The Enhanced Doctor

Chapter 1097: Chapter 1097: Intracardiac Foreign Body Intervention Surgery

"Use the ultrasound to check again," Liu Banxia said.

He had thought of that possibility, but he still hoped that it was just the contraction of neck muscles that had shifted the foreign object.

The current situation was simply due to a change in position, and considering the complexities here, they hadn’t found it yet.

"You need to hurry; the patient’s vital signs are starting to drop," Wang Lei reminded.

Neither Chen Xuehai nor Liu Banxia responded, but instead stared closely at the ultrasound screen.

After more than three minutes of searching, they still found nothing.

"Check the heart," Chen Xuehai said.

The ultrasound position was adjusted, addressing the terrifying possibility that both Chen Xuehai and Liu Banxia had considered.

It’s very likely that the foreign object had flowed into the patient’s heart through the blood vessel, which was why the patient’s vital signs began to decline.

With careful adjustment, the ultrasound finally yielded results. In the right ventricle, a granular, high-density shadow was floating— this was the foreign object.

"Damn it, how did it move so fast? I’ll try to use a catheter to retrieve it," Chen Xuehai said.

"Old Chen, are you confident?" Liu Banxia asked.

"I’m not confident, but we have to try; it’s like a reversed balloon procedure. Otherwise, we’ll have to do open heart surgery, which is more invasive for her," Chen Xuehai said.

"OK, while you prepare, I’ll close the abdomen," Liu Banxia said and began to operate.

For him, this procedure should have been routine, but for the patient, he needed to give his best effort and speed up.

Outside the operating room, the observation room was already filled with people; they heard that a remarkable procedure was underway.

Although it sounded simple, actually doing it was not easy.

The foreign object’s size was not very large, making it challenging to grasp. Plus, capturing it in the right ventricle increased the difficulty.

This was a surgery they hadn’t anticipated before stepping onto the stage, so the preparation wasn’t thorough.

Just as Liu Banxia finished suturing the uterus, the patient’s monitor started to alarm wildly.

"Ventricular fibrillation," Wang Lei said solemnly.

"Prepare the defibrillator, 200J," Chen Xuehai said.

"Clear."

"Snap."

"The patient has restored sinus rhythm; you need to speed up," Wang Lei said.

"Monitor the foreign object in the right ventricle in real-time to prevent it from being carried out by the blood flow, Banxia, do your best. Charge the defibrillator, on standby," Chen Xuehai said.

Everyone’s expression was serious; Liu Banxia didn’t respond but instead quickly cleaned the abdominal cavity and finished closing the abdomen.

"He’s got good fortune; she’s lucky. Old Chen, stay steady," Liu Banxia said.

"This is exhausting. In the future, I’ll apply to build a multifunctional operating room that can handle any surgery," Chen Xuehai muttered.

"I support you. The catheter room should be ready. The passage is cleared out, don’t rush, don’t underestimate yourself," Liu Banxia encouraged.

"OK, prepare to transfer the patient, don’t forget real-time monitoring of the foreign object," Chen Xuehai said.

"Everyone take note, we need to move to the catheter room now. Keep it steady to prevent the foreign object from being pumped out of the right ventricle; there won’t be much time to play cat and mouse then," Liu Banxia said gently.

Normally, the patient should undergo open heart surgery. However, the patient just had a C-section, and if open heart surgery were done, the invasiveness would be greater.

For Chen Xuehai, this was also a gamble. The risks involved timing of rescue and transferring between the two operating rooms.

But this was Chen Xuehai’s decision after weighing the options, and it was the best treatment for the patient.

Of course, all of this depended on the patient not experiencing any complications. Even a small incident leading to the patient’s death would be difficult for Chen Xuehai to bear.

Everyone worked together carefully, moving the patient onto the hospital bed. When moving the patient, they went slowly to keep the equipment synchronized with the patient and monitored the foreign object.

"Old Chen, you really pulled off something amazing today. Only the old me could have done something like this; I didn’t expect you could pull it off too," Liu Banxia said.

"Didn’t I learn it from you? I’m starting to regret it; maybe we should have just done open heart," Chen Xuehai said.

"Don’t worry, I think it’ll be fine. Everyone is working well together, and there are no issues now; it’s going great," Liu Banxia said.

He knew this was an attempt to relieve the tension, but the tension remained. The hands pushing the instruments were stiff, and his feet seemed hesitant to move.

They finally reached the catheter room, with sweat drenching everyone.

