51: Chapter 51 Brother, your skills are truly amazing!

Between four and five in the afternoon, three more trauma patients arrived in the Red Zone.

One was a chef who had cut his finger while chopping vegetables; the wound wasn't large, but it was in a tricky position on the finger pulp where the space for Suturing was extremely limited.

One was a delivery guy who had fallen off his electric scooter, resulting in abrasions and a laceration on his left knee that required Debridement and Suturing.

The last one was a special case.

He was a man who looked to be in his early thirties with a buzz cut and a thick gold chain around his neck. He had a deep, narrow wound in the web space between his right ring finger and pinky finger.

Four other men came with him, each tall and burly. The moment they entered, the atmospheric pressure in the entire Red Zone seemed to shift.

Tough guys.

And not just your average tough guys.

Meng Yan saw this group from behind the Triage Desk; her expression soured, but she didn't say anything.

The Red Zone had seen all sorts of people. What were a few tough guys? Just last month, a big boss had come in after his own dog bit off three of his fingers.

"Which one is the patient?"

"Me." The man with the gold chain raised his right hand.

"How did you get injured?"

"Accidentally cut by a glass cup."

Cut by a glass cup? Judging by the depth and angle of the wound, Meng Yan had a good idea of what really happened, but she didn't call him out.

"Third bed in the treatment area. Wait there."

At that moment, Zhao Yaqin was stuck in the Resuscitation Room. An elderly woman with gastrointestinal bleeding had suddenly started vomiting blood again, making the situation very urgent.

The other Doctor on Duty in the Red Zone, Wu Fan, was also busy with a patient suffering from anaphylactic shock due to a drug allergy.

Lu Chen was the only one available.

He walked over.

When the man with the gold chain saw Lu Chen, his reaction was similar to the previous patients.

"You're the doctor? How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

The man with the gold chain glanced back at his brothers behind him.

"Twenty-four? You're just a kid. Are you up for this?"

Lu Chen didn't answer the question; he was already examining the wound.

The Eye of Truth performed a rapid scan.

[Eye of Truth scan complete]

[Patient Information: Male, 32 years old]

[Chief Complaint: Sharp force injury to the web space of the right hand, bleeding for approximately 40 minutes]

[Eye of Truth Diagnosis: Full-thickness skin laceration in the web space between the fourth and fifth metacarpals of the right hand, extending to the interosseous muscle fascia layer. Mild abrasion of the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve, not completely severed]

[Risk Level: Moderately high]

[Current Symptoms: Active bleeding, mild limitation in abduction of the little finger]

[Recommendation: Layered Suturing after fine Debridement. Take care to protect the ulnar nerve branch. Use of 5-0 absorbable sutures for deep tissue is recommended]

[Warning: Improper Suturing may lead to permanent sensory loss in the little finger]

Lu Chen's expression shifted slightly.

This wound was not simple.

On the surface, it looked like an ordinary laceration, but the deeper layers involved the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve.

If handled with conventional Suturing methods, it would likely compress the nerve branch, causing sensory issues in the pinky finger.

"Does your pinky feel numb right now?"

The man with the gold chain was taken aback.

"How did you know? It does feel a bit numb."

"Your wound is more complicated than you think. A nerve branch deep inside has been abraded. It's not severed, but I need to be extra careful to avoid it during Suturing."

The man's expression changed.

The brothers behind him also quieted down.

"Can you handle it then?"

"Yes."

Lu Chen's answer was just one word, but his tone was extremely certain.

He began preparing the instruments.

This time, he didn't use a standard suture kit. Instead, he had Xiao Zhou bring him fine Suturing instruments and 5-0 absorbable sutures.

"I'll apply local anesthesia first, then perform Debridement. The whole process will take about seven to eight minutes. Don't move."

"Alright."

The man with the gold chain didn't question him again.

Because of Lu Chen's judgment regarding the ulnar nerve just now, he already believed that this young doctor's skill level was unusual.

For a twenty-four-year-old Resident Physician to be able to judge the condition of deep nerve damage with just his naked eye and without any tests—that wasn't a skill just any doctor possessed.

Of course, the man didn't know Lu Chen had the assistance of a system.

But even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered.

Because the operations that followed were what truly silenced everyone.

After the anesthesia took effect, Lu Chen began the Debridement.

Debriding a wound in the web space was inherently difficult because the anatomical structure of the area was complex, with tendons, nerves, and blood vessels all concentrated in a very small space.

Lu Chen used forceps to bit by bit remove foreign objects and devitalized tissue from the wound. Every movement was incredibly precise.

Xiao Zhou stood by his side handing him instruments, her eyes fixed on Lu Chen's hands.

Those hands were too steady.

It wasn't the kind of steadiness from deliberate control, but the kind of steadiness of someone born to hold surgical instruments.

Once the Debridement was complete, Lu Chen began Suturing the deep tissues.

The 5-0 absorbable sutures were very fine. Operating in a complex area like the web space required extremely high manual precision.

Lu Chen's Suturing speed was a bit slower than with the previous wounds, but every stitch was precisely calculated.

His suture path cleverly avoided the area where the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve ran, while ensuring the perfect alignment of the deep fascia.

This kind of operation was a standard requirement in Plastic Surgery or the Department of Hand Surgery, but in the Emergency Department, most doctors wouldn't go to this extent.

The Emergency Department emphasized speed, efficiency, and prioritizing saving lives.

But Lu Chen did it.

While ensuring efficiency, he achieved a professional level of Suturing quality.

After the deep layer Suturing was finished, he began Suturing the skin layer.

Needle in, pull through, tie the knot, cut the thread.

Every movement was precise to an almost mechanical degree, yet it carried a flexibility and delicacy that only human hands could achieve.

Seven minutes and forty seconds.

The final stitch was completed.

Lu Chen checked the results and then asked the man with the gold chain to move his pinky finger.

"Is it still numb?"

The man tried moving his pinky.

"It doesn't seem as numb anymore."

"The nerve branch isn't being compressed. It will gradually improve during the recovery period, but don't do any strenuous gripping for a while."

The man with the gold chain looked down at his hand.

The wound was sutured neatly, the stitches were evenly spaced, and the surface was flat.

If one didn't look closely, it was almost impossible to tell that there had once been a deep, narrow wound there.

"Brother."

The man with the gold chain looked up, the way he looked at Lu Chen having completely changed.

"Your craft is truly unrivaled."

"I've been in this life for years and have been injured and stitched up countless times. I've been to big Hospitals and small ones; I've even seen specialists in the provincial capital."

"Not one, not a single one has ever stitched me up as well as you."

The brothers behind him all crowded around to look.

"Truly impressive. This is way too neat."

"Look at these stitches; it's like they were measured with a ruler."

"This young man is going places."

The man with the gold chain pulled a phone from his pocket.

"Brother, let's add each other on WeChat. If anyone in our circle gets hurt in the future, we'll come straight to you."

"No need for WeChat. Just come to the Hospital's Emergency Department."

"No, no, no, registering is such a hassle. I'll just find you directly."

"Registering is the procedure. It can't be skipped."

The man with the gold chain looked at Lu Chen for two seconds and then laughed.

"Fine, you've got backbone. I like that. I'll remember you then, Dr. Lu."

He stood up and patted his clothes.

"Let's go, brothers."

As he reached the door, the man with the gold chain turned back and said one more thing.

"Dr. Lu, if you ever have any trouble in this area, just give them my name: Long-ge."

Lu Chen replied expressionlessly.

"I work at the Hospital. I don't need to give anyone's name."

The man with the gold chain laughed heartily and left with his brothers.

The laughter echoed in the corridor for a long time.