Great Doctor Ling Ran

“We’ll be performing a finger extension reconstruction operation.”

The chief surgeon, Ling Ran, stood in front of the operating table, as relaxed as ever.

“Understood.” Lu Wenbin was his assistant. He was also rather laid-back and was even in high spirits.

Ma Yanlin folded his arms, stood at a corner, and observed them quietly. Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind.

The anesthetist Su Jiafu sat beside a pile of instruments on a stool while he had a foot on another stool.

Ling Ran first used a pen to scribble down some notes and then used the Specialist Level Fiddle Bow Hold to cut through the skin between the patient’s two muscles.

When the scalpel touched the patient’s skin, a whole lot of information was released into Ling Ran’s mind.

‘The skin on his palm was tougher. It would become thinner at the thenar and become thicker at the intersection between the palm and hypothenar. Therefore, if I want to cut into him and only intend to slice open the skin, I must adjust the pressure accordingly.’

Everyone knew the theories when it came to human anatomies, but there were not many doctors who could do it when they needed to truly operate on a patient.

Most doctors would not care whatsoever and just start operating away. Their skill levels were limited, and they could not ask too much of themselves. At most, the patient would only end up with a slight worse prognosis and an uglier wound.

Ling Ran’s first operation had been even more of a disaster. He was not even able to determine the accurate length of the incision.

However, Ling Ran was different today.

As of today, Ling Ran had three thousand upper limb dissection cases stored in his head.

When he saw the patient’s hand, Ling Ran could almost immediately deduce the hardness and thickness of the skin.

And when the scalpel went into the patient’s hand, he found that the results were exactly as he thought they would be!

Then, he peeled away the thin adipose tissue layer and gazed at the muscles…

Even Ling Ran’s movements when he handled the knife look extraordinarily casual.

He was like the the cook in ‘The Dexterous Butcher'[1] cutting open an ox with ease. But when Ling Ran thought about it carefully, perhaps the cook Ting did not dissect three thousand oxes, let alone performed three thousand regional anatomical dissection on their hooves.

As for dissection under a microscope?

That was even more impossible.

If dissection of ox hooves was carried out according to the current anatomical dissection methodology, it would be necessary to ensure the complete reassembly of the ox, while breaking it down to microscopic detail. Forget about whether cook Ting possessed this knowledge or not, the ox that was dissected would be impossible to eat.

“The operation seems pretty smooth today.”

Lu Wenbin could only sense that Ling Ran’s movements were very smooth. He also tried to strike up a conversation.

A surgery without any chatter was like steaming a fish without first letting out its blood. Both were incredibly unpleasant.

Ling Ran nodded slightly and said, “It IS rather smooth.”

“You are getting better at it.”

“Yup.” Ling Ran’s short reply left Lu Wenbin at a loss for words, and he also killed the conversation. He just continued looking at himself performing the surgery with his head down, and while he watched, he recalled the steps.

The procedure for each operation was about the same. Each time before a surgeon stood in front of the operating table, the surgeon would also envision the correct way of the operation in their mind.

They would envision themselves selecting the right position, imagine themselves completing the procedure properly, and imagine themselves finishing the surgery easily… without the occurrence of any accidents.

Oh, if only no accidents happened!

Doctors knew accidents would occur during surgery, but they hoped that the accidents would be within acceptable margins. In other words, no accidents.

In the eyes of doctors, the perfect operation was a surgery that adhered to procedural steps without any accidents.

Although doctors would switch some things up during the surgery, every change also meant a huge amount of preparations before it was implemented during surgery. For example, Jin Bo Tang took about eight years to make some variations to the M-Tang technique.

As for the patients, they absolutely would not want to have anything out of the ordinary happening to them. Hence, doctors were forced to perform impromptu if accidents occurred.

*Swish*

Just as the tendon was exposed, the airtight access door of the operating room was opened.

Huo Congjun brought several people inside and smiled as he said, “Do whatever you are doing, I have brought a few friends to see the skills of our Doctor Ling.”

