Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1273 - 968: The Local Tycoon!

Chapter 1273: Chapter 968: The Local Tycoon!

Full thoracoscopic homologous sequential bilateral lung transplant surgery!

What a resounding name, yet the professional term may seem obscure and cumbersome to understand. Translated into layman’s language, it’s quite easy to comprehend: full thoracoscopic means that the entire operation is performed under a thoracoscope, with the thoracoscope not just partially aiding but playing a major role throughout the surgery.

Homologous heterograft indicates that the organ donor belongs to the human species and that the organ isn’t from the patient’s own body but provided by someone else. If a pig’s organ is transplanted into a human, it’s called xenotransplantation, while transplanting a patient’s own organ back into them is known as autotransplantation.

"Sequential" signifies that the two lungs are not transplanted at the same time but in a determined order.

Director He Xiangjun pondered over the surgical procedure name left by Yang Ping, then scoured through vast amounts of literature, finally confirming that this might indeed be the first case in the world—an entirely new procedure—since no hospital or doctor around the globe had performed lung transplant using a thoracoscope.

Even Zhejiang University Second Hospital, boasted as the country’s top for lung transplants, hasn’t done this, nor have any of the major organ transplant centers in Europe and America.

Come on, the first in the world!

Director He clenched his fists. Could this step be too big, reaching for world number one, might it result in failure? No, with Professor Yang’s support, they won’t slip up.

Could there be other doctors around the world attempting this procedure as well? Hurry up, don’t let anyone get ahead.

At these thoughts, Director He couldn’t help feeling a bit excited.

"Director, shall we go to the animal experimental laboratory to get a few pigs for this new surgery in a few days?" asked Xiao Yu, Director He’s graduate student.

Director He resolutely declared, "What do you mean ’in a few days’? Contact them right now, immediately, and start the animal surgery experiments as soon as possible. Time waits for no one; every second counts."

No time to waste—acting immediately, Director He, accompanied by Xiao Yu, hurried to the animal surgical lab. The Department of Animal Surgery had expanded in scale, and the newly renovated soundproof and noise-canceling labs were now in operation. Furthermore, because many doctors throughout the hospital were eager for this kind of surgical training, the animal surgery labs were now well-organized and divided into different areas by department, to prevent squabbles over a single pig. Strict protocols governed the use of pigs to prevent waste.

Using animal models for surgery simulation is indeed effective, yet requires substantial investment for equipment and animals. Nevertheless, Dean Xia is unfazed by these costs; his aim is a world-class hospital, and a few pigs are a small price to pay.

The golden training period for surgeons is right after graduation when theoretical knowledge is solid and adaptability is high. It’s like playing basketball—at forty, it’s impossible to reach high levels, so the earlier surgery training starts, the better. For a doctor, right after graduation is the early period.

Many hospitals in China, however, have outdated training systems. Young graduates lack mentors, must figure things out on their own, and if they encounter Department Directors who monopolize surgeries, young doctors can have a difficult time flourishing. These surgery hogs, who cling to any operation with a modicum of technical skill and don’t let others get involved or teach the younger ones, use one ample excuse: it’s for medical safety.

It sounds legitimate, but in reality, it’s all about protecting their interests, afraid that others might grab a slice of their pie.

Back when Yang Ping was at City People’s Hospital, he knew the General Surgery Department Director was notorious for hogging surgeries. Any laparoscopic surgery had to go through him—dominating the practice, and anyone who dared operate would be furiously berated. Of course, his scolding seemed righteous, criticizing doctors for not being safety-conscious and irresponsible towards patients.

This approach leads to a dead-end where if senior doctors don’t teach or allow young doctors to practice, they’ll never learn and will always be kept outside. Without learning, they remain perpetually barred.

Dean Chen, now at City People’s Hospital and formerly the head of the medical department, aimed to break the stagnation in General Surgery. Facing opposition, he arranged for a young doctor to receive advanced training. After a year of training and returning, the Department Director let the doctor try performing laparoscopies. Delighted, the doctor showcased the skills acquired during training, outperforming the Director in a few surgeries.

