CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: TURNING THE TIDE

Before long, the vascular surgery and cardiology doctors arrived, and the head nurse of the operating room, Liu Yan, even pushed the transport bed to the doorway of the operating theater.

However, just as a glimmer of hope appeared, a new problem arose.

The catheterization lab is on the third floor.

Transferring the patient, who was undergoing cardiac compression, from the operating room on the 2nd floor to the catheterization lab on the 3rd floor was too risky, as it would be impossible to ensure effective cardiac compression during transit.

Just when everyone was at their wits’ end, spiraling into despair once more.

Zhao Heng suddenly said, "If we can’t go to the catheterization lab, we can do bedside TEE."

TEE, or transesophageal echocardiogram, doesn’t require catheterization and can observe the heart’s condition, and crucially, it can be done right at the bedside.

Zhao Heng’s thought process was undoubtedly informed by the experience of Professor Huang Guangyu.

"TEE? Yes, we can do TEE!"

A cardiologist suddenly realized.

"Old Gao?"

Ning Yunhao almost looked at Gao Jun with pleading eyes.

Of all the people present, perhaps only the senior anesthesiologist Gao Jun might be able to perform TEE.

Because TEE is a more recent development, highly advanced, most general anesthesiologists have not done it before.

"Alright."

Gao Jun had only heard about TEE, and the specific procedure, he had only heard about as well.

Although he wasn’t confident, in this situation, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed.

"Teacher, I recently consulted with Professor Huang on this issue, let me do it."

As Gao Jun was about to grit his teeth and go ahead, Zhao Heng suddenly said.

"Professor Huang? Okay, you do it!"

In this situation, every second counts in determining the patient’s life or death, so Gao Jun only pondered for a second before nodding.

He decided to let Zhao Heng take over!

After all, everyone was already out of options, at their wit’s end.

With Gao Jun’s approval, naturally, no one else had any objections, but seeing the young Zhao Heng step up, everyone felt the hope was slim!

"Teacher Ning, I need two minutes."

Zhao Heng looked at Ning Yunhao and said.

To perform TEE, cardiac compressions must be paused for two minutes; the examination must be completed during a halt in external cardiac compression.

"Alright, it’s in your hands."

In an instant, Ning Yunhao gritted his teeth and made the decision.

One must know that once external cardiac compression is stopped, the optimal time for resuscitation might be missed; the responsibility was heavy.

At this moment, all eyes were on Zhao Heng.

Could this young man create a miracle?

Soon after, the head nurse Liu Yan quickly pushed the equipment in, and Zhao Heng took over and began the procedure.

Soon, the heart visualization appeared on the screen.

Zhao Heng immediately focused intently on the display screen.

Everyone else held their breath, with hearts tightly clenched, almost in their throats.

Finally, after two minutes.

Zhao Heng spoke: "Air embolism in the right atrium, prepare the superior vena cava catheter immediately."

At this moment, Zhao Heng seemed to merge with the image of Professor Huang Guangyu in memory.

"I’ll go prepare it."

The head nurse, Liu Yan, seemed captivated by the aura Zhao Heng exuded at this moment and immediately went to prepare.

Before long, Nurse Liu Yan rushed back in with the catheter and insertion equipment.

Zhao Heng took the catheter and, in just over a minute, inserted it into the superior vena cava.

And at the moment the catheter entered the right atrium of the heart, the patient’s heart resumed beating.

It was a success!

Everyone felt a profound relief that words could hardly describe.

At this moment, 35 minutes had passed since the heart stopped!

This was undoubtedly a miracle!

And it happened right before everyone’s eyes.

The chief surgeon, Ning Yunhao, even felt his vision darken, his legs weakening, barely able to stand.

"Well done, Xiao Zhao!"

Gao Jun looked at Zhao Heng with satisfaction and said.

"Alright, let’s continue with the surgery."

The surgery department’s director, Xu Wenqiang, stood outside the operating room and witnessed the entire process.

One could say Zhao Heng, with all his might, resolved a serious crisis.

In recent years, doctor-patient tensions have grown sharper, and the environment is not optimistic.

In such an environment, a patient’s death during an ordinary surgery would have a very negative impact even on Eastern Hospital, let alone the chief surgeon Ning Yunhao.

If this patient had really died on the operating table, the consequences awaiting chief surgeon Ning Yunhao were unimaginable.

"Well done, Xiao Zhao."

Xu Wenqiang approached Zhao Heng and praised him warmly.

This young man is reliable indeed!

Such dependable young talents are rare these days!

Xu Wenqiang couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

Following that, the patient was stabilized, and the operation naturally returned to normal. At this point, Ning Yunhao, after a long 30 minutes of external cardiac compression, had sore arms, not to mention the immense psychological pressure he endured in such a short time.

Therefore, a neurosurgery attending physician came to take over his surgery while Ning Yunhao sat aside to rest.

"Xiao Zhao, thank you so much today."

Sitting next to Zhao Heng, Ning Yunhao expressed his gratitude.

If it weren’t for Zhao Heng today, he couldn’t imagine what sort of consequences he would face.

To become the deputy chief physician at Eastern Hospital, the effort and dedication Ning Yunhao had put in over the years were immeasurable to ordinary people.

If such a serious medical accident really happened today, everything Ning Yunhao had strived to achieve could have vanished in a puff of smoke.

Medical accidents are the sword of Damocles hanging over every surgeon’s head!

"Yes, Xiao Zhao, everyone saw your performance today."

Gao Jun also spoke with relief.

Zhao Heng displayed a rare quality of being calm in crisis situations and being able to think of solutions in extremely short times.

This quality, to remain composed in big events, has always been necessary for achieving great accomplishments.

"Xiao Zhao, how did you deduce that the cause of cardiac arrest was an air embolism in the right atrium? In so many years and surgeries, I’ve never encountered a cardiac arrest caused by a right atrium air embolism."

Seemingly more relaxed, Ning Yunhao asked with curiosity.

Today’s situation was extremely rare, and if one hadn’t encountered it before, it would have been impossible to think of.

This is the mental blind spot; in clinical practice, when a patient presents with acute conditions and the attending physician falls into this mental blind spot, failing to identify the actual cause of a patient’s condition, the outcomes are often very severe.

"I attended a lecture before and just happened to discuss this situation with an old professor, so it came to mind in the urgency today."

Zhao Heng explained.