CHAPTER 193: SOUR, SOUR

(Thanks to my friend 1111 for the encouraging monthly tickets)

The surgery was finished, but it left Liu Banxia feeling quite stressed. She really wanted to ask Zhou Shuwen how the surgery went, but she was too embarrassed to open her mouth.

Now, they just had to wait for the patient to wake up, which would also take time. Only when the patient successfully regained consciousness could they consider the surgery truly complete.

Meanwhile, in the corridor of the operating room area, Qi Wentai and Wang Chao were also waiting.

Qi Wentai came out first. Seeing that neither Liu Banxia nor Wang Chao were around, the corners of his mouth turned up; his inner joy was impossible to hide. He was the fastest in this assessment, no doubt. With this under his belt, he was sure Zhou Shuwen would have to look at him in a new light.

It hadn’t been easy for him. He had spent his rest time performing laparoscopic cholecystectomies at other hospitals, just waiting for a chance to shine. Others did freelance surgeries to earn money, but he went out to gain experience, even having to call in favors. Now, it seemed it had all been worth it.

Wang Chao came out a few minutes after him. He didn’t have any direct conflict with Qi Wentai, so they chatted for a bit. They waited together for another seven or eight minutes before they saw Zhou Shuwen leading Liu Banxia’s trio out of the operating room.

Seeing this arrangement, Qi Wentai started to feel resentful again. He didn’t know Zhou Shuwen had been there in a supervisory role; he just felt Zhou Shuwen was too biased for not coming to watch his surgery.

"You two were quite fast. You both passed," Zhou Shuwen said with a smile.

"Director, was Dr. Liu’s patient’s condition very complicated?" Qi Wentai asked, feigning concern.

"Not complicated. I was just too slow," Liu Banxia interjected seriously before Zhou Shuwen could speak.

Qing Kewa might not have understood Qi Wentai’s little scheme, but even Liang Xiaolin could see through it, let alone anyone else. Liu Banxia found it rather amusing, so she decided to "tell it like it is."

Zhou Shuwen glanced at her. He found himself liking this new disciple of his more and more. She wasn’t just perceptive; her skills were also commendable. Her only flaw was being a bit mischievous.

"Doctor Liang, please go and update the patient’s family. This patient was borrowed from General Surgery; we can’t send him to our emergency department’s ward." Seeing Liang Xiaolin about to speak, Liu Banxia added.

Qi Wentai frowned. He felt that something wasn’t quite right. But he couldn’t understand why, even though Liu Banxia had come out so much later than him, there was this unsettling feeling.

He had confirmed with Wang Chao earlier: it was just a routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy, not complicated at all. Pre-op preparations, ten minutes; surgical procedure, twenty minutes; wake-up time, ten minutes. The entire surgery shouldn’t take more than forty-five minutes.

But Liu Banxia’s team? They came out at eleven forty-eight.

After walking a few steps, Zhou Shuwen glanced at Liu Banxia and said, "Tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, there’s a laparoscopic partial hepatectomy. You’ll be my first assistant."

This was an impromptu decision. Originally, he hadn’t wanted Qi Wentai to stay in the emergency department—not because of Qin Hai, but because of Qi Wentai’s pettiness.

After today’s little drama, he felt he should give Qi Wentai a reminder. So, he essentially threw a juicy bone right at Liu Banxia.

"Uh... okay," Liu Banxia responded quickly after a moment of stunned silence.

Qi Wentai remained silent, seething inwardly. This was too much! How could someone bully others so blatantly? Aren’t you, Zhou Shuwen, supposed to be the fairest of them all? Why must you favor your own disciple so much?

「Back in the Emergency Department」

"How did it go?" Shi Lei asked with a smile.

"Heh heh, I’m assisting Director Zhou in a surgery tomorrow morning. Aren’t you jealous?" Liu Banxia said with a grin.

"Get outta here! Looks like your laparoscopic skills have earned the director’s approval," Shi Lei retorted good-naturedly, though he was genuinely happy for Liu Banxia.

"Dr. Shi, Dr. Liu is truly amazing! Director Zhou himself said that if he had done today’s surgery, he would have, at most, been only five minutes faster than Dr. Liu," Qing Kewa, who was nearby, chimed in happily.

It wasn’t just Liu Banxia who was awed by Zhou Shuwen’s presence; even Qing Kewa was quite intimidated by his stern expression. Now that Zhou Shuwen had gone into his office, she perked up.

"My god, Banxia! What incredible feat did you pull off in the OR?" Wang Chao exclaimed, darting over.

Not far away, Qi Wentai froze, his brow furrowed, and he subtly shifted his posture.

"Actually, it wasn’t a big deal. It’s just that the patient had a very long history of cholecystitis, and extensive adhesions had formed around the gallbladder. Plus, the patient was a bit overweight with a lot of adipose tissue, so dissecting the gallbladder was quite challenging," Liu Banxia explained with a smile.

