Chapter 16: Chapter 0015: Predicament

“Senior Brother Song is amazing!”

“His reputation is well-deserved!”

“If Magic City Sixth Hospital acknowledges him as a genius, there’s nothing more to say.”

“His operation is god-like.”

His hands were incredibly steady; the surgical process for the second blood vessel had begun. Each stitch was inserted precisely on the first try, without any repetition. Just like the first one, the second blood vessel was also successfully sutured together.

A smile appeared on Director Han’s face.

Then came the nerve and tendon suturing, and skin stitching. For Song Zimo, it proceeded like a performance, rapidly completed. The surgery on the thumb was finished, and the reattachment process for the index finger began.

The index finger’s blood vessels were in a worse condition than the thumb’s. The vascular walls were not only thinner, but also very brittle. Song Zimo carefully inserted the needle, but the position was not ideal. He withdrew the needle, adjusted the needle’s point, and reinserted it. The position was barely passable.

As he planned to thread the needle through the other side of the vessel wall, an accident occurred. The thread that had been inserted ripped a small hole in the blood vessel’s wall.

Despite the utmost steadiness and delicacy in his maneuvers, the blood vessel was ripped apart.

Director Han furrowed his brows. The situation was not looking good.

The blood vessel was extremely thin, with a very delicate wall, and was brittle throughout. The baby must have been a premature birth, which was why the blood vessel development was immature, causing such complications.

Song Zimo put down his microscopic tools, moved his eyes from the microscope’s field of view, twisted his neck for a little adjustment, and then picked up the tools again for a new attempt.

Since Song Zimo asked Yao Ping not to cut the thread, Yao Ping had not moved, instead he was watching and waiting to help at the right moment.

The second attempt still failed. Song Zimo was not willing to give up and tried a third time, but still failed. Each attempt caused the blood vessel to tear. This was just the blood vessel of the index finger; the conditions of the other fingers were imagined to be similar.

“Even with such a delicate touch, it still tears.”

“There’s no way to connect it.”

“Even if a god descended, it still wouldn’t work.”

The crowd started a cautious discussion as the operation hit a stalemate.

Song Zimo felt a little despondent. He had practiced on similar blood vessels many times, and even manipulating the tail artery of a newborn mouse had become a matter of ease. His condition today was excellent, and he had already been extremely careful with his hands. Why, then, was he still tearing the vessel wall?

“This is a premature baby. The blood vessels are not well-developed; the vessel walls are very thin and fragile. They are not like the blood vessels you normally sew or practice on. Song Zimo, wait for a moment. Yao Ping, you can have a rest.” Old Han stood up.

He let Yao Ping rest to make room for himself to take over the surgery with Song Zimo.

Song Zimo could no longer continue, so he put down his tools, moved away from the field of view, tucked his hands into the protective bag on his chest, and waited for Director Han to take over the operation.

“Task: Clean up the remains, complete the reattachment surgery for the premature baby’s severed fingers. Reward: 2400 points.” The subtitles along with a female voice appeared.

Another task was triggered. It seemed that from now on, tasks would be the main line of his life.

“Director, can I try it?” Yao Ping asked Director Han confidently and sincerely.

Director Han was about to get up to wash his hands, but upon hearing Yao Ping’s words, he did not leave.

“Let him try? His microscopic surgical operation is amazing. I’ve seen it before,” Zhang Lin chimed in to help persuade.

After a moment’s consideration, Director Han replied: “Fine, give it a try. But, move slower.”

Director Han sat down, and the paused actions on the screen started again. But this time, they were not from Song Zimo’s station, but Yao Ping’s.

The forceps gripped the outer membrane, and the needle with the thread pierced through the outer wall and emerged from the inner wall. It held a vertical posture, completely devoid of lateral pulling force. Then it entered the inner wall from another end, finally emerging out of the outer wall. The entire thread smoothly passed through the blood vessel in an optimal position each time it entered and exited.

Tie the knot!

The sharp end of the needle holder was situated between the two threads, closer to one of them. It made a beautiful loop, grabbed the end of the thread.

A pretty knot was made, and the two ends were gently brought together perfectly!

Tie two more! Exactly three knots.

Cut the thread!

Song Zimo staring at the screen, he forgot to help cut the thread, Yao Ping cut it himself.

The second stitch was being sutured, the movement was very gentle. There was absolutely no need to worry about tearing the blood vessel wall.

How is he so skilled? Song Zimo could hardly believe it.

Director Han watched attentively as the second stitch was sutured, then stroked his beard and turned to Yao Ping. “Yao Ping, switch seats with Song Zimo and continue–”

The microscope had two eyepieces: one for the chief surgeon and one for the assistant. As Yao Ping was sitting in the assistant’s spot, Director Han suggested him to switch to the chief surgeon’s seat for a more comfortable and convenient operation.

The two men switched roles, and the operation continued.

Just as Su Yixuan was about to rest, she quickly regained her focus to be ready to pass the instruments at any time.

After suturing another stitch and making a knot, Yao Ping put down the microscopic forceps in his left hand. Without having to turn his head, a microscopic scissor had already been handed to him.

He took the microscopic scissor, and cut the thread.

And then, he continued. The microscopic scissor in his left hand was switched back to the microscopic forceps.

Song Zimo was at a loss as to whether he should participate or not.

The second stitch, the third stitch, the fourth stitch, the fifth stitch, the sixth stitch–

Old Han restrained the breath he wanted to exhale, trying to do so as slowly as possible.

The operating room was silent, save for the hissing sound of the anesthesia machine. Tian Yuan and Fang Yan, sitting on another operating table, had their hands tucked into the protective bag on their chests, and were also watching the screen attentively.

A larger screen in the next room had attracted a crowd. Those young doctors and interns gathered in front of the screen.

“It seems that it’s not Senior Brother Song operating anymore!”

“Must be Director Han!”

Some looked through the glass windows.

“Director Han is not operating; it’s that new guy, Doctor Yang.”

“He’s that skilled? Even better than Senior Brother Song.”

They were discussing quietly, careful not to make too much noise even though they were separated by a wall.

The operation was flawless, each stitch was at an ideal distance from the edge. Every time a blood vessel was fully sutured, the vessel lumen was strictly mated. If not for the ring of blue thread and the slightly everted edges, no one would believe that it was a severed blood vessel.

Not a single stitch tore the vessel wall, and not a single stitch had to be repeated.

By this point, all of Song Zimo’s disbelief had evaporated, replaced by awe. He realized that he could not perform like this.

Is this what they call a genius? Are the real geniuses in this world like this? Song Zimo had always thought of himself as a genius, but now he understood that he was just a counterfeit genius, only slightly better than ordinary people.

When Song Zimo was pursuing his master’s degree, he started training in microscopic surgery and successfully performed a hundred mouse tail surgeries. His rate of success was 100%, and his speed was the fastest among the doctors who participated in the training at the time.

He had singlehandedly completed the first successful finger reattachment surgery in record time, comparable to the average time of the orthopedic surgery department in Magic City Sixth Hospital, and the surgery was successful.

At that moment, several other doctors had finished their surgeries and came to the teaching room; everyone was glued to the screen.

Oh my God! Is that the current surgery happening right now? Finger reattachment can be done this way!

Director Han must be operating. It’s been a while since she last saw him perform a finger reattachment surgery.

She turned her head to see, no, it’s Song Zimo and Yao Ping, but Song Zimo appears to be holding his hands in his chest protection bag, not operating. It must be Yao Ping then.

Director Han swallowed, feeling a lump in his throat.