166: Chapter 166 Dr. Lu, do you think today's surgery is difficult?

Lu Chen nodded but didn't speak.

But his acknowledgment was contained within that single movement.

Deputy Director Qin Yi stepped back into the first assistant's position, and the original first assistant took a step back.

A Right-angle Clamp was handed over.

Lu Chen looked down into the depths of the surgical field.

This position was indeed tricky.

The root of the Splenic Artery is located deep within the retroperitoneal space, with the posterior wall of the stomach above it and the upper edge of the pancreatic body closely below it; the operating space is extremely limited.

Once a normal Needle Holder entered at that angle, it was impossible to form an effective needle entry path at the posterior wall of the artery.

This was the reason why Deputy Director Qin Yi's two Suturing attempts had failed.

It wasn't that his technique was lacking, but that there wasn't enough space.

But Lu Chen was different.

He had the precise three-dimensional positioning provided by the Eye of Truth.

He had the operational experience of perfect level Vascular Anastomosis.

He had the tactile sensitivity bonus brought by the God-level Suturing Technique.

These three things stacked together were enough to allow him to complete precise Suturing in an extremely restricted space.

Lu Chen first used the Right-angle Clamp to carefully adjust the position of the Hemostatic Clamp, revealing about three more millimeters of operating space.

It wasn't much, but it was enough.

Then, holding the forceps in his left hand, he gently lifted the proximal vessel wall of the rupture; with the Needle Holder in his right hand, he adjusted the suture needle to an angle a normal person would never even think of.

Backhand needle entry.

The tip of the suture needle pierced through the outer surface of the vessel wall, passed through all layers, and emerged from the intimal surface.

Watching this stitch from the side, Deputy Director Qin Yi's breath hitched for half a beat.

He had tried twice just now and couldn't achieve this needle entry angle.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, but his fingers simply couldn't twist to that angle in this space.

But Lu Chen had done it.

And he did it with extreme fluidity.

The first stitch came through.

The suture passed through all layers of the vessel wall on one side of the rupture, leaving sufficient pitch.

"Entering the opposite side."

Lu Chen turned the suture needle and pierced the opposite side of the rupture at a perfectly symmetrical angle.

In and out.

The sutures on both sides formed a complete mattress structure.

He gently tightened it.

Under the traction of the suture, the edges of the rupture inverted and met.

There was no excessive tension, no deformation of the vessel wall, and the alignment was seamless.

The first stitch of the repair was complete.

Deputy Director Qin Yi's eyes were fixed on the surgical field, not blinking once.

He had never seen this level of precision and touch in any Resident Physician before.

He hadn't even seen it in most Attending Physicians.

"Second stitch."

Lu Chen's voice was calm, without a single ripple of emotion.

The suture needle entered that narrow space once again.

The same backhand angle, the same full-layer penetration, and the same precise alignment.

The second stitch was complete.

More than half of the rupture's Suturing was already finished.

The remaining part required one or two final stitches to close.

But the operating space for this last segment was even smaller than for the first two stitches.

Because the sutures from the previous two stitches already occupied part of the space, the range of motion for the Needle Holder was further compressed.

Watching from the side, Deputy Director Qin Yi was already thinking of an alternative plan.

If this last stitch couldn't be done, he wondered if he should consider using Bio-glue to seal the remaining small rupture.

But Lu Chen did not hesitate.

He slightly adjusted his grip on the Needle Holder, and his right thumb and index finger performed an extremely subtle rotation.

Then, he entered the needle.

This time, the angle was even trickier than the first two stitches.

The suture needle almost grazed the edge of the pancreatic capsule, with a gap of less than 1 millimeter.

If his hand shook even slightly, the needle tip would pierce into the pancreatic parenchyma.

But Lu Chen's hand did not shake.

From entry to exit, it was abnormally steady.

The third stitch was complete.

He pulled the thread and tied the knot.

Three Mattress Sutures perfectly closed the 1.1-centimeter rupture at the root of the Splenic Artery.

Lu Chen placed the Needle Holder onto the tray.

"Repair complete. Prepare to unclamp."

Deputy Director Qin Yi took a deep breath.

Unclamping is the ultimate moment for testing the quality of the Suturing.

On a vessel sutured under such pressure, if even a single stitch was out of place, blood would spray out from the gaps after unclamping.

"Unclamping."

Lu Chen's left hand gently unscrewed the Hemostatic Clamp.

Blood flow was restored.

Arterial pressure surged against the repaired area.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

No leakage.

Not even a single drop.

The three-stitch Suturing had perfectly withstood the arterial pressure.

Deputy Director Qin Yi's hands were trembling.

It wasn't from nervousness.

It was from shock.