"I was quite pleased with myself at the time, but later I realized I still couldn’t compare to the director. I was a bit too cautious during the dissection, not as decisive as I could have been."

"And you finished the surgery in under an hour with a condition like that?" Wang Chao asked, astonished.

"Well, it wasn’t that fast. I guess I got lucky. The patient didn’t have many stones in the gallbladder, and none in the bile duct. Otherwise, clearing the bile duct could have taken ages. You really can’t control surgical time," Liu Banxia remarked thoughtfully.

This was also the truth; she had indeed performed exceptionally well today.

Even though she knew patient conditions were highly variable, she had rarely encountered such a case during surgery. Today had been a real learning experience, and she was genuinely thankful for it.

"Man... I don’t even know what level you’re at anymore. If it were me, just thinking about that surgery would give me nightmares. I doubt I could have finished it in under an hour and a half," Wang Chao said with a wry smile.

"I’m so jealous, so, so jealous! We came up together, so how did you get so good? Unfair! You owe me an extra chicken leg at lunch!"

Was there jealousy? Sure, a little. But his was a simple kind of envy; it soured him for a moment and then passed, leaving only happiness for Liu Banxia.

No wonder Director Zhou gave her such a big reward; this was the reason. If it had been him, he would have definitely rewarded her handsomely too.

"Chao, remember one thing: never forget the fundamentals," Liu Banxia advised, then looked at Liang Xiaolin and Qing Kewa.

"That goes for you two as well. The fundamentals are incredibly important. You need to read more, learn more about human anatomy. That way, no matter what happens during a surgery, you won’t panic."

"Does it really make that big a difference?" Wang Chao asked curiously.

"More or less. But just reading isn’t enough; you also have to visualize it. You need to mentally construct the tissues, organs of various regions, and the anatomical planes in your mind," Liu Banxia said after a moment’s thought.

Wang Chao gave a thumbs-up. "I’m impressed. It’s one thing to think about it, but actually doing it is another. I’ve seen you reading and practicing tying knots at the same time. I tried it myself, but I just can’t do it."

"What’s so hard about it? Isn’t that how everyone learns? Relying solely on surgeries to gain experience is still quite difficult for us at our current stage," Liu Banxia said.

"That’s true. In the early stages, we still have to grind through textbooks for knowledge," Shi Lei chimed in.

"Only when you’re truly familiar with the operating table and the procedures can you effectively gain experience from surgeries. Why else do you think your first assistants are all senior attending physicians? It’s to prevent any mistakes during the operations."

"You all are very lucky. You’re being given the chance to take the lead on cases right after finishing your residency. Otherwise, you’d have to slowly climb the ladder."

"It’s just unexpected that Banxia’s patient had complications. The three cases today were meticulously selected by Director Zhou after he repeatedly reviewed their diagnostic records."

Wang Chao nodded. He believed that. Many of his former classmates complained about not getting enough surgical opportunities.

But one also had to consider it from another angle: every surgery carries responsibility.

If resident physicians or those who just finished residency were carelessly entrusted with such significant responsibilities, the hospital would likely have to budget a lot of money for compensation payments each year.

This wasn’t a joke. A typical surgical mishap, even if not life-threatening, could cost two to three hundred thousand yuan these days. If it did threaten a life, it could easily be over a million.

How many surgeries did a large hospital like Second Hospital perform annually? They did many every single day, let alone every year.

Listening to their discussion from the side, Qi Wentai seemed somewhat lost in thought. He hadn’t expected this to be the truth of the matter.

Had he lost again? Despite all his hard practice in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, was he still no match for Liu Banxia, who supposedly only had observational experience?

This blow was quite significant for him. He had been full of energy, hoping to turn things around, but he hadn’t expected the gap between himself and Liu Banxia to still be so wide.

"Alright, it’s about time. I have an anal fistula surgery this afternoon. What’s the plan for lunch?" Liu Banxia asked.

"You go eat first. Get some good rest after. Since Wang Chao is here too, he can help watch things for a bit after lunch," Shi Lei said with a smile.

"No problem, no problem at all! I’ve been dying to join the Emergency Department. Just a couple more days to wait," Wang Chao replied quickly.

"It probably won’t be many more days. The new residents should be arriving in the next day or two. We can use the time to get preliminarily acquainted. Once the new building is ready, we’re really going to be swamped," Liu Banxia said.

"I went to the Municipal Hospital today. Man, the number of patients was insane. Anyway, just be prepared for hard work. Even if they give us a transition period, I doubt it’ll be very long—a month at most, I’d say."

Wang Chao’s face fell. Just thinking about it was terrifying. But then he looked at Liu Banxia, and he felt much more balanced.

After all, Liu Banxia, the chief resident, would be the busiest one. Others might have busy spells, but the chief resident’s busy was a whole different level of busy.