Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: What Got Stuck In There?
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I tried my best to ignore Park Seong-jeong's beet-red face and the deep despair etched in his pupils.
Yeah, Seong-jeong.
Grow strong.
I patted his shoulder one last time before heading back to the station and issuing a few more additional orders.
"The patient's in a lot of pain, so give her an amp of ketorolac IM for pain relief first. And to remove that thing, we need her muscles relaxed, so try pushing 2mg of midazolam slowly IV. She'll get a bit drowsy, her tension will ease up, and it'll be way easier."
"Yes, doctor...."
Leaving his soulless response behind, I returned to my seat.
My role was truly over now.
I'd made the diagnosis, set the plan, and even assigned the manpower to execute it.
What could be a more perfect delegation of duties?
I sipped my coffee, feeling deeply satisfied.
But that peace didn't last even five minutes.
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
A horrific, gut-wrenching scream erupted from deep in Section B—something no human should be capable of producing.
Everyone at the station whipped their heads toward it reflexively.
...Looks like Seong-jeong failed.
I rubbed my forehead.
A scream like that meant it wasn't just a failure—he'd definitely hit something he shouldn't have.
Sure enough, a nurse came running out.
"Han doc. Um... the patient in B-8 bed... you might need to take a look. The intern was doing something, and the patient suddenly...."
Damn it, anyone around?
I desperately scanned the area.
Someone to help turn the tide in this hellish situation—another sacrificial lamb, no, another intern.
Right, there were definitely two interns today.
Ah. Yeah.
My radar picked up another pure soul on the opposite side of the station, diligently sorting EKG paper.
"Min-seong, let's go!"
Choi Min-seong.
Yeah, this guy's here.
I shot up from my seat and strode toward him like I'd found my savior, grabbing his shoulder firmly.
"Huh? Doctor? Where are we going?"
"There's a super rare, educational case. Something you might see once in a lifetime as a doctor. As your senior, I have to make sure you get a front-row seat. Follow me."
I didn't allow any arguments, practically shoving Choi Min-seong toward Section B by the back.
Don't worry.
There are plenty of interns.
Probably.
Drawing back the curtain into B-8 revealed pure pandemonium.
The patient was writhing and groaning on the bed, while Park Seong-jeong stood there pale as a ghost, at a complete loss.
The latex gloves in his hands hinted at the full extent of the disaster that had just unfolded.
I let out a deep sigh at the惨め sight.
Then, I put on the mask of a highly competent, calm senior doctor.
"Seong-jeong, what happened? Explain calmly."
"Do... doctor... I... gave the injection, and she seemed relaxed... so I had her lie on her side... and tried to pull it out... but she suddenly screamed...."
I nodded and checked the patient's condition.
"Seong-jeong, did you just tell her to relax without guiding her through diaphragmatic breathing?"
"Huh? Diaphragmatic breathing?"
"You need to have her breathe deeply into her belly, then exhale long and slow with a 'hoo,' releasing all tension. The sphincter relaxes naturally on the exhale—that's the timing you aim for."
"Ah...."
"And the position. You just had her lying on her side like that. You need to pull her knees up toward her chest to create space. Otherwise, in that awkward pose, it'll just catch inside and won't come out."
I began logically breaking down the reasons for failure one by one.
One thing I had studied hard during my internship was this.
Because I really didn't want to see the gruesome results...
"Most importantly, the direction. You just tried yanking it straight out, right?"
Park Seong-jeong's eyes wavered. I'd hit the nail on the head.
"Our intestines are curved in an S-shape inside. Especially around the sacrum, there's a posterior curve. You can't ignore that and just pull."
The two of them looked at me a little differently after my perfect analysis.
Truth be told, it was all thanks to skimming gallery posts like 'Rectal Foreign Body Removal.txt' while drinking my coffee just now.
"You two, come over here and watch closely. Failure is the mother of success. Building on Seong-jeong's noble failure, we're heading toward victory now!"
I declared solemnly as I slipped on latex gloves.
"Commencing attempt number two..."
And reality came crashing back.
In front of me, the patient was still thrashing in pain and humiliation, and in my hand was a fresh pair of clean latex gloves.
