System Came When the Doctor was Thirty

The emergency operating theater had three rooms, the shadows under the surgical lights were sharp, the muscles red and oily, and the remaining blood dark red.

After Lu Cheng finished the last knot of tendon suturing, he asked, ”Teacher Tian, what’s the situation in operating rooms 1 and 2?”

Anesthesiologist Tian Chao looked up: ”Over here, it’s all minor injuries, the severe cases have been taken to the surgical theater.”

”We have only four anesthesiologists in total for the emergency surgery department, how could we possibly handle so much?”

”Operating room 1 is being handled by the orthopedics team, and Zhang Tiesheng from your emergency department is doing debridement and suturing in room 2. Cao Yongqiang from general surgery is in operating room 3.”

”Operating room 4 seems to have Director Tian Hongjian from orthopedics,” Tian Chao hadn’t been to room 4 and shared what he had heard with Lu Cheng.

While Tian Chao was speaking, Du Daihua hurried over, ”Brother Lu, I’m here to help.”

”You came at the right time, Daihua. You and Tian Zhuang continue with the remaining sutures. I’ve completed the hemostasis, debridement, and tendon suturing.”

”Remember to apply a polymer cast on the left forearm later, nothing special besides that. The patient can be transferred back to the ward after surgery.”

”Scrub up and get on the table. I’ll head to room 1,” Lu Cheng stood up and took two steps back from the operating table before moving forward again to carefully check the details of the debridement.

Finally, he turned to the clothing and linen disposal bins of the operating room, swiftly removing his sterile surgical gown.

Tian Zhuang said, ”Brother Lu, call me if you need any help later.”

”Alright!” Lu Cheng nodded. After removing his gloves, he took his phone from the stainless steel shelf and headed directly toward operating room 1.

There are only four operating rooms in the emergency surgery department.

Because Long County generally doesn’t have that many emergency cases, some emergencies are also handled in the specialized surgical theater.

Lu Cheng first went to the external scrub sink to sanitize his hands again, holding them up to his chest, and stepped through the automatic sensor doors of the operating room.

Once he looked up, Lu Cheng recognized that the lead surgeon was Executive Luo from Orthopedics Unit 1, with Ouyang Meng, the newly recruited orthopedic surgeon who came in after Lu Cheng applied for a transfer, assisting.

”Director Luo, what’s the situation here?” Lu Cheng asked while moving towards the dressing table, trying to save all possible time.

Executive Luo, the deputy chief orthopedic surgeon specializing in the spine, despite his vast connections, wasn’t pretentious: ”This kid is both lucky and unlucky—lucky it’s only the left hand injured.”

”Unlucky because there are four cuts on the left hand.”

”The cuts and cuts deep into the palm.”

”But it’s also lucky that the digital arteries weren’t injured, though the superficial palmar arch was hit. I’m working on the debridement.”

”I’ve already applied to Director Peng about whether Professor Tong should be called in for backup, as failing the suture of the superficial palmar arch could be serious.”

”But Director Peng said Professor Tong is currently performing replantation of an amputated finger.”

Tong Yuan’an was ultimately called over by Peng Haibo, as some situations were beyond the immediate handling capacity of the hospital.

Lu Cheng replied, ”The difficulty of suturing the superficial palmar arch isn’t particularly high, not needing microsurgery—it should be fine without calling Professor Tong.”

”Can you handle it too, Xiao Lu?” Executive Luo’s tone was surprised, his gaze flickering over Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng casually replied, ”Brother Luo, for such superficial palmar arch injuries, before Professor Tong came, didn’t we always do conventional suturing?”

”As long as there’s no bleeding, it won’t be particularly poor.”

The debridement and suturing of the palm are done at Long County People’s Hospital, but achieving excellent recovery post-operatively is not feasible there.

However, some patients aren’t concerned about the specifics of postoperative functional recovery and resist referrals since their treatment ends at the county hospital and they are reluctant to travel further.

Some even refuse treatment for conditions irreparable at the county hospital.

Executive Luo thought for a moment and eventually nodded, ”This vascular injury seems urgent, so let’s start suturing.”

