Wu Ting was ecstatic when he saw the system's notification. This was his very first black-tier entry.
After he selected "Synthesize," a torrent of information flooded his mind. In an instant, it was as if he had become one of the nation's top experts in the field of tendon suturing.
Now, whenever he encountered a patient in need of tendon repair, Wu Ting could instantly come up with several surgical plans and select the optimal one based on their specific condition.
'This is incredible! According to the system's description, in the field of tendon repair alone, I'm now number one at City First Hospital. I'm even an undisputed authority in all of Jin Province.'
'Sure enough, completing medical scenarios with top experts is the best way to level up.'
Previously, Wu Ting had obtained his Diagnosis Skill (Purple) from a surgery involving a mysterious expert. This time, by working with Director Huo, he had upgraded directly to a black-tier entry.
Wu Ting found himself looking forward to the next tendon suture surgery, a chance to showcase his top-tier skills!
The day's grand rounds finally drew to a close.
While Wu Ting was looking forward to his next tendon surgery, the other residents were gossiping amongst themselves, both envious and baffled by his sudden rise.
Cheng Feng was taking it the hardest. He looked down at the research project Director Huo had returned to him, and the pleasant feeling of its recovery had completely vanished.
However, Cheng Feng wasn't one to be easily discouraged. He resolved to pour all his energy into finishing the paper and go head-to-head with Wu Ting!
...
...
A hospital is an inherently busy place. The day after the grand rounds, everyone was once again immersed in their daily work.
Evidently, Wu Ting's dazzling performance had spurred on every resident. That week, they all came in earlier, left later, and pushed themselves to their limits.
The senior doctors in the emergency department also noticed the recent change in atmosphere. In a word: grind.
They, however, were happy to see it. When the junior doctors worked harder, their own workloads became a little lighter.
Discussions bubbled up in the senior doctors' group chat.
"Everyone, the latest odds are out:"
1. Wu Ting 1.60 (A miracle week! Director Huo's attitude is very intriguing!)
2. Mu Xi 1.90 (Steady progress, as consistent as ever, his position in the internal medicine group is unshakable.)
3. Cheng Feng 3.0 (Got his project back, showing marked improvement. Unfortunately, his rival is too strong, and Director Huo's reaction was unexpected!)
...
The doctors found the latest odds highly amusing. Wu Ting's performance had been nothing short of miraculous, and he had rocketed to first place for two consecutive weeks.
Amid the discussion, Qin Donglai chose the right moment to voice his opinion. He hadn't wanted to commit while things were uncertain, but now the situation was much clearer.
"I'm betting ten bucks on Wu Ting!"
Seeing Qin Donglai's bet, the other doctors weren't surprised in the slightest.
...
...
「Another night.」
It was a unique night in the emergency department. An elderly patient, admitted a few days prior with cirrhosis and cardiac insufficiency, was scheduled for a combined heart-liver transplant.
This was an incredibly complex and difficult major surgery, to be performed jointly by Director of the Emergency Department, Huo Yun, and Director of General Surgery, Lin Hu.
Due to the sheer complexity of the operation, not even Qin Donglai was qualified to participate, let alone residents like Luo Ming and Wu Ting.
The surgery was expected to last at least ten hours, meaning Director Huo and Director Lin would be racing against the clock in the operating room all night.
The junior doctors in the ER all dreamed of participating in such a surgery, but it was a shame they weren't even qualified to participate.
While Luo Ming, Wu Ting, and the others were on duty, chaos suddenly erupted at the entrance to the ER.
A patient was rushed in with a police car escort clearing the path.
Head Nurse Xiao Xixi was the first to greet them, and the commotion also drew Luo Ming's attention.
Luo Ming and the others quickly learned just how unusual and severe the case was.
The patient's identity was out of the ordinary—he was a twenty-eight-year-old criminal police officer, and his injury was gruesome.