And echoing in my head was the harsh truth: 'You're the guy who can't even start an IV line properly.'
Me? Do this? Myself?
'No, I can do it. Just follow the theory I explained. Position, breathing, angle....'
A perfect simulation ran in my mind.
But my body—my hands—showed zero intention of following it.
My fingertips began to tremble faintly.
Park Seong-jeong's failure from moments ago and the patient's horrific scream flashed through my brain.
What if—what if I fail too?
What if I, who spouted all that great theory like some expert and dramatically announced attempt two, fail just the same?
I'd earn the nickname 'All-Talk Theory Fighter Han Hyun-jae' among the interns.
Besides, this isn't some life-or-death emergency that has to be done right now, right?
I suddenly froze.
Then I made a very serious, cautious face.
The two interns held their breath, waiting for my next move.
"No."
"Huh?"
"...This won't do."
I peeled off the latex gloves I'd worn less than a minute ago and tossed them into the medical waste bin.
"Not now."
"What... won't do, doctor?"
Park Seong-jeong asked.
"Manual removal. We can't do it now."
I began explaining as if delivering a grave medical judgment.
"Listen up, you two. Seong-jeong tried once already. It failed, but that attempt had huge diagnostic value."
Question marks popped up on the interns' faces.
"From it, we learned one key fact: this patient's sphincter tone is way higher than imagined. And after the pain and anxiety from the first failure, the odds of success on a second try are extremely low. Forcing it could tear the rectal mucosa, leading to bleeding or perforation—much worse complications."
I straightened my white coat and concluded like a wise senior.
"In cases like this, you don't push your pride and charge in. Choosing the safest, most reliable method—that's what a true pro does. For the patient's sake."
I declared solemnly.
"Call GI!!!"
At my proclamation, the two interns stood stunned for a moment, then nodded as if deeply impressed.
This was purely for the patient's benefit. Yeah.
Leaving the interns behind, I slipped out of B-8 with a casual shuffle, as if it were the most natural thing.
Cleanup was their job.
Feeling the heavy burden lift from my shoulders, I sauntered back to the station.
I sat at the computer and logged into the EMR.
Clicked the 'Consult Request' tab and selected 'Gastroenterology.'
[Consult Request]
- Requesting Dept: Emergency Medicine
Yeah, I'm Emergency Medicine, after all.
- Receiving Dept: Gastroenterology
Needs endoscopy, so GI it is.
- Primary Dx: R/O Rectal Foreign Body
Obvious.
- Patient presented today with rectal foreign body. Manual removal attempt #1 failed; patient's pain and sphincter spasm worsened. Further manual attempts risk rectal injury. Endoscopic removal likely needed—requesting consult. Vitals stable, no perforation on abdominal X-ray. Please reply ASAP.
The moment I hit enter, I was freed from all responsibility and duty.
Muahaha.
Now this headache was the on-call GI doc's problem.
I leaned deep into my chair's backrest.
***
About 20 minutes after submitting the consult.
A weary-faced man approached the ER station.
The GI on-call.
"Emergency Medicine, Han Hyun-jae?"
"Ah, yes! I'm Han Hyun-jae."
I jumped up from my seat.
"Rectal foreign body... first removal failed. Status now?"
"Sedated and on pain meds, under observation. Vitals stable, no perforation."
"Hmm...."
He stroked his chin and peered intently at the X-ray.
His expression barely changed at the clear silhouette in the image.
Well, this guy probably sees this stuff all the time.
He scrolled down to my charting, tilted his head, and asked,
"Chart just says 'foreign body.' So, what exactly is it?"
Here it comes.
I glanced around.
Nurses and other docs bustled through the station.
I leaned in close, lowering my voice to a whisper.
"Um...."
"Yeah?"
"Adult... toy...."
"...."
The GI doc froze.
"Ah... okay...."
He tried to play it cool, but couldn't hide his twitching lips.
"Heh heh... heh heh...."
He asked nothing more and headed to Section B with, "Let's check the patient first."
I followed behind, thinking,
This had to be the most awkward consult scene in the world.