CHAPTER 388: 359 DRAGON THUNDER FIRE BURNING_2

The woman’s breathing had eased; she was no longer gasping heavily as she had when she first came in, unable to speak.

Hearing Du Heng’s words, she nodded hurriedly. "Yes, it’s convenient for us. We can be hospitalized now."

As the woman spoke, the man beside her nodded vigorously, readily agreeing.

Seeing that they both agreed, Du Heng turned to Cao Binghe. After all, the decision to admit them wasn’t up to him, a doctor from another hospital, but to Cao Binghe, the attending physician.

Cao Binghe was certainly willing to admit them; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent so much time talking earlier. He was waiting for Du Heng’s decision. If Du Heng was unwilling or unable to treat them, Cao Binghe would be helpless even if he admitted them.

Now that Du Heng had stated his position, Cao Binghe immediately said to the couple, "I’ll write you an Admission Form now. Take it to the ninth floor of the hospitalization department to complete the admission process. We’ll begin your treatment this afternoon."

"Alright, we’ll go do that now." The couple agreed readily.

Seeing this, Cao Binghe quickly wrote out the Admission Form.

Seeing the woman struggle to move her large frame again, Cao Binghe felt a pang of sympathy. He got up, left the room, and returned shortly with a wheelchair in good condition he’d found somewhere.

"Here’s a good wheelchair. You can use it to take your wife. After she’s settled in, please bring it back and give it to the nurse at the front desk."

The couple thanked Cao Binghe once again; the wheelchair was a godsend, solving an immediate problem for them.

After sending the couple off, Du Heng and Cao Binghe had no more patients. Cao Binghe turned off his computer and took Du Heng to lunch.

Originally, Lan Changhua had arranged to treat Du Heng to lunch. However, since Lan Changhua was unexpectedly injured, Chu Xuwei stepped in to host, giving Du Heng considerable respect.

After lunch, Cao Binghe offered to take Du Heng back to his dormitory to rest, but Du Heng declined. He wanted to visit Lan Changhua.

Lan Changhua had been about to sleep, but seeing Du Heng arrive, he felt quite embarrassed.

He had invited Du Heng himself, yet as soon as they met, he ended up in a hospital room.

Forget a proper welcome; instead, he’d been rescued by his guest, who then had to cover his shift.

"Doctor Du, I’m truly sorry," Lan Changhua said, his apology deeply sincere.

Du Heng chuckled, appearing unconcerned, and instead inquired about Lan Changhua’s condition. "Professor Lan, please don’t say that. No one wishes for something like this to happen. I heard from Dr. Cao that your shoulder is fractured. Is it serious?"

Lan Changhua smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I’m getting old, not as resilient as I used to be. Just a small fall, and I got injured. But it’s not serious, just a slight fracture. It’ll heal in a week or two."

"I have a prescription that’s very effective for promoting bone growth," Du Heng said enthusiastically, introducing his remedy. "Before I came, our Health Clinic admitted a patient with a tibia fracture. We used this prescription, and their recovery was excellent. Professor, why don’t you give it a try?"

Lan Changhua showed keen interest, his expression eager. "Really? In that case, I must try it. I hadn’t expected Doctor Du to have such remarkable achievements in internal medicine and, it seems, also significant research in orthopedics."

Du Heng smiled modestly and said nothing. He asked Cao Binghe for paper and a pen, wrote down the prescription for the whole body divine ointment, and handed it to Cao Binghe, who was standing behind him.

Du Heng wasn’t concerned whether it would be used or not.

Only after Du Heng finished writing did Lan Changhua speak. "Xiao Cao mentioned that you admitted a patient this morning with thyroid cancer that has metastasized to the neck, Doctor Du. What is your diagnosis for this patient?"

Du Heng wasn’t surprised; he had expected Lan Changhua to ask. "The patient’s pulse is deep, slippery, and firm. They have a thirty-year history of smoking and bronchitis. My diagnosis is that excessive smoking has scorched the lungs, leading to qi stagnation in the middle burner. Subsequently, phlegm and qi became obstructed, and over time, this transformed into fire toxin, solidifying in the vital passage of the throat, resulting in the current condition."

Lan Changhua shifted slightly, trying to sit up a bit more in his hospital bed.

After Cao Binghe had informed him of the patient’s condition, he had essentially reached the same diagnosis: fire toxin accumulation.

However, he only had the conclusion, not the comprehensive reasoning Du Heng had provided.

He currently categorized tumors into two main types: those formed by the accumulation of fire toxin, and those resulting from the obstruction of damp phlegm and dead blood. Although he had made these classifications, syndrome differentiation often presented challenges. Still, that wasn’t the most difficult part for him; prescribing the actual treatment was.

Now that Du Heng had clearly established the diagnosis, he must surely have a treatment plan in mind.

"Doctor Du, do you have a treatment approach in mind?"

However, Du Heng didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked Lan Changhua, "Professor Lan, what are your thoughts on this situation?"

Lan Changhua had also considered a treatment plan. Since Du Heng asked, he stated directly, "Clear the fire and detoxify, support right qi and remove tumors. We could use the prescription you formulated, Doctor Du. What do you think?"

Lan Changhua had invited Du Heng precisely for exchange and learning. What did ’exchange’ mean? It meant discussing, sharing viewpoints, learning from each other’s strengths, addressing weaknesses, and identifying insufficiencies, just like in this current situation.

After Lan Changhua finished speaking, he looked at Du Heng, who was seated on the stool. Cao Binghe, accompanying them, also turned his gaze to Du Heng.

Du Heng didn’t answer immediately, pausing for a moment.

But that brief hesitation made Lan Changhua’s heart tighten. He had an unsettling suspicion that his treatment approach might be flawed.

"Doctor Du, if you have something to say, please speak freely. Don’t hesitate."

Du Heng took a deep breath and, shedding any reservations, slowly revealed his thoughts. "The patient’s various symptoms indicate upper-body heat, yet both knees are cold. Considering their advanced age, the patient must be suffering from a significant deficiency of kidney yin, where the yin fails to embrace or contain the yang. This is a case of dragon thunder fire flaring upwards. Furthermore, the patient experiences frequent panting and sweating, so we must guard against the possibility of sudden collapse. Therefore, my approach is to nourish yin and constrain yang, guide the fire back to its source, and then support right qi and remove tumors."

The moment Du Heng finished speaking, Lan Changhua’s expression faltered.

Clear the fire and detoxify?

Nourish yin, constrain yang, and guide the fire back to its source?

A wave of chagrin washed over him.

He had made a mistake, focusing solely on the tumor itself.

What about that potent prescription of Du Heng’s he’d been thinking of? It was a combination of various highly toxic substances. If they had actually used such a prescription directly, the patient might indeed have faced sudden collapse.

Du Heng wasn’t just practicing treatment based on syndrome differentiation; he was practicing treatment based on discerning the underlying disease mechanism.

Lan Changhua suddenly had an inkling as to why his own tumor treatments were so hit-or-miss.