The Fan City police had just busted an online drug trafficking ring. During the arrest, the desperate criminals had fought back viciously. The young officer, Liu Ping, had his entire right forearm completely severed at a point between the middle of his forearm and his wrist.
Liu Ping's face was pale, his jaw clenched tight. His arm had been crudely bandaged, and thanks to his captain's presence of mind, the severed limb had been properly preserved on ice.
Captain Huang Yangming of the criminal police was overcome with remorse and anguish.
During the raid, Liu Ping had completely disregarded his own safety to complete the mission. Even after the trafficker's vicious counterattack, he had risked his life to apprehend the mastermind.
When Huang Yangming had arrived on the scene to see Liu Ping, one arm severed, still resolutely handing over the subdued trafficker, even a man as tough as him felt his eyes well up.
Liu Ping had just gotten married this year, and his career was only just beginning. He was such a good kid. If this operation left him disabled, he wouldn't just be unable to continue as a police officer; his entire future would be drastically impacted.
That was a reality Huang Yangming refused to accept.
"Nurse, Doctor, you have to do everything you can for Liu Ping's injury. I'm already contacting specialists from within the province, so please, just hold on."
Captain Huang then turned to the still-conscious Liu Ping. "Liu Ping, don't worry. I will get you the best surgeon in Jin Province. For now, just let the doctors here at City First Hospital get you prepped."
Liu Ping's pale lips managed a faint smile, and he nodded weakly. In truth, he held out little hope.
'After all, my arm was gone. How could it possibly recover to the way it was before?'
'But Liu Ping had no regrets. He had lived up to the uniform he wore.'
As the primary physician on duty, Luo Ming didn't dare delay upon seeing such a severely injured patient. He contacted Qin Donglai at once.
When Qin Donglai heard it was a police officer with a severed limb, his expression turned grave and he rushed over immediately.
"Director Huo and Director Lin are still in that major operation; they definitely won't be available tonight. Here's the plan: I'll call Director Lu from Orthopedics. Luo Ming, Wu Ting, you two come with me to the operating room. We'll start by performing the initial wound debridement and vascular suturing for Officer Liu. As for the tendon repair, nerve anastomosis, and bone fixation, we'll have Director Lu advise us on that."
"Captain Huang is already contacting specialists from the province, so we'll wait for word on that. It would be best if they can get a top-tier surgeon to come. In the meantime, we'll handle the first phase and get everything prepped for the specialist."
Qin Donglai was well aware of the surgery's difficulty. For a limb replantation, ensuring the limb's survival was the bare minimum requirement, something he felt confident he could guarantee. However, the ultimate goal of the treatment was to restore both the limb's appearance and its function.
However, the degree of functional recovery was heavily dependent on the lead surgeon's skill and the surgical plan. A top-tier expert could restore function to the point where it wouldn't impact the patient's work or daily life. But in the hands of an average doctor using a standard plan, the patient's prognosis would likely be poor, severely impacting their life, let alone allowing them to return to their career.
Qin Donglai knew that to perform Officer Liu's replantation surgery successfully, there were fewer than five surgeons in the entire province who were up to the task.
A short while later, the Director of Orthopedics, Lu Xiong, arrived at the emergency operating room. When he saw Liu Ping's severed limb, his scalp tingled with dread. The situation was not optimistic at all.
He was confident about the vascular and nerve anastomoses, but the most difficult part was the tendon repair.
At City First Hospital, the most skilled surgeons for this kind of work were Huo Yun and Lin Hu. But one was the director of the ER and the other of general surgery. To achieve a perfect tendon repair, the ideal surgeon would be an expert specializing in the field of hand surgery.
However, City First Hospital didn't have a separate hand surgery department, and it lacked top surgeons who specialized in this kind of intricate tendon repair.
A complete transection like this required an extremely complex surgical plan. Different tendons needed different suturing techniques, and it was obvious that some would even require tendon grafts.
Beyond restoring function, closing the skin would require skin grafts, and possibly even an artificial dermis covering.
In a word: difficult!