Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1326 - 1002: Checklist Jigsaw

Chapter 1326: Chapter 1002: Checklist Jigsaw

The large conference table was covered with medical examination reports, spread out one after the other. To prevent the wind from blowing the papers away, Yang Ping had the students close all the doors and windows of the meeting room tightly.

Yang Ping kept adjusting the position of the reports like a child playing with a puzzle. After several adjustments, not only were the reports arranged chronologically, but they were also classified by type. Then, the different examinations were organized based on their internal logical relationships.

"Don’t touch them, is there any more material?" Yang Ping was now completely immersed in the analysis of this puzzle made of medical reports.

The doctor who had just gone to retrieve the reports said, "Everything is here. He stores all his medical reports in a box each time he visits the doctor, and he has photographed every single one to keep a record."

This was a person meticulous and diligent; this diligence might save his life. If no better method was found, according to current literature statistics, it would be difficult for Fu Xiaotao to live more than two years.

Song Zimo was a bit nervous at the side, "Have you found anything?"

"These reports present the entire objective overview of the disease. Take a look, everyone. If we consider each episode of the disease as an individual event, then analyzing each part, indeed its pathogenesis is based on interleukin-6. But now, if you combine all the individual episodes, looking at the entire course of the disease, is the interleukin-6 model still correct?" Yang Ping already had some new connections in mind.

When you analyze something in-depth and comprehensively with dedication, the result can be quite different, possibly because no one has ever analyzed it with such seriousness before you.

Song Zimo, Xu Zhiliang, and every doctor gathered around leaned in to take a look, but they all maintained a slight distance, for fear that a careless exhale might blow away some of the reports.

"Thank you, every doctor, for your utmost effort in completing the examinations and gathering information. Many times, vascular endothelial growth factor has been checked, and although there were a few occasions it wasn’t checked, we can still roughly see the trend," Yang Ping moved around the conference table.

Hearing Yang Ping talking to himself, Song Zimo began looking through the reports on vascular endothelial growth factor one by one in chronological order. Looking at its development trend from the perspective of the entire disease process and considering each episode of the disease, indeed, it wasn’t interleukin-6 that permeated the whole process but vascular endothelial growth factor.

"Are you saying that vascular endothelial growth factor could be the possible foundation of the disease’s onset? Or that the interleukin-6 model is wrong, and it should be revised to a vascular endothelial growth factor model?" Song Zimo found Yang Ping’s statement incredible.

The interleukin-6 model was the accepted mechanism of Castelman’s disease in the academic world. Now, based on just one case and a pile of medical reports, to refute a globally recognized model seemed rather frivolous. But this was Professor Yang, and Song Zimo couldn’t help but believe.

In fact, Yang Ping had already spent a considerable amount of time studying this case in System Space. He was not simply pointing out a question on a whim.

Yang Ping walked around the desk once and then stopped, leaning on the conference table with both hands. Staring at the lab reports for a full five minutes before speaking up, "We could try to block the pathway that induces the production and activates T cells of VEGF, thereby inhibiting the occurrence of the disease! If the patient is willing, we can use the laboratory’s advantage to reanalyze his illness."

"Shall I go talk to him?"

"No, I will go myself."

Yang Ping felt that he might have grasped the real pathogenesis of Castelman’s disease. After overturning the existing theory, he believed his theory was better able to explain Fu Xiaotao’s condition. If diagnosed using monism, his theory could explain more clinical symptoms than the interleukin-6 model.

After clarifying the ideas in his mind, Yang Ping had the students photograph all the medical reports as he had arranged them, and then take photos of each report individually. He was hoping to draw a trend chart of these test indicators’ changes, a task that was quite tedious but was eagerly undertaken by all the doctoral and master’s students.

Without wasting a moment, Yang Ping and Song Zimo arrived at the Department of Oncology. Director Jiang had gone out to participate in a case discussion, and under the guidance of the physician in charge, Yang Ping and Song Zimo went to find Fu Xiaotao.

Fu Xiaotao wasn’t in great spirits, as he had narrowly escaped death not long ago through the use of high doses of chemotherapy. This time, when the illness struck, he was first hospitalized and given high doses of steroids to control the condition, followed by treatment with rituximab.

In the past, after stopping the steroids, there wasn’t such a quick relapse. Perhaps this time, it wasn’t a relapse at all but rather that the illness had never been under control. The high doses of steroids could only temporarily manage the symptoms—once the steroids stopped, the disease continued to progress until this critical, life-threatening outbreak.

"Professor Yang!" Fu Xiaotao struggled to sit up in bed.

Yang Ping and Song Zimo helped him to sit up against the pillows. Fu Xiaotao’s parents had been steadfastly by his side, their faces clearly unhappy because not only had the condition not improved after Yang Ping’s last consultation, but it had also gotten worse.

But Fu Xiaotao still trusted Yang Ping. He had researched extensively and understood the complexity of his condition.

Yang Ping didn’t care much about their displeasure and said to Fu Xiaotao, "We have given deeper thought to your illness and realized that the existing treatments simply cannot cure you. We now want to try a new method on you, but this method is experimental and has never been used on anyone else. It carries certain risks, so we need your consent."

"How can that be allowed!" Fu Xiaotao’s mother rejected the idea outright.

Fu Xiaotao’s father, in a gentle manner, said, "Let the professor finish speaking. The new method is definitely experimental. Don’t be put off just by hearing it’s an experiment. Let’s step outside, and let the child talk to the professor."

Fu Xiaotao’s father led his wife out to avoid interfering with the conversation between his son and the doctor, and Fu Xiaotao’s mother followed, clearly displeased.

"Professor Yang, don’t mind them, they don’t understand. I’m willing to sign up for the experimental method you just mentioned," Fu Xiaotao agreed completely.

Yang Ping told him, "Since it’s experimental, there are certain risks. Can you accept that? And it may very well fail again."

Fu Xiaotao said with a bitter smile, "I’m clear about my illness; there’s really no good way to cure it. Since there is no cure, why not try a potentially effective new method?"

"Moreover, if we use the new method, we’ll need to take your blood for many tests, as we need to clarify some biochemical indicators’ changes in your body," Song Zimo added from the side.

Fu Xiaotao was resolute, "That’s fine, just arrange it."

As a graduate student, Fu Xiaotao had looked up Yang Ping’s papers. Without searching, he wouldn’t have known and was startled to find that Yang Ping was a top scholar. How could such a prominent figure have time to chat idly with a common patient? He must be confident to have personally sought him out to suggest this experimental approach. The will to live made Fu Xiaotao firmly grasp this lifeline. Under ordinary circumstances, he might not have even been able to request the attention of such a distinguished individual, but now that the opportunity had presented itself to him, it would be a missed chance of a lifetime if he didn’t agree.

And Fu Xiaotao always believed: Doctors and patients are comrades-in-arms, with the common enemy being the illness.

"Do you really agree? Don’t you want to discuss it with your parents?" Song Zimo reminded.

Fu Xiaotao shook his head, "No need, I’m an adult and can decide for myself. If I discuss this with them, it certainly won’t happen. My dad might be okay, but my mom definitely won’t agree."

"Alright, if you agree, I will talk to the doctors here and have you transferred to our department for treatment. All costs of treatment that are part of the research will be covered, and you will also receive a certain stipend," Yang Ping decided on the spot.

"Thank you! That settles it then, you can get in touch any time for me to sign," Fu Xiaotao was very resolute.