Those who followed him seemed to be of the same age as Huo Congjun. They all wore scrubs to reveal and revealed the fine hairs of their arms.

Several people came to the operating table and craned their necks to peer at the surgery, immediately blocking Ma Yanlin’s view.

The young houseman naturally did not dare say anything. He could only step back and give up his space.

The anesthesiologist Su Jiafu still sat firmly on his stool, but he did not think that his chances of retaining his chair was high. He even felt a little happy at the chaos he thought he was about to see, even though he still felt slightly resigned to his fate. ‘Fortunately, I didn’t ask for three stools today. Even if it was needed, it would be for nothing. I’d rather watch Huo Congjun and his gang snatch the stools.

“Look, this is the M-Tang technique of Yun Hua Hospital’s Emergency Department, the best method to suture no man’s land.”

Huo Congjun said pridefully while he showed off Ling Ran to the people.

Ling Ran did not lift his head. He was at the most critical step in this procedure, and he could not spare them any attention.

One could tell that Huo Congjun had roped in doctors with real skills. They silently observed Ling Ran, giving him respectful space.

Insert the needle, lead the thread out.

Tie the knot, snip the thread.

Ling Ran was suturing so fast that no one would be able to figure out where he had stitched if they were not paying attention.

And this increase in speed was natural, not forced.

In the past, Ling Ran had been unfamiliar with regional anatomical dissection, and it took him some time to determine the strength of the insertion of the needle, the length required to tie a knot, and so on. He had to make an estimation of all these things.

For example, the selection of absorbable suture and non-absorbable suture had different applications in different situations. Different types of thread also had different requirements in length when the surgeons were required to cut the thread to tie a knot.

If the thread was too long, it would be difficult for the wound to heal. If it was too short, it would easily come apart, and the suture would be loosened.

The more Ling Ran was comfortable in carrying out the surgery, the more excited Huo Congjun and the other observers became.

All surgeons wanted to perform a surgery where they would come out of it feeling pleased. Even if they were just watching on such surgeries, they would still feel excited.

“It’s done.” Ling Ran finished up the final knot and nodded for Lu Wenbin to cut the thread.

A pair of scissors went down, and there was an incomprehensible void in the hearts of the audience.

“Is it done already?” One of the doctors shook his head.

“Department Director Bai, do you still want to observe?” Huo Congjun provided his best service and immediately asked, “When is the next surgery scheduled?”

“The patient has arrived and is currently being prepped for the surgery at the Operating Theater 2.” Ma Yanlin quickly stood up to report.

Huo Congjun asked, “Doctor Ling, do you want to do it now, or do you want to take a break first?”

“Let’s do it now.” Ling Ran looked at the chart, “Is it a single-finger laceration? That would take about approximately thirty minutes. Please arrange for it.”

“Ah… yes,” Ma Yanlin replied quickly.

The people in the room looked at each other, and Department Director Bai laughed happily, “Department Director Huo, it seems that you have prepared a movie marathon for us.”

Huo Congjun was stunned for a bit before he began to chuckle as well. “It’s easy to talk about putting up a good show, but we have toiled and moiled for years at the backstage to be able to show you something good. It’s alright. If you observe a few more operations, you will know the strength of our Emergency Department.”

After that, he sent the people out of the operating theater, then took the chance to turn to Ling Ran. “How are you feeling today, can you perform a few more surgeries?”

“Yes, I can.” Ling Ran did not even need to ask why Huo Congjun asked the question.

“Then do a few more, and please maintain the quality and quantity of your operations.”

Huo Cong Jun paused and explained, “If your M-Tang technique is good, they’ll be our foreign aid in providing us with the finances we want. Keep up the good work. ”

“Okay,” Ling Ran replied.

Behind him, Lu Wenbin trembled in excitement. He looked as if he was on steroids.

Translator’s Notes:

1. Cook Ting cutting up an ox from “The Dexterous Butcher”: used to indicate that someone can do his work so skillfully he looks as if he’s casting spells. The story is in this link: http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/chuang-tzu.htm