After the vitals stabilized with an emergency response done with natural ease, the preparation work continued smoothly.
The narrow tumor was located in the area where all incoming arteries were connected.
"Let's start the first stage."
Dowook’s short instruction on what to do next.
Since they were entering the main stage now, Professor Yeom and Professor Kim, who’d been helping with simple tasks, as well as the people in the observation deck all watched the monitor anxiously.
Two forceps simultaneously entered between normal tissues entangled in a millet-sized lymphoma.
Choi Hoo in the blood vessels, and Dowook around the nerves in the brain.
The cooperation between the two surgeons, while removing the normal tissue little by little, was simply delicate and bold.
"I secured the blood vessels."
"I'm done with the nerves as well."
Both Choi Hoo and Dowook held the normal tissue in place with the fine forceps in their left hands, and tumor tissue extraction was to be carried out with only the right hand.
Holding fine scissors, Choi Hoo cut the tumor tissue, and Dowook held the fine forceps to pick out the tissue.
The two operated as if they were one person, causing the people observing them to erupt in admiration.
-I can't believe it even when I’m looking at it. Park Dowook and Choi Hoo, what kind of robots are they?
-I know. It would be strange to recommend chemotherapy in this case since the surgery won't be dangerous if it's this clean.
It was foolish to argue that one particular skill was the best in surgery when looking into the brain in micro units, since it varied widely from person to person.
However, everyone watching this operation had no choice but to admit that all the skills of those two surgeons were closest to the answer.
Professor Yeom immediately applied suction and sprayed water on the tissue that had been extracted. He did his best not because of Choi Hoo’s glare, but because he’d never wanted to disturb this perfect synchronicity.
Fortunately, no criticism came out this time.
"Ready for the 2nd stage."
Dowook stated the next direction of the surgery.
There were a total of five tumor extraction points.
At this pace, the operation would be completed in less than three hours.
Two hours later.
The surgery, which seemed to proceed as planned, faced a problem at the last tumor.
Dowook stopped moving and adjusted the microscope to greatly enlarge the tumor.
"This has a lot of adhesion. The mass development is deeper than in the video."
Choi Hoo touched the tumor with the tip of his forceps and nodded.
"It's hard. You'll lose blood vessels if we completely resect it. What do you want to do?"
To close the head while leaving No. 5 as it was, would make this operation meaningless. Even in very small areas, radiation therapy should be accompanied in the future.
While the surgeon was agonizing, the microphone in the observer's room was opened.
-Dr. Park Dowook. Dr. Lyle has an opinion. Would you like to hear it?
Chief Lee's voice.
Dowook turned his eyes to the observation deck and nodded. Steven Lyle spoke into the microphone.
-It seems that the area cannot be clearly revealed no matter what skill you bring. Why don't we move on to combination chemotherapy here? This alone seems to have increased the cure rate by 80% compared to conventional chemotherapy. It was a great operation.
『Tom Brand would not want to close his head, leaving the possibility of tumor metastasis.』
-However, surgical removal of tumors with unclear boundaries and invasive growth is not stable at all.
The boundaries were unclear.
As soon as Dowook heard those words, he felt a sting in his fingertips and turned his head.
Professor Yeom, the source of the sense, was lost in thought while looking at the microscope monitor.
Even though he suffered in the beginning due to the suction timing, Professor Yeom was one of the few specialists in Korea with extensive clinical experience in the field of brain tumors.
‘Maybe…’
Dowook looked at Professor Yeom.
"Professor Yeom."
"Huh? Did you decide?"
"No.5 tumor removal. Please take on the main position.”
Professor Yeom's eyes grew wide at the request.
"What! Is there a way for me to do what you and Professor Choi can't do?"
"There's a way."
Dowook quickly revealed the plan.
"As soon as Professor Yeom removes the tumor, Professor Choi begins vascular anastomosis. Nutritional blood vessels are saved, and some of the transit blood vessels are discarded. Then, infarction caused by venous damage will be sufficiently prevented. And, I’ll stay alert in case of any danger. While assisting both processes."
