Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s
Chapter 883 - Chapter 883 【883】Local anesthesia self-administered

Chapter 883: [(883)] Local anesthesia self-administered Chapter 883: [(883)] Local anesthesia self-administered Finally, she gently pressed a single spot with her gloved finger, feeling the fluid fluctuation of the abscess inside to verify her mental calculations were correct.

Chang Jiawei, observing her, had a flash of admiration in his eyes, his gaze sharply fixed on her: This person, could her judgment actually be so precise as to hit the nail on the head? Who else could do this when they had just started their clinical internship?

Nie Jiamin had his hands in the pockets of his white coat, his head tilted as if his attention was entirely on Xie Wanying’s hands.

Zhu Huicang stood up to get a better look, seemingly curious.

Dai Nanhui, Geng Lingfei, and Fan Yunyun, however, were not quite clear about what was happening.

Having determined the depth of the abscess, it was decided that if superficial, no anesthesia would be necessary. A doctor could simply pierce the skin over the abscess with the tip of a needle or scalpel to drain the pus, sparing the patient another injection. However, the condition of the child before her was more serious. The infection had reached the fascia due to the family’s delay in treatment – anesthesia was unavoidable.

Anesthesia was needed, yet no anesthetist was present. However, for such minor surgical procedures, it was not customary to have an anesthetist on hand. Given the scarcity of anesthetists nationwide and the simplicity of local anesthesia, which is administered while the patient is fully conscious and doesn’t require continuous supervision by an anesthetist, it was usually the doctor who performed the local anesthesia on their own. Local anesthesia can be seen as a technical threshold that tests the independence of a surgeon.

Specifically, there are several types of local anesthesia: topical, infiltration, regional block, and nerve and plexus block anesthesia.

For instance, before a routine gastroscopy, patients are instructed to swallow anesthetic medicine, numbing the throat; this is topical anesthesia, mainly effective on mucous membranes. In minor outpatient surgeries like hemorrhoid operations, doctors inject anesthetic around the anal nerves to regionally block them. Nerve plexus blocks are divided into several types, such as the brachial plexus block used in orthopedic hand and forearm surgeries. These are not outpatient procedures but are performed in the operating room by an anesthetist, and definitely coupled with general anesthesia for pediatric patients.

Children are less cooperative compared to adults, moving around easily, and only general anesthesia can ensure they remain asleep and do not interfere with the surgeon’s work. That’s why for more significant surgeries, especially in younger patients, general anesthesia is often added to local anesthesia.

Luckily, this pediatric patient was ten years old. Without conditions for general anesthesia available on site, it was worth a try.

After comprehensive consideration, Xie Wanying made a Decisive Moment, reaching out to the nurse, “Syringe, Lidocaine, saline.”

Senior Sister Xie looked so authoritative. Fan Yunyun inwardly wanted to imitate her idol’s actions.

But Dai Nanhui and Geng Lingfei felt that Xie Wanying was incredibly bold – it was unbelievable she showed no fear at all in front of so many people.

Yao Jie handed her separate vials of anesthetic and saline which had been cracked open, letting her draw the medication herself.

Pulling back the plunger of the syringe, she steadily and firmly inserted the needle into the vial to draw the medication. The others, observing her steady hands without the slightest tremor, were once again taken aback.

Having prepared the local anesthetic herself, Xie Wanying directed the needle towards the skin surrounding the infected area of the patient and inserted it.

The onlookers held their breath a little tighter.

Adept doctors knew that infiltration anesthesia wasn’t just for numbing; it also served as a preliminary exploration for the upcoming surgery. This injection could probe the depth of the patient’s bone and the extent of the abscess. Therefore, infiltration anesthesia aimed to entirely numb the nerves within the surgical area with a single shot. And if the surgical area was large, more than one injection would be required around the wound to ensure complete anesthesia in all directions.