Lu Cheng said, ”No rush, Director Luo, let’s handle the tendon and muscle sutures first, then move on to the blood vessels.”

”The patient hasn’t been injured long; we can address the vascular bed first and then the vessels to prevent compressing them with tendon and muscle suturing after vessel repair!”

Professor Zhong from Union Hospital had meticulously taught Lu Cheng the order and underlying principles of limb replantation.

The knowledge should be used flexibly, not just reserved for limb replantation.

”Then it seems it’s up to Xiao Lu, Peng Kun said he can’t handle the tendons in this area.”

The flexor tendons in the hand section fall into Zone Three. Though not as challenging as the No Man’s Land in Zone Two, they require handling with the Tsuge and Modified Tang Methods.

Peng Kun is still mastering these techniques, only daring to suture one or two tendons under Tong Yuan’an’s guidance.

Lacking the skills, Peng Kun is not confident in operating a solo table.

Lu Cheng, however, has led many cases and even handled the more challenging Zone Two flexor tendon sutures, a fact that has made Executive Luo acutely aware of the skills gap between Lu Cheng and Peng Kun.

Once given an opportunity, a person as formidable as Lu Cheng cannot be restrained, only befriended.

In the county hospital, one’s ability to practice is primarily merit-based!

”No worries, no rush; I’ll survey the other injuries again,” Lu Cheng donned a sterile surgical gown and gloves, approaching but not immediately beginning sutures.

Instead, he carefully and thoroughly examined the patient’s wounds.

Understanding the patient’s situation before proceeding is something every leading surgeon must do.

”There is a rupture at the insertion of the biceps, along with a rupture in the brachioradialis tendon.”

”Was this person cornered and attacked?” Lu Cheng was surprised.

These injury sites suggest defensive wounds, fearing blows to the head leading to death.

Executive Luo nonchalantly looked at the ’trash’ lying down, ”The injury mechanism is irrelevant; our job is just to treat the wounds.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Cheng said, ”Director Luo, then I’ll proceed from proximal to distal slowly…”

After Ouyang Meng stepped aside to let Lu Cheng take over, a glimmer of light flickered in his eyes.

Although he hadn’t worked alongside Lu Cheng before, after experiencing the atmosphere of the department, he felt even more that Senior Lu Cheng was incredibly formidable and audacious.

He had transferred directly to the emergency department, turning the tables by performing significant operations for orthopedics.

First attacking tendon injuries orthopedics couldn’t handle, followed by taking over some emergency orthopedic fracture surgeries…

The key point being, in orthopedics, no one dared to speak up!

No one dared to challenge him!

Lu Cheng operating as the primary surgeon, taking responsibility, with qualifications and surgical authorization, and performing excellently—what could orthopedics possibly do?

Falsely accuse him? Frame and destroy Lu Cheng within the system?

Lu Cheng’s patients were out of their surgical reach, how would they even frame him?

It was impossible!

Lu Cheng’s sharp features and piercing gaze, with techniques so refined they left Ouyang Meng awestruck but also envious to an intense degree.

Lu Cheng noticed Ouyang Meng’s gaze but paid no mind; at that moment, he didn’t care about the identity of the patient lying there!

Once a patient comes to the hospital, they are just a patient; what Lu Cheng saw were their injuries, unrelated to whether the patient was a rascal or not.

As it stands, Lu Cheng’s tendon suturing skills were sharp enough to carry him through any tendon injury path.

Although not claiming to be absolutely the best, attending to every detail, in terms of suture strength, Lu Cheng dared to claim he was the best in the world.

However, in medicine, it is not a contest of unilateral strength; the efficacy of tendon suturing also doesn’t directly relate to suture tension.

It needs to be meticulously executed to perfection in every step, a synthesis of theoretical knowledge, basic tendon suturing fundamentals, and a thorough understanding of tendon function.

Therefore, while Lu Cheng’s suturing technique was excellent, he could only claim a high excellence rate, not the best recovery results.

In tendon suturing, the skill level is inner strength, the technique is the maneuver.

A maneuver can enhance power to a certain extent but does not affect basic damage...