Chapter 164: Who You Are With Matters (3)

Gagakgak…

Once they stopped excessively pressing on his chest, his blood pressure quickly returned to normal. The thoracic surgeon, now calm, completely split open Jinwoo’s chest with an electric saw. A proficient fellow and resident immediately helped by pulling apart the rib cage so that the professor could view the heart directly.

“Hmm.”

At least from what he could see, there shouldn’t be any major issues. However, the root of the aorta visible before him was stretched out indefinitely due to its inner lining melting away and altering its shape.

“That…”

The fellow couldn’t help but let out a gasp. Had they arrived just a moment later, the aorta would have ruptured, killing Jinwoo instantly. Naturally, everyone turned toward Suhyuk, who had made this accurate call.

He’s insane.

“So it really looks like this.”

Suhyuk’s eyes widened as he realized this fact. He had been continuously monitoring with ultrasound, but seeing it directly with his own eyes was different.

‘I almost died.’

“It is too early to be relieved. This isn’t an easy surgery.”

‘Well, that makes sense.’

It wasn’t possible for a surgeon to succeed in every operation they performed; such stories only existed in comics or novels. Objectively speaking, the thoracic surgery professor before them was undoubtedly an excellent surgeon, but there was no guarantee of success for this particular procedure.

Perhaps due to these uncertainties…

“Sigh… The machine ready?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Connecting now.”

“Understood.”

The professor and everyone else wore expressions filled with tension - understandably so, given the high risk of patient death during the surgery.

“Do you think everything will be okay?” Even the anesthesiologist appeared anxious.

The surgery seemed to have progressed quite far; indeed, much time had elapsed. However, they were still at the beginning stages. Despite this, there had already been two significant events affecting the patient’s vital signs or narrowly avoided doing so. As an anesthesiologist, it would be more unusual if Suhyuk wasn’t sweating profusely.

“First…the rhythm and blood pressure trends are stable.”

However, Suhyuk’s eyes turned cold.

It wasn’t because he was accustomed to surgeries. Rather, he didn’t fully understand the implications of the thoracic surgeon professor’s hand movements. Nevertheless, he could roughly predict how these actions would affect the vital signs.

[Expected bleeding.]

‘How much?’

[Estimated between 100mL to 200mL depending on your proficiency.]

‘Then let’s cover it with fluid administration.’

[That would be advisable.]

Thanks to Baruda’s prediction system, Suhyuk could anticipate such scenarios.

[The estimated blood loss due to this event is approximately 142 mL. I recommend administering 300 mL of intravenous fluid.]

Incredibly, Baruda could even verify the actual amount of bleeding.

[Estimated oozing amounts to about 3 mL per minute. The current infusion rate of fluids and transfusion should cover it.]

Moreover, Baruda was estimating the ongoing bleeding rate.

‘What’s the accuracy level?’

[Roughly 82%.]

‘Then…’

[While you cannot fully rely on these estimates, please consider them as a basis for your judgment.]

‘Understood.’

Of course, Suhyuk’s vision, field of view, and limitations of the exposed surgical area made achieving complete certainty difficult.

“Wow… Blood pressure seems stable.”

However, despite these challenges, he managed to maintain the patient’s vital signs effectively.

“Since the extracorporeal circulation is running.”

“No, even then… To this extent…”

The anesthesiologist alternated between observing Suhyuk’s moving eyes and hands without pause. It seemed as if he was monitoring the patient’s overall condition in real-time while keeping an eye on the surgical site.

‘Is this possible?’

Throughout his anesthesia training at Taehwa Medical Center, one of the leading hospitals, he had learned numerous techniques. The complexity of surgeries required equally demanding skills from the anesthesiologists. He thought he had acquired much knowledge by observing experienced professors, but he swore under heaven that not once had he seen anyone detect vital signs like this before.

[Now, we’re transitioning to substitute blood flow. Expect more fluctuations from here on. Administering medication would be advisable.]

What kind of medication?

[The extracorporeal circulation device is being used, so administering medication affecting the heart would be meaningless.]

‘Okay. Then…’

[I recommend a vasoconstrictor.]

Baruda calculated not only the type of drug but also the exact dosage. Suhyuk consulted with the anesthesiologist to confirm and then instructed them accordingly. He decided it was better to consider both Baruda’s advice and the input from someone experienced at the scene.

“Ah… Th-that… Let’s decrease the dosage slightly. How about reducing the amount of sedatives currently being administered as well? Considering the patient is in septic shock, it might lessen their burden.”

“Oh. That sounds better.”

“Yes, we’ll proceed with those adjustments.”

It was undoubtedly a more informed decision. Both Suhyuk and Baruda were highly skilled in detecting vital signs, but dealing with anesthesia presented unique challenges.

The situation might be different under anesthesia.

[Oh… Increasing blood pressure by reducing sedatives…]

‘It’s like walking on a tightrope, but I never thought of this approach.’

[Since he is deeply unconscious now, there should be no issue with administering painkillers. The surgery involves organs as well.]

‘Yes. You’re quite clever.’

[Anesthesia is fascinating too.]

