An Everted Lip It Shall Be
The next day, Wednesday, October 11th in the Ailene calendar, was the day of surgery for the young lady of Baron Dudain.
"Director, full anesthesia confirmed."
I gave a light nod at Stella's words as she removed the mask from the young lady of Baron Dudain, who had received the induction anesthetic, and finished the nasotracheal intubation.
"Res, out you go now. This is everyone's first cleft lip surgery, so watch closely."
"Yes!"
For surgeries involving new techniques or learning curves, I involve the witches like today.
"ECG, blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature—all normal. Proceeding with marking."
"Yes!"
Since the young lady hadn't removed her mask until full anesthesia, I now began marking the surgical site.
Tok— tok— tok— tok tok— tok—
I marked both corners of her mouth, the double bow shape of her upper lip, and the cleft left upper lip, meticulously checking the distance between her nose and lips.
Tok— tok tok— tok—
It might look like just dotting a pen on her lips, but marking was crucial. Incisions had to follow the lines connecting these points.
"Scalpel."
Taking the scalpel from Stella, I began incising along the markings.
Serrk— slice— pssht— psst— pssst—
The sound of the scalpel cutting the patient's lip and suction drawing blood echoed through the room.
"Cautery. Grasp with forceps."
"Yes!"
As I raised my hand, Hazel cleared the scalpel, Stella handed over the electrosurgical cautery to my empty hand, and Rebecca pulled the incised lip edge with forceps.
We four moved like a single body, the surgery proceeding without delay.
Tzzzt— tzz— tzzzzzt—
For delicate areas requiring caution, I approached with precise taps using the cautery.
Serrk— slice— serrk— pssht— pssst— tzz— tzzzt— tzzzzzt—
The sounds of cutting, slicing, and suctioning the young lady's lip continued until finally, the muscle layer appeared beneath the incised skin.
"Proceeding with suturing."
"Yes!"
Pok. Swish— pok. Sswish—
I carefully sutured the exposed muscle layers on both sides of her lip, proving my resolve not to create unnecessary wounds.
Swish— sswish—
"Whoa……."
As I pulled the suture through the severed edges, drawing the split lips together into one, a soft exclamation escaped Hazel's lips.
"Focus. Surgery's not over."
"Ah…… yes, Director."
Thanks to VR surgery practice and the detailed plan I'd already shared, the witches knew how the procedure would go. Still, Hazel couldn't hide her awe at how the lips joined like a drawbridge lowering into place.
But doctors, medical staff—no one should show emotion in front of a patient mid-surgery.
Pok. Swish—
I always restrained my emotions during surgery to keep them steady. Any fluctuation could affect the outcome.
Pok. Sswish—
Stitch by careful stitch, meticulously and cautiously to minimize scarring, I finished the suturing.
"Healing magic."
"Yes!"
With all three witches present, Rebecca cast first—her mana pool was overwhelmingly superior.
"Suturing complete. Remove the stitches and apply healing magic again."
"Yes!"
At my follow-up, they removed the sutures, and Stella applied healing magic to erase the traces.
'Good, the lips are properly joined now.'
First hurdle cleared. Even this alone would astonish Rosen or the Dudain Baron's household. Unless someone got very close and inspected, no one would notice without the mask.
"Display the patient's parents' photo."
"Yes, Director."
But I'm a perfectionist. No half-measures like a quack thinking 'this'll do.' As a doctor, I had to fully heal the patient's pain. Cleft lip repair was just the start; additional treatments were planned from the outset. That's why I'd used nasotracheal intubation instead of the usual orotracheal.
"Director, patient's parents' photo displayed."
Stella projected the family photo Rosen had given her yesterday onto the crystal orb: Baron Dudain, father of Jellyna, and his wife.
The baron's upper lip had low outer volume, curled inward, but his mouth corners turned up—like the Joker.
His wife's upper lip, however, everted outward with just the right volume.
'The young lady's lips should be made everted.'
Though she was the product of the baron and his wife, I held the scalpel. Anyone coming to my hospital for surgery deserved the utmost beauty.
