Chapter 360: A Life-Threatening Pregnancy
The patient was pushed into the operating room. As the requested material was still on its way, the team set up a dopamine drip to regulate the patient’s blood pressure and improve her condition.
Then, 5000U of low molecular weight heparin was administered intravenously to combat the coagulation factors.
The thrombosis in pulmonary embolisms often arose from veins in the lower body.
It was unknown how the girl had developed venous thrombosis, but it was likely that the clot had dislodged and traveled up the veins to cause a pulmonary embolism, inducing chest pains and breathing difficulties.
Early emergency rescue efforts could save the girl’s life.
She looked to be 18 or 19, a life barely lived.
After the heparin was administered, Zheng Ren ordered Chu Yanran to sedate the patient and administer painkillers. A constant infusion of 1000U heparin per hour was set up.
It would have to work.
Zheng Ren left the patient’s care to Chu Yanran while he dialed for Feng Xuhui to rush the man. He also gave Old Chief Physician Pan regular updates on the patient.
The family had yet to arrive. There was only the young boyfriend who was in shock. It was a tricky situation.
There was nothing that could be said about how successful this emergency rescue would be but if the patient died in the process, there would be a lot of trouble.
Zheng Ren got changed. His phone rang.
Feng Xuhui was here with all the necessary materials.
Sea City General Hospital was of utmost priority to the Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery. They opened up a branch nearby the hospital and Chairman Ma had decreed that Zheng Ren should be served like a prince.
To be honest, the sales volume in the whole of Sea City was not comparable to even a single hospital in Imperial Capital.
Despite that, Manager Feng was willing to rush over to the hospital in less than 20 minutes. This showcased Zheng Ren’s influence over Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery.
Zheng Ren did not dilly dally. He took the materials from Manager Feng and headed straight back into the operating room.
Professor Rudolf Wagner arrived at the operating room and gave Zheng Ren a warm greeting.
Stone-faced Zheng Ren ignored the professor’s greeting and quickly checked through the materials.
The professor was confused but went up to Zheng Ren.
“Boss, what do we have here?”
“Pulmonary embolism.”
“That…requires an emergency procedure.”
“Yes, now shut up and help,” Zheng Ren snapped. The professor was a capable doctor but he talked too much, especially now when Zheng Ren was rushing to save a girl’s life.
Professor Rudolf instantly sealed his lips and got down to helping Zheng Ren prepare the equipment.
Emergency thrombolysis was the first-line treatment against pulmonary embolism. A filter insertion in the inferior vena cava was also necessary in some cases of pulmonary embolism.
With the emergency medication administered, the patient’s condition was better than before.
Zheng Ren wondered how a girl this young had developed a blood clot. Pulmonary embolisms usually plagued senior citizens, especially those who were bedridden. Reduced physical activity increased the chances of blood clot formation in the lower body.
A young, able-bodied teen was unlikely to develop blood clots.
Once the equipment and materials were accounted for, Professor Rudolf began disinfecting the surgical site.
Zheng Ren received a call from Old Chief Physician Pan and quickly left the operating room to meet the patient’s parents.
Before he left, he instructed the professor, “Lil Fugui, once you have access, start with the thrombolysis.”
Professor Rudolf mumbled an agreement.
For the professor, a thrombolytic procedure was a walk in the park. Hence, Zheng Ren was not worried. The procedure took anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to complete.
If the effect was unsatisfactory, they would have to opt for a catheter-directed thrombolysis to remove the pulmonary embolism.
Zheng Ren got to the emergency ward in his scrubs.
Old Chief Physician Pan was aware of the patient’s condition through Zheng Ren’s updates. There was little he could tell the parents other than the critical condition she was in. He explained the treatment and probability of survival.
At the sight of Zheng Ren, Old Chief Physician Pan breathed out a sigh of relief.
The old doctor went up to help with the rescue. After all, the professor was a foreigner and there were protocols that he might not be familiar with. Although the professor was fluent in Mandarin, some drug names were very different after translation.
Zheng Ren greeted the parents and told them to have a seat. “The boyfriend said your daughter has had such symptoms before?”
The mention of the boyfriend instigated some angry shouts from the father. The mother wiped away tears as she tried to placate her husband.
Zheng Ren tapped his fingers on the table and said, “We’re short on time. Please, speak clearly!”
The father was taken aback by Zheng Ren’s sharp tone. After realizing his daughter’s life was on the line, the man muttered some curses under his breath before sitting down.
“My daughter has always had a clean bill of health but when… When she got pregnant, she suffered from an elevated platelet count and that caused the venous thrombosis,” the father revealed.
Pregnant? Platelets?
It was the first time Zheng Ren had heard of such a condition.
The System was able to provide a diagnosis but it would not reveal the disorder’s mechanism. It was up to Zheng Ren to decipher how the puzzle pieces fit together.
“She’s very headstrong. Previously, she had an incident in school and was rushed to the hospital. Who knew that she would…” the father’s voice cracked as he let out a sigh. Tears streamed down his face.
“Which hospital was it?” Zheng Ren asked.
The patient’s father mentioned a famous Class Three Grade A Hospital in Imperial Capital.
Zheng Ren thought for a moment before asking about the doctor who was in charge of the case. The name was given and Zheng Ren picked up his phone.
It was still early in the day to call Department Chief Kong.
There was a patient’s life on the line so Zheng Ren’s reasons were justified. Although a thrombolytic procedure was ongoing with Professor Rudolf at the helm, Zheng Ren figured he would rather be safe than sorry.
“Chief Kong, it’s me, Little Zheng.”
“Yes. There’s a patient in emergency care here who has been to Imperial Capital, I need some information about her medical condition.”
Department Chief Kong gladly acquiesced. Zheng Ren gave him the name of the hospital and the angiology department chief.
The patient’s father watched Zheng Ren effortlessly obtain information about his daughter’s admission in an Imperial Capital hospital. He trusted that his daughter was in good hands.
During the first hospital admission, the Imperial Capital doctor told them to watch out for a recurrence as it would be more severe. The doctor said only large Class Three Grade A Hospitals in Imperial Capital or Sorcery Capital would give their daughter a fighting chance against a second pulmonary embolism.
If the patient was elderly, they were unlikely to survive a second incident.
When the father heard it was the same disorder, he wanted to take a knife and have a go at her boyfriend.
There was still hope!
Zheng Ren hung up the phone. While waiting for Department Chief Kong’s reply, Zheng Ren explained the surgical procedure to the parents.
Although the surgery was already ongoing, protocols were protocols.
He was a few lines in when Department Chief Kong called back.