CHAPTER 356: 356 RARE GOOD NEWS

"Dr. Liu, another car accident. Two drivers and a pedestrian need to be admitted to our hospital. One driver lost consciousness at the scene, and so did the pedestrian who was hit. We suspect internal bleeding."

Liu Banxia was still contemplating the pregnant patient from earlier today when the dispatch nurse reported the latest emergency details.

"Three patients. Dr. Wei and Doctor Qi, take the two severe cases. Wang Chao, you take the less severe one. I’ll be on standby for support. Prepare five units of O-positive blood," Liu Banxia said.

"I’ll take the driver. Has the condition of the pregnant patient improved today?" asked Wei Yuan.

"Not yet. Her situation hasn’t been very optimistic since she was transferred to the ICU," Liu Banxia shook her head.

"My biggest hope now is to stabilize her vital signs and let her family see her one last time. Then, we can perform a Cesarean section to deliver the baby safely. But it’s a tough situation for both families.

"Just the cost of this resuscitation effort is a large sum, and we’re only halfway through. How much will insurance cover? How much will be left after the emergency treatment is paid for? They still have to raise the child, and it affects two families."

The people around fell silent. These were the problems they had to face. Even if the pregnant woman was successfully resuscitated, with such severe injuries, how long would her recovery take?

At this moment, ambulance sirens wailed, and three ambulances pulled up one after another in front of the emergency center.

"A 19-year-old male. He lost control of his car while making a turn, hit another vehicle, and lost consciousness immediately. He regained consciousness after getting into the ambulance. Blood pressure is 90/130, heart rate 115, oxygen saturation 100%," said the paramedic bringing in the injured man.

"Follow me to Rescue Room One," Wei Yuan said.

"A woman in her 30s fell unconscious after getting into the ambulance. Blood pressure is 70/90. She’s been intubated and is receiving fluids," said the paramedic from the second ambulance.

"Follow me to Rescue Room Two," Wei Yuan said.

"A 45-year-old male with lacerations to the head. Bandaged on-site. Vital signs are normal," said the paramedic from the third ambulance.

"Follow me to Treatment Room One," Wang Chao said.

Liu Banxia took a look and headed into Rescue Room One.

"Doctor, my butt hurts," the young driver said weakly.

"Liu Yiqing, initial trauma assessment. Miao Rui, auscultation," Wei Yuan ordered.

"Vital signs are currently stable. No cervical spine injuries," Liu Yiqing reported.

"Auscultation is clear," Miao Rui reported next.

"Chest and pelvic X-rays. Everyone, step away," Wei Yuan ordered.

Liu Banxia nodded. Liu Yiqing and Miao Rui had been very efficient during the examination, performing their tasks smoothly. Well done.

"Call an orthopedic consultant. Chest X-ray is normal. Hip dislocation," Wei Yuan said after the X-ray results came in.

No wonder the patient’s butt hurt; a dislocated hip would definitely be painful. He most likely slammed on the brakes too hard, causing the dislocation.

"How is this patient doing?" Liu Banxia then moved to Rescue Room Two.

"We’ve started a transfusion, but the ultrasound shows abdominal bleeding. We don’t have time for a CT scan. Let’s go directly to the operating room," Qi Wentai said.

Liu Banxia nodded. "You go with Brother Wei; let him be your assistant. I’m worried there might be more bleeding, and you might not be able to handle it on your own."

"Okay, we’ll go now," Qi Wentai said without hesitation.

He knew it was necessary. With this much abdominal bleeding, he definitely couldn’t handle it alone given his current experience.

"President Liu, my patient is fine. After suturing, we’ll take him for a head CT," Wang Chao said, walking over.

"Okay, then you join Doctor Qi and Brother Wei in the OR to operate on this patient. Dr. Shi and I will monitor things from down here," Liu Banxia said.

Sending three surgeons should be enough for this patient. Wei Yuan would be the lead surgeon, with Qi Wentai and Wang Chao assisting. After all, their experience was still lacking, and this was a chance for them to gain more.

"I’ve performed a closed reduction on this patient, but it needs time. Let the interns monitor him closely. I still have two other patients with lumbar disc herniations," said Wu Mingyu, the orthopedic doctor, who had just finished treating the patient and came over.

"Okay, I’ll keep an eye on things here. Don’t worry," Liu Banxia said, nodding with a smile.

"It seems you’ve been pretty busy this morning, haven’t you?" Wu Mingyu asked.

"Indeed. We’ve already handled two car accidents. I don’t understand why people are so careless when they drive these days," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

Wu Mingyu didn’t say anything. He checked the patient once more and then left.

"I just checked the pregnant patient’s echocardiogram, and the situation is grim. The fractured ribs have grazed her heart," Chen Xuehai said, approaching them.

"I’m worried that as her heart beats, the tear might worsen, possibly becoming a full laceration. If that happens, I’m afraid we won’t even get a chance to save her."

"So, what are you thinking?" Liu Banxia asked.