"Proceeding with flap surgery."
"Yes!"
Flap surgery, a reconstructive technique, pulls nearby tissue to fill defects.
The young lady's lips were now closed bilaterally, but philtrum position and scar treatment remained. Priority: upper lip volume!
Serrk— slice— pok. Swish— pok. Sswish—
I carefully incised a flap from her intact lower lip, using a surgical microscope to connect it to upper lip vessels.
"Healing magic. Right away."
"Yes!"
Hazel's healing magic sprinkled forth, fully bonding the lower lip flap to the upper lip.
'Good. Perfect connection.'
The cleft lips were sutured together, but merely joined— no philtrum, scars remained, and the upper lip was thinner than normal, giving the impression of biting it with lower teeth, common in cleft patients.
Hence, flap surgery to augment the deficient upper lip tissue from the lower.
"One more healing magic. Needs more volume."
"Yes, Director."
Stella followed Hazel, and the young lady's upper lip visibly plumped further.
Flap surgery excels at filling defects by mobilizing adjacent tissue—ideal for nail avulsions, cheek necrosis holes, or augmenting thin lips like this. 'Essentially natural filler, using her own tissue.'
Yet patients treated for clefts in childhood rarely return for cosmetic lip surgery opting for flaps. Why? Like the baroness's daughter, they'd endure two weeks or more with grotesquely joined lips.
'In Korea, few can lie idle for two weeks without work. Can't speak properly either.'
Post-flap, lips open only slightly—like barely parting them. Two weeks of silence, liquid diet only.
Even if most effective for volume, without healing magic to instantly fill, cleft patients wouldn't embrace flaps.
"Cutting the flap, scar removal, and philtrum creation. Follow closely."
"Yes!"
Serrk— slice—
I severed the flap linking lower and upper lips, deeply incising the scar from lip to philtrum down to muscle.
Pok. Sswish— swish—
Seamlessly suturing the scarless area to raise it without new scars.
"Healing magic!"
Post-philtrum scar removal, I proceeded to create the prominent philtrum cleft patients obsess over.
'Eyes are sensitive, especially to the familiar.'
Even with lips joined and shaped like her mother's, no philtrum would draw odd looks. As a baron's daughter, no outright comments, but a single lingering glance could wound Jellyna deeply.
"Scalpel."
I hate kids. Seeing one haunt my hospital? Even more so.
Serrk— slice— serrk—
Hoping this was her first and last surgery, I incised philtrum-to-lip, removing soft tissue between dermis and muscle.
"Forceps, suture."
"Here."
Using non-absorbable suture from Stella, I closed dermis to muscle.
"Whew…… healing magic."
"Yes!"
Rebecca's final healing pulled skin toward muscle base, etching a clear philtrum groove.
"Whoa……."
Hazel exclaimed softly again at the completed cleft repair, lip augmentation, scar removal, and philtrum creation.
"Ah! S-sorry, Director."
Recalling my no-emotions-in-OR rule, she apologized.
"It's fine. Surgery's done. Wake the little patient and clean up."
"Yes, Director!"
"Good work."
"Good work!"
Leaving the witches' unusually hearty replies, I exited the OR to find Walter waiting.
"What brings you here? Something up?"
"Baron Dudain and his wife have arrived. Waiting in the first-floor conference room."
"Really? Have them come up? Anesthesia should wear off soon."
"I'll bring them right away."
By the time I'd changed out of scrubs and returned to the 11th-floor lounge, as Walter fetched them from downstairs—
Whirr—
The elevator opened, Rosen appearing masked.
"Hello, Count. Came up early since the young lady's surgery is done."
"Ah, yes? Just wait a bit. Should be soon……?"
Roll—
"She's already out."
Jellyna, still groggy from anesthesia, sat in the wheelchair Stella pushed, gazing at Rosen.
"……Rosen?"
Rosen hurried to Jellyna, kneeling to her eye level, trembling.
"M-Miss…… your, your lips…… your lips……."