5
#005. Surgical Simulator (1)
The moment he took the scalpel that he was supposed to hand to the professor, text appeared before his eyes.
It was the kind of text Han Seo-jun had only seen in online games back when he was still preparing to enter medical school.
It appeared for only a few seconds, from the moment he picked it up until he handed it to the professor, but he had clearly seen the words with both eyes.
‘Huh! What is this?’
Startled, wondering if something was wrong with his eyes, Han Seo-jun almost dropped the scalpel. Somehow, however, he managed to hide his surprise immediately.
Fortunately, the professor did not notice that anything strange had happened to him.
‘Thank goodness.’
It seemed he had somehow managed to conceal it.
Thump, thump.
Because of the unusual situation, Han Seo-jun's heart began pounding.
Ever since the strange dream he had the previous night, he had been feeling as though something was off.
Just as Han Seo-jun was feeling uneasy, the professor asked before placing the scalpel against the patient's skin.
“Come to think of it, I heard you were the one who saved this patient.”
“Yes.”
The patient lying in front of Han Seo-jun had not actually been brought to the hospital as a patient.
He had been the guardian of another patient visiting the hospital.
When Han Seo-jun discovered him clutching his chest and collapsing in the hospital cafeteria, he immediately performed emergency treatment and managed to restart his heart.
Of course, that had only been emergency treatment. The examinations afterward revealed that the man's heart was deteriorating because of atherosclerosis.
If the hospital's only thoracic surgery resident had not happened to be in the cafeteria at that moment, the patient's heart might have suffered even more severe damage.
In that case, there was a good chance he would not even have been in a condition to undergo surgery here.
“If things go well, it'll be thanks to you.”
At the professor's words, Han Seo-jun felt a sense of duty wash over him.
Regardless of what had happened, he had managed to save the man and bring him to the operating room.
Wouldn't it naturally be his responsibility to send him back into society alive and well?
However, Han Seo-jun was not in a position to promise that he would definitely save the patient.
All he could say was that he would do his best.
“I'll do my best.”
“That's what you should do. Let's do this well.”
“Yes.”
Seo Jung-won was about to begin the surgery with the scalpel Han Seo-jun had handed him.
He turned his head toward everyone in the operating room and gave them a firm warning.
“Today's surgery is going to be difficult, so everyone stay alert. If anything happens, I'll tell you immediately, so move accordingly.”
Everyone cautiously responded.
“Yes!”
“As I said, we're going to do this without stopping the heart. Understood?”
It was an uncommon surgical method.
Han Seo-jun instinctively focused.
The strange incident that had occurred in his mind moments ago had long since disappeared.
The professor's scalpel made a precise incision, and then the electric saw in Han Seo-jun's hands activated, cutting through the sternum.
The patient's chest opened, and as Seo Jung-won carefully moved his hands, the beating heart came into view.
But the heart that should have been pounding with vitality did not look good even at a glance.
“How does it look? Pretty bad, right?”
“Yes.”
The examination results had already shown it, but degeneration had occurred in several areas.
The key to today's surgery was to make incisions in those areas, suture them, and quickly connect the blood flow to another location.
It was expected to be an extremely difficult surgery, but Seo Jung-won's expression remained remarkably calm.
Anyone would consider this a highly challenging operation, but to him, it was no different from an ordinary day.
“Seo-jun, it's still manageable. Don't worry.”
“I wasn't worried, Professor.”
“Good.”
This was where the real surgery began.
The moment the professor finished speaking, Han Seo-jun immediately inserted the cardiac stabilizer.
Normally, it was unnecessary because the heart would be stopped and a heart-lung machine would be used, but today was different.
When the surgery was performed while allowing the heart to continue beating, the damaged areas could be seen more clearly, making the device necessary.
The device that stabilized the heartbeat was essential for today's surgery.
“Retractor.”
“Yes.”
He immediately used the retractor to open the chest cavity and secure it in place.
Previously, someone had to keep the chest open by hand, but with the development of this equipment, the need for manual assistance had been greatly reduced.