Prof. Yeom asked again after listening to Dowook’s explanation.
"To make such an attempt, the first assistant must have the ability to completely remove the tumor.”
"You're good enough."
The sense in his fingertips said so.
"Professor Yeom, what would you like to do?"
Professor Yeom felt his heart pounding when asked to take charge of the surgery in front of numerous authorities. An unexpected request, and the difficulty level was the highest.
After seeing the look in Professor Yeom's eyes, who was conflicted, Choi Hoo said.
"If you can't do it, tell me. There are a lot of substitutes up there."
"I'll do it. Choi Hoo, you're too strict from the beginning.
"It's true that you didn’t do the suction on time."
"I'm reflecting on that, so stop hitting me with the truth.”
Stephen Lyle, who heard the conversation from Lee Joseph who was acting as an interpreter, asked.
-Dr. Park. Are you confident that there will be no neurological complications in choosing the boundary?
『If I'm confident, do you think it would be safe?』
Steven Lyle smiled slightly at Dowook’s question.
-Just looking at the skills you’ve shown, yes. I believe so. What about you, Dr. Mitchell?
-I feel like I want to be a scrub assistant next to him.
-That's how it is.
Dowook, who bowed slightly to the smiling Steven Lyle, accepted Choi Hoo’s sense and Yeom Sang-chil’s sense at the same time.
Compared to a few months ago when he’d performed a surgery with Choi Hoo and Ji Hwi-gwan, he could clearly feel the difference between the two senses. This should be the benefit of fully synchronizing with Choi Hoo’s sense.
"It's been decided. Let's get started."
The surgical position quickly changed.
Professor Yeom stood by the patient's head and spoke.
"Starting the 5th extraction."
As soon as the words were over, clips were placed one after another to all blood vessels heading to the tumor.
It was the same speed as the fourth round, even though Dowook was gone and Choi Hoo was the only one to proceed. It meant that Choi Hoo increased his focus.
Professor Yeom gulped while watching through the microscope. If he made a mistake here, he didn't know how unbearable the criticism would be.
"The clamping is complete."
At Choi Hoo’s words, Professor Yeom took the fine scissors and forceps to the tumor site. Armed with caution from years of experience, he slowly incised the upper part of the tumor.
Beep beep beep!
A warning sound from the vital monitor exploded.
"Blood pressure dropped to 65."
It was a change that did not exist in the surgery so far. Dowook, holding the suction machine in his hand, anastomized the bleeding and encouraged Professor Yeom.
"Continue. It's temporary."
Beep beep.
As soon as he finished talking, the vitals stabilized. Dowook picked up forceps and pointed to one area.
"Please make an incision and anastomosis on this side."
It was a very sensitive area that Professor Yeom, who was removing the tumor, did not touch at all.
Before he knew it, Choi Hoo had cut it. Some of the blood vessels connected to the tumor were revealed.
From tumor extraction to cerebrovascular suture.
Considering that the lesion was located at an ultra-high difficulty level deep in the brain, the two surgeons continued smoothly.
Of course, the cause was due to a person who exquisitely coordinated the surgery between Professor Yeom and Professor Choi.
"Professor Choi. Slow down. There is still a bundle of nerves attached to the tumor. Professor Yeom, please make an incision from the top right. Don't worry about bleeding."
Dowook naturally recalled both senses and continued to indicate the surgical boundary point.
Professor Yeom felt for the first time that such an assist was possible in the world, but Choi Hoo silently continued his vascular anastomosis as if he knew this would happen.
15 minutes passed in that manner.
The nurse wiped off the sweat on Dowook’s forehead.
Dowook did not take his eyes off the micrograph monitor as the tumor was being removed even while his hands were busy. Then, he witnessed the tumor sliding sideways.
The source of the tumor was the size of a grain of rice.
