Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s
Chapter 739 - Chapter 739 【739】Estimated the worst outcome

Chapter 739: [(739)] Estimated the worst outcome Chapter 739: [(739)] Estimated the worst outcome Xie Wanying was pondering in her mind that the positions of these several puncture holes were somewhat special, differing slightly from the usual surgical puncture locations. It manifested in that at least three puncture holes formed a straight line below the rib margin.

If her prediction was right, could it be that Senior Tao, as the chief surgeon, deliberately made these puncture holes like this to facilitate a switch to open surgery, so that a cut could be made along this line when the time came?

Senior Tao was meticulous in his thinking, taking precautions in advance. This was enough to indicate that he probably wasn’t very optimistic about Student Zhao’s situation.

A touch of severity then crossed her face.

As Yue Wentong considered what she might have discerned, a doctor on the operating table spoke up, “The color of the liver has changed.”

He Guangyou, who was acting as the first assistant, was giving suggestions to the chief surgeon.

The monitor displayed a clearer view of the patient’s liver inside the abdominal cavity.

A normal liver has a rich blood supply and is dark red to maroon in color. The laparoscopic examination revealed that the patient’s liver had actually lightened in color. Parts of it appeared to be tending towards liver cirrhosis, which was a vast difference from the mild reversible fatty liver that everyone had previously speculated.

“Isn’t it fatty liver?” Gong Xiangbin whispered into the ears of Qiu Ruiyun and the others.

“If it’s not, what could it be?” Guo Yiping, who didn’t speak much, now showed considerable anxiety about the patient’s condition.

“Liver abscess, there must be an infection,” Qiu Ruiyun pinched her chin, “As to what kind of infection–”

A group of doctors was just short of blurting out the worst possible outcome. Someone had to play the “bad guy.” Thus, He Jiuliang spoke, “I think we may need to prepare ourselves mentally. The patient could have intrahepatic cholestasis syndrome. If that’s the case, we cannot rule out that the liver cells themselves have a problem. Furthermore, it’s chronic, the prognosis will be worse than any condition we anticipated.”

A bucket of ice water seemed to be dumped over everyone’s heads.

Cholestasis is a syndrome with complex causes, and medical scientists still face numerous unsolved challenges with this condition.

This disease has a peculiar characteristic; chronic cases are even more troublesome for doctors to handle than acute ones.

The causes of acute cases are relatively easier to track down, and as long as they are not due to an intrinsic problem with the liver cells, the situation is fairly manageable.

In chronic cases, the progression is hidden and slow. By the time the patient or the doctor realizes it, the condition may have advanced to a stage where it can easily develop into severe hepatitis or cirrhosis, with a poor prognosis. The causes are often defined as intrinsic metabolic issues of the liver cells and are basically unsolvable, with no cure available. The only possible solution might be a liver transplant.

“Luckily we performed an exploratory surgery,” the doctors now felt fortunate. If they had delayed and it was indeed this disease, Zhao Zhaowei might suddenly deteriorate into acute liver failure and die. That’s why, in cases where auxiliary exams like CT scans can’t identify the cause of a disease, it’s often best to perform exploratory surgery to get a real look inside the patient’s body.

Direct observation is always better than blind guessing; this is the most important principle of surgery.

“Let’s do a biopsy. If we confirm it’s a liver cell issue, we’ll need to discuss liver transplantation with the patient’s family,” He Guangyou said. He had gone from a slow-paced senior to an acute and proactive one, eager to proceed with a liver transplant for Student Zhao right away.

Was Student Zhao’s liver truly beyond salvage?

Beep, beep, beep, the patient’s heart rhythm exhibited slight fluctuations, as if hearing some conversation.

Zhang Tinghai adjusted the patient’s anesthesia dosage.

During anesthesia, common drugs used by anesthesiologists include sedatives, muscle relaxants, and painkillers.