Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s
Chapter 345 - Chapter 345 【345】Lessons from the Death Cases

Chapter 345: [(345)] Lessons from the Death Cases Chapter 345: [(345)] Lessons from the Death Cases The conference room was equipped with a projector and screen, but these were rarely used. Doctors are busy, and no one has the time to prepare PowerPoint presentations for routine departmental meetings. What’s more important in discussing cases is for each person to clearly convey their own thoughts on the case.

Unless leadership came for an inspection, everyone had to be meticulously prepared.

“Let’s get started,” Shen Jinghui took charge of the meeting, “Bring out the cases that need to be discussed from each group. The attending doctors for bed 16 and bed 31 which had patients that died last week, please report the situation.”

As the director of General Surgery Department Two, Shen Jinghui conducted meetings decisively, focusing on key points just like performing surgery without wanting to waste everyone’s time.

Each group quietly discussed among themselves in hushed tones. The attending doctors for the deceased patients in bed 16 and bed 31 were the first to speak up.

“Bed 16 was a late-stage rectal cancer patient, who had previously undergone radical surgery for rectal cancer at our hospital. Since it was late-stage, the surgery performed was palliative. This time the patient was admitted with a massive amount of ascites after a systemic spread three years later.”

Patients like these were usually beyond help; one could only alleviate their suffering at the end.

“Bed 31 was an emergency admission, presenting with acute suppurative appendicitis and diffuse peritonitis. Emergency surgery was immediately performed upon admission. However, upon opening the abdominal cavity, it was found to be too severe, with the intestines adhered in multiple places. The patient, in their thirties, had delayed the surgery too long and died postoperatively from septic shock.”

This case sparked a lot of thoughts among the doctors at the meeting.

“Normally, the mortality rate for appendicitis is very low. But such cases do occasionally occur. General Surgery Department One also had a recent case; their patient was an older woman in her fifties who also sought treatment too late. After she arrived, the family didn’t take it seriously, saying that nowadays people don’t die from appendicitis. How could she die?”

“Diffuse peritonitis is the most terrifying. At that point, if you think about not operating and trying conservative treatment with anti-infection measures, but it’s already developed into bowel obstruction, you don’t give the doctors a window of time where they can avoid surgery.”

“At the stage of bowel obstruction, purulent infection, then sepsis–I say, Dr. Tan, didn’t your group also admit an elderly lady with bowel obstruction?”

Suddenly, the topic shifted towards Tan Kelin’s group. While discussing the prior cases, Group One had been very quiet since its members often didn’t like to voice their opinions. Probably Associate Director Liu wanted to liven up the department’s atmosphere a bit and shifted the topic to Group One.

When others asked about this patient, Tan Kelin casually responded, “There were no beds available, so we only took her in on Wednesday. The examinations had to be completed before the surgery. It’s scheduled for next Tuesday, but I was thinking of discussing it again with the anesthesiology department on Monday.”

“Bowel obstruction?”

“The tumor is quite large, almost completely blocking the intestinal tract, so currently she is on fasting with drainage and enema, relying on nutritional infusions for support.”

“I heard she’s in her nineties?”

“Yes, she’s old, with poor cardiopulmonary function. The anesthesiology department had significant reservations. But my student said it could be done.”

Xie Wanying was startled when she suddenly heard Teacher Tan with that last remark, not expecting him to put her on the spot so directly.

“Student Xiao Xie, please share your opinion,” Sun Yubo turned his head and gestured for her to speak.

The departmental meeting was attended by all the doctors in the department, including professors and directors, which was more comprehensive than the daily morning shift meetings. For instance, Professor Li, who rarely came to the department and was now retired with graying hair, was considered a highly respected senior predecessor at Guoxie of General Surgeons. He was present today to participate in the academic discussion, a scholarly figure one would usually never see on regular days.