Consequently, the Department Director revoked his surgery privileges claiming he was not yet qualified to lead surgeries and needed to mature for medical safety. Thereafter, the doctor couldn’t even touch a laparoscope, and after a few years, the skills learned were wasted.

Dean Xia dreads such scenarios, so he borrowed the mentorship system from Affiliated Hospital No. 1. If a mentee can’t graduate within the stipulated time, it indicates the mentor’s incompetence, resulting in investigation and potential revocation of the mentor’s surgery privileges. The investigation is grueling, conducted by the hospital’s panel of experts. These prestigious members follow a procedure where they secretly interview anesthesia providers, nurses, and departmental doctors, quickly bringing the truth to light. Should any Department Director be found hoarding surgeries, it’s impossible to conceal; with authority in their hands, no doctor would tolerate such a person, assuredly taking him down.

Director He circled the animal laboratory, with the most activity at the Sports Medicine Center. Even though it was past working hours, nearly all doctors were practicing surgery.

At the current Sports Medicine Center, randomly pick a doctor, and they’re all experienced in surgery, capable of being department directors nationwide. While other institutions’ doctors are still making pledges or writing papers for their directors, Sanbo Hospital’s doctors have already performed hundreds or even thousands of surgeries as chief surgeons.

When doctors from other institutions have just received their directors’ approval and are timidly holding the knife handle with secret delight, those from Sanbo Hospital are already contemplating surgery improvements and elevating their extensive surgical experience.

"There’s a shortage of experimental pigs now; many departments are waiting for new stock."

Graduate student Xiao Yu immediately came back to report after inquiry.

"Shortage?"

Director He was stunned. Are pigs in short supply now?

Despite having ample funds from Yang Ping’s foundation and huge allocations from the government, Sanbo Hospital is now a financial powerhouse.

Although Sanbo Hospital is wealthy, unfortunately, the Animal Department of Nandu Medical University can’t keep up with the supply of experimental pigs.

It’s not that the Animal Department of Nandu Medical University can’t supply enough pigs; it’s the production capacity of the pig farms behind it that’s lacking. They had never anticipated such demand for pigs from hospitals. Piglets need time to grow, leading to a temporary supply shortfall.

Director He moved to the area of the Surgical Research Institute, which was also buzzing with activity. Song Zimo and Xu Zhiliang were guiding everyone through various surgeries. Who wouldn’t want to practice more and refine their skills? As soon as their professional titles were promoted, they’d lead a team—what prestige and, more importantly, an increased income.

A pig can undergo many surgeries, and if utilized properly, a single pig can be operated on hundreds of times. Of course, this is rather cruel to the pig, but there is no alternative. To ensure human health, pigs have to make certain sacrifices.

Determined to obtain a pig, Director He went to check each section. He targeted the Urological Surgery area where a few young doctors were fumbling with surgery, with no senior directors present. He immediately reprimanded these young doctors.

A bunch of young doctors were occupying a large pig for something as simple as circumcision practices, which he deemed a terrible waste. They could easily perform these procedures on each other in the outpatient operating room to both deal with personal hygiene issues like smegma and prevent penile cancer, as well as to hone their skills. Furthermore, with the abundance of circumcision surgeries every day in outpatient services, there was no need to waste pigs on such experiments.

Finally, having secured an experimental pig, Director He was ready to work overtime to perform surgery.

Lung transplants require ECMO support, but such expensive equipment couldn’t possibly be used for animal experiments—it’d be effort in vain.

Just then, Yang Ping arrived. Director He sighed, "Without ECMO, can the surgery even be performed? If the experimental pig dies before we finish, we can’t assess the postoperative effects."

Yang Ping glanced at Director He, "It looks like you come here often. There’s already an ECMO here, but you have to wait in line to use it. How about this, I’ll arrange for another one to be brought over."

So Yang Ping started calling the Department Head of the Equipment Section, asking him to transfer an ECMO to the animal surgery laboratory.

Director He was well aware of how much an ECMO costs, and once it was brought to the animal laboratory, it wouldn’t be possible to return it to the patient wards for use, meaning it would be dedicated for use here.

After making the call, Yang Ping said, "Wait a bit, the Equipment Section will transfer it shortly."

Extravagant!

That was the only word Director He could think of.