That was what caused a change in the last extraction.
The hard embedded part was cut off, but the soft roots deeply located in the blood vessels below it were not easily picked up by Professor Yeon's forceps.
Thanks to this, Professor Choi's anastomosis also stopped.
‘If we continue like this, it’ll be too late.’
A sense of crisis tingled up from his fingertips. Even Choi Hoo realized this and he glared at Professor Yeom.
Dowook responded right away.
"Professor Yeom, you have to pick it out in a minute and let go."
"I’m trying."
It was impossible to blindly cut off the tricky cyst with scissors.
50 seconds. 40 seconds.
Dowook felt a sense of urgency.
Even now, it was a work that put pressure on the patient's brain nerves. Any more stimulation could lead to paralysis of the central nervous system.
‘Should I interfere? No. That’ll just make things more dangerous. Professor Choi is angry, but he can't use his own hands. That's a lesion that's hard for me and Professor Choi to respond to easily.’
"Blood pressure is dropping."
Following the anesthesiologist's warning, the tingling in his fingers generated by Choi Hoo’s sense also quickly started counting.
30 seconds, 25 seconds. 20 seconds.
Dowook turned to Professor Yeom.
‘He can’t do it.’
Everything had gone well so far so he was about to instruct the professor to give up.
Then.
A blue flash suddenly flashed from Dowook’s fingertip toward Professor Yeom.
Bzzt一!
‘Huh?’
Dowook thought he saw the wrong thing, but the flash quickly dug into Professor Yeom's fingertips.
Professor Yeom flinched.
Professor Yeom used forceps to grab the mass, which had been misaligned like a possessed person and incised the tumor deeply embedded in the tissue.
"I- I'm done with the extraction."
Dowook immediately suctioned the blood to secure the view at the main surgeon's declaration. As if waiting for the final knot, the vacancy where the tumor disappeared was properly revealed.
Brain tissue, which had been pulled aside, had regained its place, and vital signs also stabilized.
‘Phew. That was close. But… What was that?’
Professor Yeom looked at the fifth tumor held with forceps as if amazed.
"Oh my god. I thought I couldn't get rid of it."
"You did it. Thank you for your hard work."
"Is it because I focused too much on this part? I just felt a little weird. I suddenly came to my senses. Ah. Did you scream at me?”
"What? No."
"Is that so…?"
Professor Yeom, who was tilting his head, stepped down from his position.
Dowook, who returned to his position, put his fingertips on the patient's open brain.
A powerful beat.
In the future, periodic follow-up examinations should be performed, but there were no more signs of the brain tumors on the patient’s head.
Dowook turned to Choi Hoo.
"It seems like we’re in the safe zone. I'll close the head."
"Would you?"
Choi Hoo walked out of the OR as if the patient had never been in danger at all. It was cold-hearted to say that it was the back of a surgeon devoted to treating patients with a novel technique called real-time vascular anastomosis.
Choi Hoo left the operating room and Dowook declared.
"We will finish up the tumor extraction surgery."
Dowook put the separated skull piece back in and fixed in it place. Then he thought about the flash that appeared at the last minute.
‘What happened?’
He turned to Professor Yeom and reached out his hand.
Bzzzt.
"Huh?"
Professor Yeom turned his head around. Although invisible, his body seemed to react.
‘I don't think there's only one advantage that comes when you master a sense.’
Professor Yeom, who made eye contact, asked.
"What can I help you with?"
"Please do suction."
"I’ve let things go since the surgery is over, haven't I? I'm sorry."
Dowook shook his head as Professor Yeom was working on suction.
"If it were Nam Hana or Kim Seongtae, Professor Choi would have thrown something already.You've adapted really well."
"Haha. Is that so? I only heard rumors, but I didn't know it was this tempo. Can I come in to do suction from time to time? It looks like I have a lot to learn."
"You're always welcome if you have time."
Professor Kim, who had been standing like a statue with only clamps for three hours, also greeted Dowook with a smile.
