Chapter 375: Everyone, Shut The F*ck Up!
The wound on the heart was closed with three stitches. The stitching was done perfectly. The tension was just right to hold the two parts together.
As the heart resumed its beating, the wound was no longer leaking blood.
Without the pericardial tamponade, the beating of the heart was no longer hindered.
Zheng Ren and Su Yun continued their exploration in the chest cavity. They checked the lungs for any damage.
The cardiac tamponade from the stab wound had been their number one priority.
There was a double-walled sac around the heart and the blood from the wound would be trapped in the pericardial space.
A larger wound on the heart would cause a faster bleed. As blood filled the pericardial space, the cardiac output was reduced.
The pressure buildup within the pericardium disrupts the rhythm of the heart. In a severe case, the pressure in the pericardial space overwhelms the pressure in the heart and the organ ceases function.
The simplest solution was to relieve the pressure by making an opening in the pericardium for the blood to flow out. The heart would restart once the high pressure was alleviated.
The biggest factor in this emergency procedure was time.
Time!
If they had adhered to the standard operating procedure for surgeries, by the time they were done with the pre-surgery preparations, the patient would likely be dead.
The patient’s best chance of survival was an emergency pericardiotomy.
Aseptic techniques and resuscitation process flow be damned.
Even the risk of an open pneumothorax was acceptable.
The heart was no longer beating and a pneumothorax was the least of their concerns when the patient could be brain dead soon.
A simple suture could reverse the damage. In this case, the emergency procedure also provided access to the stab wound on the heart.
The pericardiotomy was a last resort procedure—a simple solution to a life-threatening condition.
…
Outside the operating room, emotions were running high.
The patient’s family and friends were gathered. They flew into a fury when they saw the big footprint stamped on the patient’s lover and the dejected look on her face.
The hospital rumor mill was operating at full speed. There were rumors of the patient being pronounced dead on arrival, yet the emergency doctors insisted on opening up the patient. Understandably, the family and friends did not take kindly to the news.
The sight of the bloody emergency response room was no solace to them.
“There’s no need to cut him open if he was already dead!”
“Which doctor killed him?”
“Where’s the doctor? Who is responsible here?”
As the news only got out a while ago, there were few family members.
However, their anger at the hospital was palpable.
They were eager to blame someone for the patient’s death.
In their minds, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was the go-to procedure when it came to saving lives.
That was what the television and novels depicted.
According to the medical personnel on the 120 ambulance, the victim had died in the ambulance, and yet the hospital doctors cut him open. They were not above mutilating a dead body…
Where was the logic?
The law?
The morals?
The family’s rage was fed with dramatic stories by bystanders in the emergency department.
“Yeah, when I saw the patient being wheeled in, he looked like he was dead. When the doctor cut into him, the blood spray was so high, it stained the ceiling. It looked like a bloody rain.”
“It was frightening. I think I’m gonna have nightmares after this.”
“And the doctor dragged the body off to God knows where. It can’t be for organ-harvesting—” Someone shoved the speaker to make him shut up.
It was not something to be said in public.
Was the man searching for death?
The patient’s lover was on the floor, her limp body leaning against the wall. Her sobs had subsided into a soundless shuddering of shoulders.
There were no longer tears in her eyes.
Although there were no cries or tears, the sadness she radiated was overwhelming.
The woman said nothing about what had happened. She might have already forgotten the initial incident that had caused the tragedy.
All of this enraged the family and friends of the patient.
“That doctor! Even the dead require a proper burial. What did he do to the corpse?”
“Is Sea City General Hospital involved in some shady business operations? Return the body!”
“F*ck this hospital!”
The family members surrounded the nearest nurse on duty and started shouting at her.
The uproar reached a fever pitch when someone kicked the red plastic bench. They were looking for an outlet for their anger and violence was one of them.
Fan Tianshui, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, ordered, “Everyone, shut the f*ck up!” He was the calm in the eye of the storm. Blood on the ceiling meant nothing to a man who had seen war and witnessed field doctors revive comrades in bloodier settings.
Fan Tianshui fought his way through the crowd. These civilians had little muscle to stop him.
He went to the nurse’s defense, uncaring of the public’s opinion.
Like a sleeping tiger who had been stirred awake, Fan Tianshui gave the crowd a menacing look. There was a moment of silence as the people took stock of him.
A young man piped up, “Where is my brother’s body?”
He only said it to protect his family’s reputation.
Fan Tianshui’s aura was intimidating and no bystander was willing to get in his way.
“Body? Are you so eager to see him dead?” Fan Tianshui replied.
The words triggered a response somewhere else. “How dare you say that?”
Fan Tianshui side-eyed the person and they immediately shut up.
“Chief Zheng is in charge of the rescue. Your brother is in good hands. Now, all of you, please disperse.” Fan Tianshui waved them away. The tension in his arms suggested he would not lose a physical fight.
Since Fan Tianshui became a security guard in the hospital, his diet had improved greatly and his body gradually recovered. While his savings remained meager, he was happy to maintain peace and order for the emergency department.
“Brother, where is the operating room?” the patient’s cousin asked, voice cracking. Although there was much anger in him, he knew better than to agitate Fan Tianshui.
“Do not cause a scene here, or else we will report you to the public security bureau,” Fan Tianshui warned.
He was built like a bandit from ancient times, so it was odd to hear him threaten them with the public security bureau.
“Direct family members, please follow me,” Fan Tianshui ordered. He led them to the waiting area outside the emergency department operating room.
Some families of other patients, and even certain mobile patients, followed the group.
No one could resist an interesting story.
“Please mind your behavior. Chief Zheng is operating inside.” Fan Tianshui stood guard at the operating room entrance, his expression stern and unflinching, as everyone waited outside.