"Going back up there with you guys, I don’t know how much more my heart can take," After transferring the patient onto the operating table, Wang Lei couldn’t help but vent.

"Haha, can’t help it, now we’ll see how our Director Chen handles it," said Liu Banxia, who was dressing and putting on gloves.

"Just mock me; in truth, the current direct-view heart surgery still has many complications," Chen Xuehai said.

"Especially neurological complications. In recent years, as more and more open-heart surgeries are performed, many patients are presenting with these symptoms."

"This patient is still very young and has just become a mother. The only thing I can think of is to minimize her harm. Interventional surgery is much better than open-heart surgery. Is the foreign object still in the right ventricle?"

"It is, but it might be a bit challenging to grab," Wang Lei said.

"I can only do my best. It’s not as easy as extracting a thrombus from within the blood vessels," Chen Xuehai said.

It was also to encourage himself because the difficulty level of this surgery was really high, and he himself was not very confident.

What he just said was the truth; it was a decision made in a moment of passion. In fact, he regretted it a bit now and shouldn’t have played around like this.

But since the decision had already been made, even if he regretted it, he had to resolutely complete this surgery and extract the foreign object from the patient’s right ventricle.

He’s the main operator, while Liu Banxia and the others are just there to spectate.

Currently, the incision on the neck is temporarily dealt with, and they can proceed only after the foreign object is extracted.

"After the surgery is done, do we need to get a brain CT scan?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Yes, we need one. The laceration on the head isn’t short either. Since you’re free, why don’t you go ahead and deal with the wound?" Chen Xuehai said.

"Fine, you just can’t stand to see me rest. We’ve already missed lunch; you have to arrange our meal today. Besides, we’re all working for you," Liu Banxia muttered.

Currently in the operation, they need to extend the catheter into the patient’s right ventricle, then use the grasper to grab the object. For Chen Xuehai, this procedure isn’t particularly difficult and is quite routine.

So the atmosphere is relatively relaxed. The only hope is that the patient’s heart doesn’t cause trouble during this time. If there’s an arrhythmia, it could become very complicated to address.

If things go wrong, all previous efforts may go to waste.

"Not bad, the head injury isn’t severe; the skull isn’t exposed. There shouldn’t be any problem with the brain, considering how lively the patient was initially," said Liu Banxia as he finished cleaning the wound on the patient’s head.

"Has the patient’s family arrived yet?" Chen Xuehai asked suddenly.

"We were too busy earlier and didn’t have time to ask. But no rush, we can tell them once the surgery is successful," Liu Banxia replied.

"Okay, I’m done here. The rest is all yours. I’ll just sit back and watch. Have you started the extraction? Once we have time, I need to reach out."

"About to start; send the grasper," Chen Xuehai said.

Everyone grew tense. The difficulty level was too high—comparable to a Tianjin FAW trying to race a Ferrari.

The grasper went in, but the first attempt missed.

"The patient’s heart rate is up again, currently at 100," Wang Lei reminded.

This was because adding more equipment into the right ventricle had triggered a stress response from the heart.

The foreign object in the right ventricle was floating around on the monitor, with every heartbeat altering its previous trajectory.

This time, Chen Xuehai didn’t rush. He observed for nearly a full minute before attempting another grab.

Unfortunately, he missed again on this attempt.

"Heart rate 110," Wang Lei reminded again.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen, and tension in the room skyrocketed.

A heart rate of 110 wasn’t low. Any higher, and defibrillation might be necessary.

The third attempt.

The fourth attempt.

Finally, by the fifth attempt, the grasper securely clamped onto the foreign object.

"Phew... phew..."

Liu Banxia exhaled heavily, "I nearly suffocated just now, worried that my breathing might blow the object away."

"Soon we’ll see its true form. I’m also quite curious about what it actually is," Chen Xuehai said with a smile.

Now he felt genuinely relieved. Finally, no errors occurred. However, the key was wrapping things up; they still needed to remove the foreign object for true success.

"The patient’s heart rate has gone down, which is good," agreed Wang Lei.

"Comrade Old Chen, great job. Everyone should eat a bit more at lunch, otherwise, it wouldn’t do justice to Director Chen’s hard work," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Although I know I’m being extorted, I’m happy. It’s finally out. Let’s see what it is," Chen Xuehai said as he placed the object onto the tray.

Liu Banxia rinsed it with saline.

The metal had a somewhat dark color and wasn’t very regular in shape.

"To me, it looks like lead. Should we call the police?" Liu Banxia asked after taking a look.