Surgery Godfather
Chapter 930 - 805: Does This Look Like a Department Case Discussion?

Chapter 930: Chapter 805: Does This Look Like a Department Case Discussion?

The girl mentioned this, and the boy was clearly at a disadvantage. It seemed to make sense, even a normal healthy pig could undergo such a shunt.

Why didn’t the great Dr. Fontan use pigs for experiments and instead applied the brand-new surgery method directly to patients? This question seemed difficult to answer.

Since the girl was already 12 years old and the surgery didn’t appear to be an emergency lifesaving procedure, there was completely enough time to prepare.

"Because Dr. Fontan was a genius, not something our minds could speculate on. Let’s have Professor Yang answer this question," he said.

"Me?"

Yang Ping was completely caught off guard by Song Zimo’s sudden challenge.

Before Yang Ping could reflect, applause filled the room. Professor Yang was considered an absolute genius in everyone’s eyes. Only a genius could understand another genius. Why didn’t Dr. Fontan buy pigs for animal experiments?

Yang Ping stood up, while Song Zimo and everyone else looked at him, awaiting his response.

"Because he was extremely confident in his approach and felt there was absolutely no need to waste time on this. In his eyes, every wasted minute meant a minute of danger for the little girl—"

Song Zimo immediately applauded, "Such confidence is only found in very few people. In fact, just by thinking about the actions of these geniuses in medical history, many of my questions are answered. Alright, let’s continue—"

Yang Ping sat down again, thinking this kid was just teasing him.

A doctoral student raised his hand, "You just mentioned the pressure difference; there is a pressure difference between systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation, as the pressure in the systemic circulation is greater than that in the pulmonary circulation. This ensures that the blood returning through the inferior vena cava can flow towards the pulmonary artery under this pressure gradient and make the shunt successful. I really want to know, just hypothetically, if the pulmonary artery has high pressure causing this pressure difference to not exist, can this surgery still be performed?"

Song Zimo answered the question:

"Very good, the condition you mentioned is a contraindication for the Fontan procedure. The foundation of the Fontan surgery lies here. If the pulmonary artery has high pressure, causing this pressure difference to not exist, and blood cannot flow in the intended direction, this surgery cannot achieve its purpose. Yet, we can tackle this difficulty, how?"

Another graduate student raised his hand, it was a male student, attempting to reclaim the respect he had lost in front of the girl.

"Generally, this situation is caused by either a narrowing of the pulmonary artery or incomplete opening of the pulmonary valve. We could expand the pulmonary artery or perform valve replacement, relieving the high pressure in the pulmonary artery, and forming a pressure gradient, giving this surgery a new foundation to exist on. If the high pulmonary artery pressure is caused by other reasons, we’ll address those issues. If it cannot be resolved, we must abandon this surgical approach."

"Very well said," Song Zimo approved.

"The surgical method created by Dr. Fontan initially aimed at treating the closure of the tricuspid valve, but it goes beyond that. It can treat many types of congenital heart diseases, giving hope to countless patients with inoperable cardiac malformations who cannot wait for a heart transplant. Unfortunately, this method is only palliative and cannot cure the disease."

"The Fontan surgery we just discussed is just a prototype. Over time, Fontan surgery has evolved into a system of procedures, far more complex than the initial form, but these procedures all adhere to Dr. Fontan’s original principle: the heart solely handles systemic circulation, and pulmonary circulation is managed by a shunt between the inferior vena cava and the pulmonary artery; oxygen-rich arterial blood and oxygen-poor venous blood must not mix and must be kept separate."

"So, how is the surgery for this case performed? By following the standard surgical procedure, in three steps!"

Song Zimo wrote down one, two, three on the electronic blackboard. This case’s Fontan surgery, compared to the original form by its founder, was much more complex with many more factors to consider.

While lecturing, Song Zimo noticed that the back door of the lecture hall gradually filled up with people, as there were no more seats. They squeezed into any available space at the back row to stand.

Since everyone was facing the lectern, no one noticed the late arrivals, but Song Zimo, as the speaker, faced the entire lecture hall and clearly saw who came in at the back.

Li Zehui, he just landed back from the United States, saw this case from a WeChat group, then decided to purchase another ticket to return to China. If it weren’t for his academic exchange visa allowing multiple entries to China, returning wouldn’t have been so convenient for Li Zehui.

Meanwhile, his senior was still stuck with visa issues. If his senior had known about these cases, he would have collapsed from grief.

Following that, Song Zimo saw Xia Shuling leading Academician Wang, Professor Chen, and Director Xin back to Sanbo Hospital. They heard about today’s comprehensive surgery discussion on this case, so they hurriedly came to Sanbo Hospital.

What started as a departmental case discussion in general surgery had unintentionally turned into a conference of top cardiac surgery experts.

"Actually, regarding the treatment of this case through Fontan surgery, we have a distinguished senior in the audience who is more qualified to speak than I am. He is the first doctor in our country to carry out Fontan surgery and a leading expert in pediatric congenital heart diseases in China," Song Zimo decided to invite Academician Wang to discuss Fontan surgery and let everyone witness the academician’s grace.

Academician Wang was actually standing in the back. He realized Song Zimo was referring to him and hurriedly waved his hand, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

If there were an award for the most humble academician of the year, it would undoubtedly go to Academician Wang. He didn’t see himself as an academician, but merely as an ordinary doctor attending the lecture.