The Surgeon’s Studio

Chapter 24: The Appendix Has No Soul

A fresh and mildly swollen appendix was pulled out by the curved forceps.

[Success!]

[My god, it’s a miracle!]

[A blind appendectomy. My inferior intellect and experience limit my imagination. How did he achieve this?]

In a blink, the livestream burst into life once more.

Previously suppressed emotions erupted like a volcano. The livestream had broken the site record by having more than five hundred online viewers.

It was currently 12:25 am.

Who knew how many doctors had been woken by their friends, colleagues or classmates.

The unstoppable onslaught of comments marched on and dominated the screen. No one cared about the remaining procedure and, even if anyone was interested, the comments effectively blocked their view. Since the appendix had been removed, there was nothing much that could go wrong now.

Unbelievable: the word filled the collective minds of the observing doctors. This was a surgical method that could not be learned. What the surgeon did within the small incision hole, no one knew.

How skilled was the surgeon to be able to locate the appendix with a single digit and complete the surgery with curved forceps?

In the surgical demonstration classroom, Chief Surgeon Liu and Cen Meng were stupefied.

As it happened, even the battle-weary Old Chief Physician Pan, who had experience with appendectomies in non-hospital settings, was shocked.

It was clear to everyone that this had been a blind operation.

This surgical method was not in any textbook, periodical, or scientific journal.

In general surgery, precision and accuracy were of utmost importance. An operative view was the first requirement.

How could a surgeon operate if they could not see what they were operating?

And yet, Zheng Ren had performed the unbelievable—a perfect blind operation—right before their eyes.

“This…” Cen Meng’s words stumbled as they tried to leave his mouth.

A warning resounded in his head. Stay silent if you can; anything you say can be used as sworn testimony.

Words should not be thrown out carelessly in the presence of Old Chief Physician Pan.

Comment and criticize in a professional manner.

However, Zheng Ren’s outrageous blind appendectomy made Cen Meng want to cry.

How did the bastard become so skilled in surgical anatomy? Cen Meng would not dare attempt a blind appendectomy even if he had a year of experience performing autopsies on all the cadavers in the affiliated medical schools.

If he did not try…

Cen Meng mumbled something but a scrutinizing gaze from Chief Surgeon Liu made him think twice.

He held his tongue as his brain reached out for ideas to dismiss Zheng Ren’s performance.

However… he could not even see the operative view, so what comments could he make?

That said, Chief Surgeon Liu’s attention on him made staying silent a non-option.

Cen Meng’s brain short-circuited and he spoke in a low voice, “To operate like this, the appendix will have no soul.”

Chief Surgeon Liu wanted to puke blood.

Soul? Did an excised appendix have a soul? Had the quick-witted Cen Meng gone mad?

…

…

In the livestream, the screen was suddenly spammed with a repeating comment.

[Stop talking, watch the surgeon’s next step.]

At the sight of the spammed message, the doctors were confused. This was just an appendectomy, not a complicated case of tetralogy of Fallot.

If the appendix had been removed, what other audacious techniques were there to showcase?

Following that message, the number of live comments dwindled.

Everyone refocused their attention on what Zheng Ren was doing.

With the appendix excised, the abdominal cavity was flushed and the peritoneum sewed back. Now, Zheng Ren had to deal with the twelve-centimeter thick adipose layer.

Under normal circumstances, as long as the blood vessels within the adipose layer were not electrocauterized and there was no contamination with minimal stitches, the risk of fat liquefaction was minor.

Yes, minimal stitches, not zero stitches.

Zheng Ren had decided to forgo stitching the fat layer in this case. He took a bottle of protein-based surgical glue and applied an even layer of it across the adipose tissue. Then, he started suturing the subcutaneous tissue.

What was this technique?

The previous blind excision was an undocumented procedure, and now, this application of protein-based surgical glue on the adipose layer was unknown to every doctor watching.

Protein-based surgical glue was typically used to stop bleeding; its effect was mild and its use narrow, and smaller hospitals with tight budgets did not even provide it.

What was he doing?

The surgeon Immediately stitched up the subcutaneous tissue after applying the surgical glue. What was this black magic?

Behind their phone screens, everyone was thunderstruck.

Based on this devil surgeon’s way of operating, there were no hasty decisions. That meant beyond stopping bleeds, protein-based surgical glue was effective in preventing fat liquefaction!

This was a huge discovery!

As all doctors knew, sildenafil citrate had initially been developed as a cardiac drug. It had then been repurposed to bring joy and happiness to middle-aged men, becoming one of Pfizer’s best-selling products.

Did the insignificant protein-based surgical glue have other, more important functions?

A few hundred doctors were going mad at this point.

If surgical glue could really solve the fat liquefaction problem… Clutching their phones, hundreds of hands trembled at the significance of this revelation.

It would be a revolutionary discovery.

Tomorrow… No, today, it had to be tested!

The notion sprung up in the minds of the doctors watching the livestream.

…

…

Finally, it was done. Zheng Ren let out a breath.

He did not have to wait for another few days. With the final stitch, the System’s evaluation turned 100% at the upper right corner of his vision. Zheng Ren knew the patient would definitely not suffer fat liquefaction.

The more surgeries he did, the more he appreciated the System’s intensive training.

Cadavers? They were unnecessary when the System could provide unlimited, realistic, and fresh simulated mannequins. The smell of blood from the simulated mannequins was much better than formalin which came with all cadavers.

From the blind operation to the use of protein-based surgical glue, all the never-seen-before techniques he just used had to be established with the simulation mannequins.

The key factor to his success was that his experiments had had no waiting time. The System would instantly report success or failure.

In a real hospital setting… Zheng Ren would never have had the chance to practice his ideas and theories.

“Chief Zheng, were you operating blindly just now?” Xie Yiren asked as she sorted the surgical instruments.

“Yes.”

“Very cool!” Xie Yiren complimented without hesitation.

Off to the side, the anesthesiologist finally woke from his stupor. His brain registered what he had just seen.

“Chief Zheng, that was amazing.” He gave Zheng Ren a thumbs-up.

“Heh.” Zheng Ren gave them both a dry smile. He cleared the operating table hurriedly and began transporting the patient.

He was ready to get some rest.

Surgeries that carried on past midnight were not unusual.

That was when he was at the level of an attending surgeon, when the required surgery rating was ‘good’. Now, Zheng Ren’s expectations of himself… No, the System’s expectations of him were too high. Every surgery had to be perfect.

The surgery had been effortless from an onlooker’s perspective, but Zheng Ren was exhausted.

He severely needed a nap to relieve his fatigue.

As he wheeled the patient out of the operating room, he raised his head and saw the patient’s family. There was also a slender figure.

Huh? Why was she here?