‘I’m not planning to study anesthesia, so don’t get too excited.’

Despite my initial reluctance, Baruda had accompanied me and was indeed proving helpful. However, Internal Medicine is truly vast and continues to expand even at this moment. Studying just one aspect can already feel overwhelming.

[Is it not possible?]

It seemed Baruda did not agree.

‘I am an internist, not an anesthesiologist…’

Suhyuk’s stance was firm.

“Understood…I guess.”

Thus, Baruda couldn’t push Suhyuk any further. In truth, even if he wanted to, there wasn’t enough time or leeway for additional studies.

“Now…we will replace the valve.”

The surgery was becoming increasingly complex and risky. Thankfully, each preceding step had been successfully completed so far. However, the thoracic surgery professor remained tense throughout.

“How many blood packs have we transfused?”

“Eight packs,” replied the anesthesiologist, indicating that they had already administered a significant amount of blood. With extracorporeal circulation also ongoing, regardless of budget cuts, the patient’s life could be at risk due to these conditions.

In situations with massive bleeding and blood transfusions, one must always be vigilant against disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

“Haah…”

“At least, the blood test from thirty minutes ago is fine.”

As fear started to creep in, Suhyuk spoke up. The surprised thoracic surgeon turned towards him as Suhyuk continued:

“There is already a record of blood transfusion in the intensive care unit. Additionally, he has sepsis, and his kidney function is slightly unstable, so we have been monitoring closely. Currently, everything is stable, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Hmm, hmm.” The professor barely managed to hold back praising Suhyuk.

Wow, isn’t he touched? Lee Hyunjong by someone caring for his son like this!

It was rare to find someone who took such meticulous care of their patients. In fact, it was already impressive that the primary physician accompanied his patient into the operating room. Yet here he was, diligently monitoring Jinwoo’s condition without taking a break. When had Paul last seen this level of dedication?

No, still not good enough. I hate him.

However, Lee Suhyuk was Lee Hyunjong’s son. It wasn’t just professors from thoracic surgery but anyone affiliated with the field who couldn’t stand Lee Hyunjong at this point.

I can still see those damn slides clearly.

Even now, conferences were being held, although they used to be more amicable between thoracic surgeons and cardiologists before things turned sour.

At that time, Lee Hyunjong, who was nearing his forties, presented with a PPT during the conference. Several elderly professors nearly collapsed from frustration. Who would have thought he would use an image of Robin Hood shooting arrows at targets labeled ‘treatment’, while surgeons wielding scalpels rushed towards him?

If this had occurred during an Internal Medicine conference, it might have been tolerable. However, the damn fool used it during a joint presentation with thoracic surgery.

“Professor, please leave the vital signs to us. As your primary physicians, we will wholeheartedly assist the anesthesiology team.”

Suhyuk had also heard about this incident, but not through Lee Hyunjong; rather, it was relayed by Shin Hyun-tae.

[He is crazy, Lee Hyunjong.]

‘His enthusiasm led him to do that.’

[He’s not in his 20s anymore, right?]

‘Well… Currently, he has improved compared to before.’

[In any case, he is doing well. To accelerate data acquisition for the diagnostic assistance AI currently under development, we need cooperation from thoracic surgery.]

Of course, Suhyuk wasn’t being nice out of guilt. He simply needed the professor’s cooperation. The data from the thoracic surgery intensive care unit, with its fluctuating heartbeats, would be dramatically more valuable. Training the auxiliary AI with this data could potentially halve the development time.

‘Yes, yes. I’m smiling now. Look how well I am doing.’

[You are performing too well. It gives me goosebumps.]

‘Don’t mock me.’

[I mean it sincerely. My analysis shows that Suhyuk’s current expression is with 100% sincerity.]

I felt genuinely creeped out by Baruda. It might sound strange to express emotions for an AI, but it was true. Suhyuk’s acting was perfect.

“Uh, yeah… Y-yeah.”

If even Baruda’s analytical system couldn’t detect any flaws, how could the professor be deceived?

‘Actually, he seems like a decent person… How did such a son come from him?’

The professor found himself thinking this way.

Feeling pleased and reassured, the surgery started progressing smoothly.

“Blood pressure is fine, and vital signs are stable. No need to worry.”

“Okay.”

Suhyuk intentionally provided updates during the surgery. His timing was quite precise, providing significant assistance to the professor. For instance, Suhyuk would reassure him before reaching crucial points or just before performing delicate procedures.

‘I’m starting to like this kid.’

Thanks to Suhyuk’s assistance, the professor became enamored with him within just a few hours of working together during the surgery.

“Professor.”

“Yes. What is it?”

Engaging more deeply in conversation with Suhyuk turned out to be a mistake for the professor.

“It seems difficult to manage her after surgery if she remains in the Internal Medicine intensive care unit. I would need your continued help, but that might also be challenging…”

“Oh, yes, you’re right. Yes.”

“So, what do you think about keeping her under the Internal Medicine department while transferring her to the thoracic surgery intensive care unit?”

“That sounds good. Very well. Let’s do that. We’ll see each other often then.”

“Yes, Professor. Looking forward to seeing you frequently!”