB.
During the month Pan Hua returned with a Japanese specialist, the specialists' numbers had soared up to 500 RMB, but that was a sight rarely seen, even in Yun Hua Hospital.
Compared to the tickets scalpers sold for the concerts of superstars, the scalper tickets in hospitals appeared much more lucrative. Specialists provided consultations every week. The scalpers never had to be worried about never selling out, and their source also provided them with a steady flow of tickets. When they formed deals, they would even ask to be paid only in cash…
It was slightly more peaceful in the Emergency Medicine building.
The patients who arrived during the night had been settled, and the patients who would eventually come during the day had not arrived yet. The nurses in the reception area were all nodding away.
”I brought some fruits for all of you.” Ling Ran placed a bag of fruits he brought from home on the reception area.
Two young nurses said in surprise and delight, ”Doctor Ling, you're so courteous.”
”That's what I should be doing.” Ling Ran had quite a deep understanding on the law of reciprocating gifts. He often received gifts from nurses, female doctors, the sisters of the patients, the sisters of the patients' family members, or even much more mature ladies, and also from other people. No matter what, he had to reciprocate to their kindness. Fortunately, Ling Ran's mother, Tao Ping, always prepared return gifts for Ling Ran. His supply of gifts were somewhat adequate.
”Wow, the grapes are so fresh…”
”Ohh you brought apples! I love apples the most…”
The two nurses did not care whether Ling Ran did this out of sincerity or whether it was just a gesture. No matter what, they showed joy towards Ling Ran's gift.
”The grapes and apples are planted by my friends and relatives in my street. My family will always reserve some every year. When it's harvesting season, they can send the fruits to my house at any time they want. They might have used chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but they're all within acceptable standards. It's easy to clean the fruits,” Ling Ran purposefully said.
The two nurses nodded excitedly. They spoke as one, ”Doctor Ling, you're the best.”
Ling Ran went into the Emergency Department with a smile. He then placed the research paper on Huo Congjun's desk, put on his white coat, and went into the Operating Area.
He changed into scrubs in the Operating Area, made his way to the waiting room, and, much to the surprise of no one, he smelled the aroma of stewed meat.
Ling Ran walked into the room with a smile and found a plate filled with around ten pork trotters. There was a small plate placed by the bottom right corner of the plate. On it was a QR code, along with a description by the side. [To balance expenditures, each pork trotter will now cost 19.9 RMB. Please pay on your own.]
When he raised his head again, he saw Lu Wenbin standing by the table, all smiles. The more Ling Ran looked at him, the more the white coat made Lu Wenbin look like a chef.
”Are surgery preparations ready?” Ling Ran's focus was always on the operating theater. As for pork trotters… they were tasty, and naturally, useful in their own sense.
As Ling Ran spoke, he brought out his phone and scanned the QR phone to buy a pork trotter.
Lu Wenbin fished out a big pork trotter from the bottom of the pile. He handed it to Ling Ran with both hands before he said with a smile, ”The operating theater is ready. The anesthesiologist is still Su Jiafu. The MRI scan is also placed inside. The patient is a thirty-eight-year-old air conditioning engineer. His hand was stuck when he was installing an air-con. His left index finger suffered an avulsion amputation[1]. The damage to his skin is rather serious. His tendons and blood vessels were both stripped.”
Compared to severed fingers, amputations caused by avulsion amputation were much more severe.
To doctors, the survival rate of the finger after it was replanted would also be much lower.
Ling Ran nodded slowly and asked, ”What are the patient and his family members' expectations towards the surgery? They should know that the possibility of complete recovery is near zero, right?”
”His family members understand,” Lu Wenbin said, ”I told them that we will be grafting skin and performing blood vessel transplant. The patient's finger will also definitely be shortened. His family members show that they can accept this. However, the patient wishes that he can recover hand function as quickly as possible so that he can return to work soon.”
Lu Wenbin paused for a while before he said, ”The patient isn't too well off. They are also quite concerned with medical fees.”
Ling Ran nodded slightly. These were normal requests when it came to finger replantations.
Industrial workers were the group of people who produced the highest number of patients who required finger replantations. Industrial workers cared much less about their appearances compared to other people. They did however, care much more about their ability to survive in the world, as well as medical treatment expenses.
”Let's go in.” Ling Ran threw away the port trotter's bone, wiped his mouth clean, and washed his hands clean. He then entered the operating theater. Under the help of the nurse, he donned the scrub that covered his entire body.
Right then, the operating theater was in a nearly completely sterilized condition.