"It was an honor to be able to participate in this kind of surgery, Dr. Park Dowook."
"Good job, Professor Kim."
People in the observer's room began to excitedly talk about the surgery scene that took place for over three hours.
For surgeons, especially for neurosurgeons dealing with the brain, these three hours were more exciting than any medical drama in the world.
Chief Ha, who was feeling very proud of his student, raised his thumb toward Dowook.
* * *
Tom Brand slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he came to his senses, he let out a groan.
His body felt very heavy, and his head felt heavier than the rest of his body put together. It wasn't an illusion. Because he was wearing a thick, hard bandage around his head.
『You’re awake.』
When his eyes gained focus, the first thing that stood out was Dr. Park, a young Asian doctor. Tom smiled at Dowook.
『Let me guess. You're going to say the surgery went well, right?』
『I didn't know Jet America had the ability to predict the future.』
Tom pointed to Deckerman, who was standing behind Dowook.
『If you can't predict that much even after seeing that expression on his face, you’d be a fool Decky. Did you call Mrs. Brand?』
Deckerman picked up his cell phone and indicated that 100 text messages were piled up.
『You do it yourself.』
『Break the contract. I'm breaking up our relationship.』
『Do whatever you want.』
Deckerman turned his head regardless of Tom's warning.
Tom gestured toward the embarrassed Dowook to continue.
『We’re just joking. Even if it doesn’t look like it, he would have already called my mother.』
『Then I'll tell you the progress of the surgery. In the check up after two weeks of recovery, everything must be clean in the first tumor examination to be diagnosed with complete recovery. There is no risk of recurrence, but initially one year of checkup is recommended to be sure. After that, I recommend that you continue to get a checkup every three years.』
Dowook, who briefly turned to the open VIP room door, told Tom.
『This is the end of what I have to say to Tom Brand as doctor. Children in the pediatric ward are visiting. Would you like to meet them now?』
『You're talking about the ward kids that I couldn't visit last time, right? Then, it’s fine.』
Dowook beckoned outside.
Then a little boy wearing a big mask and red gloves appeared in a hero pose.
"Jet. I'm here! I'll blow it all away!"
"What? hahaha!"
Tom laughed at the surprise appearance of a child wearing a Red Hand mask who appeared with him in the movie Hero League.
Dr. Knuckle, Atom Girl, Wolfboy.
Masked children entered one after another, swinging their cute fists. Everyone was dressed as colleagues who formed Team Jet in the movie.
Dowook explained quietly.
『Before the surgery, you sent a tweet to summon the Team Jet.』
『I can't believe it's such a grand event. Welcome, Red Hand!』
Tom also tried to pose for Jet America, but the needle of the infusion tube shot a prickly pain up his arm so he stopped moving.
『Don't overdo it.』
『I'm sorry, doctor. It's so touching.』
Tom stopped apologizing and pointed to the masked kid that just came in.
『That's Batman. Huh? Spider-Man? Haha.』
Heroes from other competing labels also appeared. Adults' business circumstances were not considered in the pure standards of children who chose their favorite heroes.
『Dr. Park. How do you say ‘Let’s go!' in Korean?』
"Let's go."
The room quickly became full of children wearing hero masks. With the advent of Harry Potter, the division of genres was now meaningless.
What was wrong with that? You don't need qualifications to protect the Earth from Galnos.
Tom shouted at the children with a bright smile.
"Gajwa! Team Jet!"
Click!
Deckerman held up his cell phone and took a picture of this friendly appearance.
「@Tom Band」posted a tweet.
#Picture attached.
[Hi, friends. The second part of the Hero League has begun. This is a picture for a screen test. If it seems that a spy is hiding among them, it is an illusion. Hey, Batman! Don't take off your mask because it's hot! Hide your identity!]
—–
max sync: "Choi Hoo’s” technique
chain: conveys a sharp willingness to operate to the other person using the sense.
