System Came When the Doctor was Thirty

”The fact that you managed to get this far without a teacher guiding you is already astounding.”

”Besides, Brother Lu, haven’t you been advising behind the scenes all along?”

”Who should be first, who shouldn’t be first, when you want, you should want.”

Hu Cong’s topic fluctuated between being controlled and open: ”The threshold for limb preservation surgery with damage is not low, but once you get in, it’s not that high either.”

”It’s actually a kind of indirect palliative and rescue debridement, trying to leave more potentially necrotic and indirectly non-necrotic tissue, and rebuilding blood supply to restore vitality.”

Hu Cong and Lu Cheng were classmates, so his position with their teacher, Professor Lan Hualuo, was different, regardless of whether Lu Cheng would become an apprentice again or re-enter Zhongnan.

The camaraderie of classmates, the bond of dorm mates, and back in the day, the foods they shared —

Lu Cheng brought home cured meats, pickled green beans, fermented tofu, homemade sausage, chili paste, pickled radish, garlic and ginger, rice tofu, and more, all of which were consumed while showcasing the country’s beautiful landscapes and cuisine to Hu Cong...

”Yes, these things, Professor Lan has emphasized many times in the video. These are basic principles, but based on these principles, there are certainly many techniques and adaptations that I haven’t mastered.”

”What I am currently working on is relatively simple vascular suturing skills; vascular suturing is just the framework of vascular reconstruction, not involving techniques.”

”Nerve suturing and nerve reconstruction are completely different; I’ve come this time to learn the details about these things.”

Hu Cong calmly placed his hand supportively, further helping Lu Cheng expand his operational field: ”No rush, there are teaching materials and videos, you can start with the surgery.”

”Okay.”

”How about later? Is the Tanyu restaurant on Han Street still there?” Lu Cheng directly expressed his intention to treat.

”It’s not there anymore, that fragrant pot place also closed down, this time I’m treating you.”

Hu Cong replied: ”Lest the other classmates find out, and say I’m not following the rules.”

”I’m here to learn, after all,” Lu Cheng took his chance to say.

”What does your learning have to do with me? We’re classmates, I’m in Han City, you’re not living here permanently yet, you’re not going to cause a scene.”

”Maybe you should just leave now and pretend you never came, we never met.” Hu Cong, while replying, pointed out:

”Your anatomical knowledge of the fine microvessels in orthopedics is still lacking.”

”If you’re going to do damage-related surgery, at least you must be adept at the sixth-level vascular branches from the femoral artery.”

”Basic anatomy and orthopedic anatomy aren’t enough.”

”The femoral artery, popliteal artery, and anterior and posterior tibial arteries are only considered the first three branches!”

”The circumflex fibular artery, nutrient artery, are the fourth level, enough for orthopedic surgery but not for damage-related surgery.”

”Performing hand surgery requires identifying every muscle’s nourishing blood vessel. That’s the fifth level.”

”For damage-related surgery, it’s necessary to identify the entrance locations of every muscle’s nourishing blood vessels at different parts. That’s the sixth level.”

”It’s the same logic with the upper limb.”

Hu Cong’s guidance was detailed, perhaps not summarized by himself, but a result of deep involvement and distilled experience.

Lu Cheng murmured softly: ”Alright, I’ll supplement my knowledge areas.”

At the county hospital level, being proficient in Level 4 Anatomy is sufficient for all surgeries. At the State People’s Hospital level, mastering fifth-level vessels allows you to work in detailed sub-specialties.

But this is damage-related surgery, which is a technique not commonly taught even in many provincial teaching hospitals, requiring diligent effort to master fully.

Hu Cong simply compared the requirements for the lower leg position, while other parts also require significant effort or ’Skill Points.’

Based on limb preservation surgery from damages, Professor Lan Hualuo has achieved current success; Lu Cheng doesn’t think he can master this surgical technique with a mere small amount of skill points.

”Yes, today you are only at the level to learn the basic principles.”

”A more complete limb preservation surgery from damage involves one-stage limb preservation plus functional reconstruction.”