"I plan to use an endoscope. This can reduce the need for heparin, preventing further bleeding in her brain. This method is commonly used for cardiac puncture wounds but is seldom used domestically," Chen Xuehai explained.

"However, even with this approach, the surgery is very risky. Postoperative complications like thrombosis and hemolysis can occur. We must be extremely careful during the procedure to avoid them.

"Another crucial point now is assessing the benefit of resuscitating this patient. We haven’t conducted a neurological assessment for brain recovery yet. If we perform the surgery and her prognosis for brain injury recovery is poor, it will only add to her medical expenses."

Liu Banxia frowned as well. This was indeed a very real problem, one he had also considered. It was a difficult decision for doctors, and it would be just as difficult for the patient’s family.

"What’s the success rate of the surgery you just mentioned?" Liu Banxia asked after some thought.

"I’ve performed it three times before, with only one success. In such cases, the family often chooses to prioritize saving the fetus, as the brain damage is already severe," said Chen Xuehai.

"Think through the surgical steps carefully. Her parents should be arriving soon, and ultimately, they’ll have to make the decision," Liu Banxia said.

"Also, if her condition stabilizes even slightly, we can reduce the sedatives and perform an initial examination. That way, we’ll be better able to explain the situation to her family."

Chen Xuehai nodded. "That’s the only option. Or, if her condition deteriorates and her heart ruptures, that’s all I’ll be able to do."

The CT scan results for the driver arrived. He was relatively lucky; aside from the head wound, he had no other injuries.

Considering the severity of this accident, his injuries were relatively minor.

Liu Banxia had just contacted the operating room. The pedestrian who was hit had a ruptured spleen, a mild liver laceration, and bleeding from the short gastric artery.

These kinds of injuries meant she had brushed with death. Any of them could have caused fatal bleeding. Of the three, the liver laceration was actually the least severe.

"Banxia, the pregnant woman’s parents are here," Zhou Li said as she walked over.

"Liang Xiaolin, you heard what Dr. Chen just said, right? Communicating with the patient’s family is up to you and Qing Kewa," Liu Banxia said.

Liang Xiaolin wrinkled her nose. This wasn’t her forte, but now that it had fallen to her, she had to do it.

The emergency department was quite chaotic. Family members of the day’s patients had begun to arrive one after another. Both the pedestrian currently in surgery and the pregnant woman admitted that morning were in critical condition.

"Sigh... Although they were hesitant at first, the patient’s parents eventually agreed to do everything possible to save her," Liang Xiaolin reported after returning a short while later.

"Notify Dr. Chen, then. Have him explain the surgical details and potential complications to the family thoroughly," Liu Banxia said after some thought.

"Is that really going to work? I feel this surgery is too risky," Liang Xiaolin said hesitantly.

"The risk is high, but right now, all we can do is trust his skill," Liu Banxia said.

"If we were to open her chest now, forget repairing it; it’s uncertain if she’d even make it off the table. Since we’ve decided to help her, we must be decisive. If we delay any longer and her condition worsens, there might not be any time left for resuscitation.

"At times, the choices we have to face are like this. There aren’t so many rights or wrongs, nor is there much rationality. What can we do? It’s simply to do our best."

Liang Xiaolin nodded, immediately took out her phone, and dialed Chen Xuehai.

"Boss, when Dr. Chen performs the surgery, you should go with him and observe. Just in case they need to open her up to control abdominal bleeding, it’ll save time instead of calling for someone else," Liu Banxia murmured to Shi Lei.

"Alright, you’re always trying to find ways to slack off. But it’s fine; it’s been a while since I’ve performed surgery myself," Shi Lei said, laughing and nodding.

"I have no choice. I have another surgery this afternoon. I’m worried that if I spend too much time in the OR, it will affect it," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

Just as he finished speaking, Wei Yuan and the other two came out of the elevator. Their expressions were good—a clear sign the operation had been successful.

"All good?" Liu Banxia asked, approaching them.

"Thank goodness Dr. Wei was there. Otherwise, the two of us would have been overwhelmed. The blood loss was huge, but thankfully the surgery was timely," Wang Chao said.

"That’s some much-needed good news today. We’re still worried about the pregnant patient," Liu Banxia said.

"We’ll take it one step at a time. When we first opened her up, even I was shocked. Parts of the splenic tissue had been flushed out by the blood. I really didn’t expect it to be that severe," Wei Yuan said.

"Dr. Wei handled it very skillfully. If it had just been me, the patient wouldn’t have made it," Qi Wentai added.

"Alright, take a short break, then get back to seeing patients. I need to prepare for this afternoon’s surgery, and Dr. Shi needs to prepare for the pregnant patient’s operation. Brother Wei, if there’s an emergency, you go in and help too," Liu Banxia said.

"Okay, don’t worry," Wei Yuan said, nodding firmly.

The emergency center was incredibly busy today. Even though there were only four emergency patients in total, with only two requiring intensive resuscitation, it still demanded a great deal of everyone’s attention and effort.