That meant the number of doctors required could also be reduced.
‘It's unavoidable, I suppose.’
With the number of thoracic surgeons steadily decreasing, the advancement of such equipment was inevitable.
It was a sad reality.
Moreover, today's surgery was not originally supposed to have a second-year resident assisting.
At least a fellow or an additional professor should have been there to assist.
But there was no one available.
Everyone who could have helped Seo Jung-won was already occupied with another patient in another operating room.
That was why Han Seo-jun's growth was even more desperately important to the professor.
And because Han Seo-jun knew how the professor felt, he couldn't help feeling sorry.
He needed to improve further before he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the professor.
Right now, he was still half a burden.
That made Han Seo-jun feel miserable.
But contrary to his thoughts, the surgery was progressing successfully.
It was going more smoothly than initially expected.
The elderly patient's heart condition was better than anticipated.
If the blood vessels had been damaged all over the place, controlling the bleeding would have been difficult, but fortunately, the damage was concentrated in one area.
But now the moment Han Seo-jun feared was gradually approaching.
“Seo-jun, harvest the vein.”
“Yes.”
It was time to harvest the blood vessel.
A new, healthy vein was essential for performing coronary artery bypass surgery.
Gulp.
The problem was that this was one of the procedures Han Seo-jun had always struggled with.
No matter how many times he practiced, harvesting a usable blood vessel in one attempt was extremely difficult.
There was a limit to the number of healthy vessels that could be harvested, and he absolutely could not make a mistake.
It was a procedure that required him to carefully work with a scalpel in one hand and forceps in the other.
But somehow, he had to do it.
There was nowhere left to run.
Suddenly, Nak-yoon's face from his dream flashed through Han Seo-jun's mind.
The words his brother had spoken gave Han Seo-jun confidence as he struggled with his anxiety.
‘Yeah. Somehow, it'll work out.’
It was time to believe in himself.
Han Seo-jun picked up the scalpel the professor had used earlier and then set down.
‘Huh?’
His head suddenly felt dizzy.
The strange phenomenon had happened again.
This time, he was certain that what had happened earlier had not been his imagination.
‘What is this?’
Floating above the scalpel in his left hand was unmistakably a status window straight out of a game.
[Scalpel of an Advanced Specialist
* Concentration increases. Allows you to become completely immersed in surgery.
* Hand skill increases. Allows you to perform precise movements.
* Reflexes increase. Makes it easier to respond to emergency situations.
* Mental strength increases. Prevents you from giving up on the patient.
* Stability. Reduces anxiety during surgery.
Proficiency 0/100
Once proficiency is filled through a certain amount of surgery, the user's abilities will increase.]
“What are you doing?”
“Ah. Nothing.”
He almost got scolded for spacing out.
Of course, it had only been about two seconds, but during surgery, even that could be a long time.
‘Now isn't the time for this.’
Time was crucial during heart surgery.
He had to finish the procedure as quickly and precisely as possible.
As soon as he thought that, the anxiety in Han Seo-jun's mind disappeared.
‘Huh?’
Following the professor's instructions, he moved toward the lower body to harvest the great saphenous vein that would be used for the heart.
But somehow, things felt different from usual.
There was no anxiety in his hand movements.
Previously, his fingertips would have trembled, causing him to damage the clean end of the vessel with the scalpel and forcing him to repeat the harvesting several times.
But today was different.
While Seo Jung-won prepared the remaining arterial bypass, Han Seo-jun quickly finished harvesting the vein and completed the closure.
‘Huh?’
Han Seo-jun himself was surprised by his strange condition.
He had successfully harvested the great saphenous vein in a single attempt without making a single mistake.
He was never like this normally, but today, everything seemed to be going unusually well.
‘Was that really because of the scalpel?’
As he held the professor's scalpel, it wasn't his imagination. He really did feel as though he was performing better than usual.
And Seo Jung-won's reaction to the vein Han Seo-jun brought back was the same.
‘What's gotten into this kid today?’
He was surprised.
Normally, Han Seo-jun would have to harvest more vessels than necessary several times just to obtain a few usable ones.