He had been in the General Surgery Department for twenty years and had seen countless vascular repairs, but he had never seen an operation that perfectly closed a one-centimeter rupture in such an extreme space using only three stitches.

"Beautiful."

Deputy Director Qin Yi said a single word.

No, it was one word.

Then he said it again.

"Beautiful."

That young Attending Physician stood behind them, dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long time.

The Anesthesiologist glanced at the monitor at the head of the bed.

"Blood pressure is rising, 95/62, heart rate 106; things are trending in a good direction."

Lu Chen nodded.

"Continue the blood transfusion and maintain blood pressure. The bleeding is controlled; we just need to keep up with the subsequent blood volume replenishment."

He glanced at the rest of the surgical field.

The spleen had been completely removed, and the stump was handled very cleanly; this part had been done by Deputy Director Qin Yi, and the quality was not an issue.

The accumulated blood in the abdominal cavity needed to be washed clean.

"Director Qin, will you handle the subsequent irrigation and abdominal closure?"

"I'll do it."

Deputy Director Qin Yi returned to the lead surgeon's position.

He looked at Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen."

"Yes?"

"Last time in the General Surgery Department when you performed that appendectomy, I said you were President Zeng Dayang's pawn. I never apologized to you in person."

"I'm apologizing to you today; I misjudged you."

Lu Chen shook his head.

"Director Qin, you handled this surgery very well. The splenectomy was done very cleanly; it was just that the vessel's location was too deep."

"Any surgeon who hasn't specifically practiced vascular Suturing would find it difficult to handle."

Deputy Director Qin Yi gave a wry smile.

"Don't try to give me an out. I've been in this industry for twenty years, and it's only today that I learned what true vascular repair technology looks like."

"Your hands... they're simply outrageous."

Lu Chen didn't say anything more to be modest.

Because being too modest too many times would seem fake.

He stepped down from the operating table.

Shen Xiaoning organized the used instruments and followed him down.

The moment they stepped out of the Operating Room doors, Shen Xiaoning finally couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Dr. Lu, the angle of your needle entry just now... I was feeling nervous for you just watching from the side."

"It's right to be nervous; it shows you were observing carefully."

"That needle almost grazed the pancreas. If it had strayed even a little..."

"There are no 'ifs'."

Shen Xiaoning looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"You always say there are no 'ifs'."

"Because there really aren't any."

"But normal people always think about what to do 'if' something happens."

"Normal people aren't on the operating table."

Shen Xiaoning was taken aback by these words.

Then she muttered in a small voice.

"Yeah, and a normal person wouldn't be this handsome on the operating table either."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! I said the lights over the operating table are very bright!"

Lu Chen glanced at her but didn't press further.

The two of them walked to the elevator, and Shen Xiaoning pressed the down button.

"Dr. Lu, do you think today's surgery was very difficult?"

"It wasn't particularly difficult. The vessel's caliber was thick enough, and the rupture wasn't too complex. The main difficulty was the restricted operating space."

"But Director Qin failed to suture it twice."

"That was a matter of angles and technique, not a matter of ability. Director Qin's fundamentals are very solid; he just hasn't received specialized training in the Department of Vascular Surgery."

The elevator doors opened, and the two walked in.

Shen Xiaoning asked another question.

"What about you then? When did you train?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment.

"Talent."

Shen Xiaoning rolled her eyes.

"Every time there's a question you can't answer, you just say 'talent'."

"Because it really is talent."

"Fine, fine, fine. Talent, talent. You're the most gifted."

The elevator reached the first floor, and the two walked out.

The lights in the hallway shone on them, and there was a faint scent of disinfectant in the air.

"Dr. Lu, are you still reading books tonight?"

"Yes."

"Sigh, can't you just rest for one night?"

"Resting is a waste of time."

"But people aren't machines."

"I have good stamina."

"Even if your stamina is good, you still need to rest. You must promise to sleep before midnight tonight."

"I'll try."

"Not 'try,' promise!"

"Fine, I promise."

Shen Xiaoning then nodded with satisfaction.

"Then I'm going back to the dormitory. What do you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Whatever."

"What does 'whatever' mean?"

"It means I'll eat whatever you make."

The corners of Shen Xiaoning's mouth couldn't help but curl up.

"Then I'll make Scallion Egg Pancakes and Millet Congee, along with a dish of Pickled Cucumbers."

"Okay."

"Then, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Shen Xiaoning turned and walked a few steps, then looked back again.

"Dr. Lu."

"Yes?"

"You saved another person's life today."

Lu Chen didn't speak.

"I think you're truly extraordinary."

After saying this, Shen Xiaoning's face flushed, and she quickly turned and ran off.

Her ponytail swayed back and forth under the hallway lights.

Lu Chen stood there watching for a second.

Then he turned and returned to the Red Zone.