”To achieve this, the first thing we must do is clean all the vessels and nerves and their branches, and explore and mark them during surgery.”

”After debridement, we not only need to reconstruct blood supply, but also nerve reconstruction.”

”Therefore, even if you think you can do several damage-related surgeries today, successfully finishing one won’t be easy.”

”Within these operations, there are also variations.”

”Vascular reconstruction isn’t just simple vascular suturing; vascular sewing is just the easiest, most basic vascular reconstruction. Going further, it involves vascular transposition, organic connection, vascular implantation, vascular embedding, and other techniques.”

”In handling tendons, we also need to base it on the different extents of tendon remnants...”

After listening, Lu Cheng put down the instruments in a somewhat dejected manner: ”Am I still standing far outside the door?”

Vascular transposition, vascular variant suturing, vascular implantation—none of these are reflected on the board.

Every profession requires specialized knowledge. Some surgeries are so professional that even Lu Cheng feels a crisis of confidence in humanity.

It’s still not big enough, not open long enough!

”As one of our colleagues said, being able to keep the leg alive is the beginning of all hopes.”

”Let’s keep it alive first, then strive for a better life.” Hu Cong’s words eventually returned to the faults of his past practice, like a mantra.

Lu Cheng nodded: ”Yes, maintain a correct attitude and always be brave enough to admit your shortcomings.”

Returning to reality, Hu Cong unkindly remarked: ”Don’t be so optimistic. In my view, you often aren’t brave enough to admit your deficiencies.”

”Back then, when I advised you to stay at the hospital, you insisted on pursuing love. Why?”

”Last year, both the master and uncle-master tried every means to recruit you formally, but you ignored them.”

Lu Cheng wasn’t angry. If it weren’t for Hu Cong’s assessment that he could now handle setbacks and was no longer the loser he used to be, his emotions would have been lifted gently, like bathing in spring breeze.

Truth is harsh.

”Why don’t you mention your master?” Lu Cheng chuckled and retorted.

Hu Cong fell silent.

To be honest, during his graduate studies, he focused more on following the teacher for projects, learning techniques, learning expertise, and didn’t really have time to care about what was happening with Lu Cheng.

However, the email records would not be easily falsified by Lu Cheng, and there are reasons behind Lu Cheng’s actions.

Unable to respond, yet unwilling to lose face, Hu Cong argued, ”That’s the grandmaster, not the relation of your two grandmasters to me?”

The more familiar an adult is, the more face one will care for.

Lu Cheng usually called this a ’stubborn duck’s hard beak,’ and he couldn’t strip Hu Cong’s jawbone off, so he obliged: ”Go ahead and say more, I’m listening seriously.”

Han City University isn’t the top-notch prestigious school, but realistically, many who can get in could potentially get better results if they perform normally.

Therefore, during undergraduate years, many people loved to show off.

And as they showed off, they’d find out that the ’talent’ believed to be unique in high school was everywhere, no matter how hard you tried, it was tough to particularly stand out.

In medical undergraduate education, it especially doesn’t require much inherent talent, relying more on how much time and memory capacity you have...

Neither of them ate lunch, stomachs empty.

Not for nostalgia, but to satisfy Lu Cheng’s thirst for knowledge and Hu Cong’s ”desire to showcase for teaching purposes”!

As they say, in the same dormitory, one would either be a surrogate father or a surrogate son.

Such pure feelings are really like adopting a son—can press you down but never lie flat!

After forming this kind of relationship, it would not become ”mature” due to continued aging.

And after becoming mature, there would be no increase in quantity, and won’t encounter same-age peers with thoughts of adopting you as a father.

At around four o’clock in the afternoon, Hu Cong drove Lu Cheng across the river to an old skewer hot pot hidden in a deep alley in Jiang’an District.

The hot pot restaurant was bustling with people; the environment wasn’t just grounded but connected to the sewers.

Hu Cong, a native of Han City, wasn’t particularly fond of hot pot flavors, but he remembered Lu Cheng loved spicy food from Xiangxi.

Lu Cheng right then saved its location on the map, walking while abandoning the car, exclaiming: ”This spot is good, really good.”