But today, things were different.
Every vessel Han Seo-jun had brought back was in excellent condition, to the point that his skill was comparable to that of an experienced fellow or even a professor.
With vessels of this quality, there was no doubt that the patient would recover.
“Seo-jun.”
“Yes?”
“You must have practiced quite a bit. Your skills have improved a lot.”
“Ah, yes. I suppose so.”
It was true that Han Seo-jun had practiced.
But it was also true that his skill had not actually improved that much.
Nevertheless, what Han Seo-jun was demonstrating to the professor today showed tremendous improvement.
As the professor prepared to connect the bypass vessels, he raised his assessment of Han Seo-jun another level in his mind.
‘So I was mistaken all this time. His skills really were improving.’
The professor felt sorry for Seo-jun.
He had always found him incredibly unfortunate.
There were few people as suited to being a doctor as Han Seo-jun.
The fact that he had applied for residency in thoracic surgery alone proved how strong his desire to save people was.
And the only thing he had lacked as a doctor was surgical skill.
But now, even that was a thing of the past.
He decided that Han Seo-jun was finally ready to move on to the next stage.
There was nothing holding him back anymore.
The surgery began moving toward its conclusion.
It was now time to create the bypass.
Seo Jung-won carefully clamped the unobstructed section of the beating heart with forceps to stabilize the operating area.
He was going to create a new pathway for blood to flow through.
He carefully made a small incision on the surface of the heart and prepared to connect the vessel.
Precisely connecting a blood vessel on a beating heart required highly advanced skill.
It was something Han Seo-jun still could not do.
“Seo-jun, hold the end of the vessel. I'll start suturing.”
“Yes.”
Following his instructions, Han Seo-jun firmly secured the end.
Normally, his fingertips would have trembled with anxiety, but his left hand held the forceps with perfect precision.
‘Is it really because of the scalpel?’
The words floating above the scalpel had already begun to feel familiar.
This was no longer an illusion.
It was real.
The surgery proceeded smoothly from that point onward.
Seo Jung-won's hands did not shake at all. Using forceps and sutures, he quickly connected the harvested great saphenous vein to the aorta and the section below the blocked coronary artery.
A nurse wiped away the sweat pouring down their faces.
It was a critical moment.
The most important part remained.
The patient was at the crossroads between life and death.
But the professor was not worried.
Today's surgery had gone well with Han Seo-jun's assistance, and for some reason, he had absolutely no feeling that the patient would die.
“Good. Seo-jun, check the blood flow.”
Han Seo-jun checked the blood flow using the Doppler ultrasound connected to the chest.
His tense expression slowly relaxed.
“The blood flow is normal, Professor.”
“Good. Then let's start the second one.”
The professor proceeded to connect a bypass vessel to the second blood vessel.
The same verification process was repeated, and once again, everything went smoothly.
When the checks were finally complete, Han Seo-jun could feel the tension that had filled the operating room beginning to dissipate.
Only about three hours had passed, but it felt as though he had worked for twelve.
Still, finishing properly was important.
Han Seo-jun checked the number of gauzes used.
“The gauze count is correct.”
“Do you see any bleeding?”
“No. There isn't any. All the connection sites are stable.”
He had checked everything with his eyes wide open, so there should not have been any problems.
The surgery was perfect.
After washing and disinfecting the area, securing the sternum with wires, and completing the skin sutures, the surgery finally came to an end.
Han Seo-jun's heart was filled with joy.
Unlike usual, he knew that today he had been of genuine help to the professor.
He could no longer see the strange text because he had put down the scalpel, but he now believed that it truly existed.
Still, the thought that the professor's scalpel had temporarily enhanced his skills left his mind complicated.
Before he had time to think about it further, however, the professor was waiting for him when he returned from the intensive care unit to the thoracic surgery department.
“Professor.”
“Let's talk for a moment.”
But from the professor's bright expression, Han Seo-jun could tell that nothing was wrong.
Seo Jung-won turned and headed toward his office, and Han Seo-jun cautiously followed him.