Chapter 626: Wall of Sighs
The operation began and the airtight door closed automatically.
The people standing in the operating room stared at the two young people inside through the leaded glass. They felt like they were watching a Danish fairy tale.
The world’s top surgical research institute, which had been selected for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, could not do anything about Dr. Mehar’s condition and had actually chosen to let the two young people perform the surgery instead?
The main fact was that they were not doctors who usually did heart interventional surgery.
The feeling was like a dream.
Professor Rudolf Wagner clenched his fists and watched as Dr. Mehar’s head was pointed to the side of the c-shaped arm. His right arm was extended outward at a 45-degree angle and placed on the support plate. Su Yun was disinfecting while Zheng Ren was familiarizing himself with all kinds of instruments.
He was also a little absent-minded. Did he want a doctor in the field of organ intervention to perform heart surgery? Had he put too much confidence in his boss?
Where did his confidence come from?
Radial artery cannulation, guide wire, and catheter entered before the cocktails were pushed in along with it.
The so-called cocktails were just a name for the mixture of nitroglycerin and heparin sodium. They could effectively control the patient’s blood pressure and reduce the possibility of accidents during surgery.
In the research institute, cocktails were considered a novice item and no longer used in normal coronary angiography, but Zheng Ren still insisted.
There were simple benefits from the method that was difficult to describe.
Within that moment, the professor vaguely felt some hidden hostility being targeted toward him.
Zheng Ren crossed his left and right hands to send in the guide wire and catheter. Su Yun was focused on using an electronic button to move the bed and change Dr. Mehar’s position.
In coronary angiography, changing positions was also a very important thing during the operation. The main task of the assistant was to help the guide wire and change the bed position.
However, Zheng Ren’s skill level was too high. He could cross his left and right hands by himself, so Su Yun appeared to be a little…idle.
The bed position was tilted. It was the right coronary artery position that everyone who was watching the surgery was familiar with.
The contrast agent was injected. What appeared on the image was a completely occluded image.
After seeing the contrast agent, Professor Rudolf Wagner’s hands could not help but tremble.
With the memory of the previous surgery still fresh, there was still a slight gap in the right coronary artery. It was slightly thicker than the blood vessels in the prostate but not by much.
The professor’s confidence came from that.
Other people could not pass through the narrow passage so it was inoperable. However, Zheng Ren could. He could even enter a blood vessel as thin as the prostate’s capillaries network and had even used China Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery’s guide wire to enter it.
Now, with Tallow’s special guide wire, there would definitely be no problems at all.
However, Dr. Mehar’s condition was rapidly worsening. During the period when he used the ECMO to reduce the burden on his heart, the right coronary artery had been completely blocked by a blood clot.
It was over… Professor Rudolf Wagner’s palms were full of sweat as stars flashed in front of his eyes. In an instant, the world turned upside down and everything seemed so far and distant.
“Professor Rudolf Wagner, the situation seems really bad,” a person whispered in the professor’s ear and there was a hint of schadenfreude in his words.
The professor did not need to look to know that the person was his competitor—Robin Olsen of the Royal Swedish Medical College.
He was a researcher of infectious diseases. In the Nobel Prize application, he applied for a brand-new rapid diagnosis and treatment method for African schistosomiasis.
Professor Rudolf Wagner even suspected that Dr. Mehar’s heart attack was caused by his own surgery. It was Robin Olsen who said so.
However, he had been living in the Imperial Capital recently. When Zheng Ren returned, the professor did not know much about the situation.
He did not have the time to understand.
In the face of provocation, the professor wanted to say something. However, his violent temper had long turned into sadness and despair in front of the right coronary artery that was completely blocked.
In the operating theater, the line was being stepped on. Every step of the operation could be seen clearly.
A specially made Tallow guide wire was inserted into the operating theater. It was placed at a location that was so blocked that even the blood flow could not pass through.
The guide wire was inserted bit by bit. Zheng Ren’s movements were very gentle. In his daze, the Professor felt that he was standing on the operating table as Zheng Ren’s assistant. He could see the subtle movements of Zheng Ren’s wrist.
Every movement was very gentle but extremely firm. There was no hesitation in his movements.
After testing a few angles, the guide wire finally found the most appropriate position and was inserted.
“My God, Rudolf, your little friend isn’t thinking of using the guide wire to directly pass through the clot, right?” Robin pretended to be surprised. His voice was very low that only he and the professor could hear it. However, his disdain as a winner was obvious.
“It’ll definitely work,” Professor Rudolf Wagner said firmly. It was unknown whether he was cheering for himself or for Zheng Ren.
“Leon’s Rosenberg saw the radiographic films and said that he absolutely could not do it,” Robin said. “Because you’re my opponent, I have some understanding of interventional surgery recently. The doctor’s right coronary artery is full of blood clots. Old blood clots can not be penetrated at all. He can only find fresh blood clots to operate on.”
When he said that, he shrugged with a teasing look on his face.
“Dear Rudolf, do you think you can distinguish between fresh blood clots and old blood clots on this kind of image? You’re trying to find a miracle.” Robin pretended to sigh and patted the professor’s shoulder.
If one did not know, they would think that he was comforting Professor Rudolf Wagner.
“It’s impossible. Once you apply force on the old blood clot, it will pull the doctor’s fragile right coronary artery wall, leading to complications such as ventricular fibrillation. Perhaps in the next second, these guys will rush in to save the doctor.”
The professor patted Robin’s hand off his shoulder and said in a deep voice, “Watch the surgery carefully. My boss will definitely be able to do it.”
“The walls are sighing. Do you want to use a guide wire to pierce through it? Your imagination is really amazing. Rudolf, your stubbornness is really like the little boy next door to my house. Do you know that yesterday, he…” While saying that, Robin’s eyes inadvertently glanced at the screen. The thin guide wire on the screen actually began to move slowly, entering into a pile of blocked blood clots.
It was like using an iron wire…to penetrate the wall of sighs.
He did not know what method the surgeon used but after a few tests, he actually found the only weakness in the wall of sighs.
Moreover, it did not trigger the side effect of Dr. Mehar’s heart that would lead to ventricular fibrillation.
The fragile heart was still beating weakly but no one knew when it would stop beating.
Robin’s voice stopped abruptly as if someone was strangling his neck.
The professor clenched his fists even harder as if he was manipulating a guide wire. The veins bulged high on the back of his hands, like a winding river.
Boss, be careful and don’t use too much strength or his heart will stop beating… Professor Rudolf Wagner prayed in his heart.
Now, he could only pray that the boss really had a pair of hands that had been kissed by the gods.
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Author’s note:
The River Styx was a barrier in Greek mythology that separated the Isles of the Blessed from the Underworld, also known as the Wall of Sighs. It was said to be formed by Persephone, the Underworld Queen, with three sighs. This was because the souls in the Underworld would see the Isles of the Blessed in front of them but were blocked by the river. As such, the sight of the river would make them sigh.