Surgery Godfather

Chapter 461: Chapter 422: The Mysterious Back Pain Chapter 461: Chapter 422: The Mysterious Back Pain Upon seeing Yang Ping’s determination, Director Han was deeply moved and confessed that the higher-ups wanted to transfer Yang Ping to the 301 Hospital.

However, this kind of talent poaching ultimately requires the consent of the individual. If the person insists on not going, the other party can do nothing about it.

Director Han, who was initially indecisive, hoped that Yang Ping could go to the best platform, but he was very reluctant to part with him.

Now, he’s made up his mind, he wants to keep this young man here. He and Dean Xia can still work for many years and use these years to help Yang Ping accomplish extraordinary things.

What Yang Ping needs is not money or honor, but freedom, understanding, sincerity, respect, and care.

If Yang Ping went elsewhere, even though the platform might be bigger, those people might not truly understand such a prodigy, and if not cared for properly, it may lead to terrible consequences.

“Yang, we are alone here, let me ask you once more, are you really willing to stay at Sanbo? I sincerely hope you could go to a bigger platform and achieve greater things, don’t let our personal feelings interfere with your decision.” Director Han spoke from the bottom of his heart.

Yang Ping responded resolutely: “I only want to stay at Sanbo, I don’t want to go anywhere else. What I need is here, other platforms, no matter how big, may not have it.”

“Good!”

Old Han stood up.

“I’ll go and tell Dean Xia right now. You can concentrate on your work, and we’ll handle other things.”

“During your trip abroad, Professor Su called me several times to inquire about your situation. He’s quite worried about you. I told him, he asked the wrong person, he should have more information than me, but he didn’t say anything.” Director Han recalled this and reminded Yang Ping to find an appropriate way to respond to Professor Su.

Professor Su has passed through many challenges and has successfully passed two rounds of the academician review. He was elected with a high vote in the final round of voting and he is now in the public announcement stage.

Professors Hong Zhigang, Meng Heng, Fu Shancheng who were also running for the academician fell out in the second round and could only wait for the next selection in two years.

When Director Han just mentioned “father-in-law”, Yang Ping did not catch it immediately.

Yang Ping knows that Xiao Su is smart and has her plans. She is looking for the right time to introduce Yang Ping to her parents, so Yang Ping is not in a hurry.

Probably Xiao Su has not formally mentioned her romance with Yang Ping to her father, so Professor Su does not inquire about Yang Ping’s situation from his daughter.

Yang Ping wrote a WeChat message about the general situation in the United States and sent it to Su Nanchen, this should allay Professor Su’s worries.

Director Han hurriedly went to find Dean Xia, and Yang Ping returned to the doctors’ office.

Director Hu was eagerly waiting for Yang Ping to continue the explanation about scoliosis surgery, and several doctors from Xiehe Hospital were also waiting, Song Yun was also present.

Zhang Lin just came in, followed by a doctor in his thirties with his head down, whom Yang Ping did not recognize, he must have come while he was in the United States.

“Dr. Yang!” Zhang Lin greeted respectfully, and the doctor also followed suit.

Then he brought the doctor to a side meeting room, leaving the door not fully closed, with a small gap.

“Teacher Zhang, sorry, here’s my self-criticism letter—”
The doctor presented the self-criticism letter with both hands, Zhang Lin received it, read it and signed it.

“This self-criticism letter is just about right. Let me tell you why are you here? For an internship! Internship has its rules, learning has its attitude. Regardless of which hospital you were from and what your title was, once you come here, you are an intern at Sanbo, you have to follow my rules and show your learning attitude, otherwise why are you here? Vacation? This is not a place where you can come and go as you please. Once you’re expelled, you will be put on the blacklist, you won’t have a chance to come here for an internship in the future, and it can also affect your colleagues’ internship application. I’ve seen a lot like you, how good do you think you are? Do you know where you are in the global academic rankings? Have you heard of Takahashi Fumiya? Are you as good as he is? Ask anyone in this department, isn’t he a person with norms and rules?”

Teacher Zhang was serious and straightforward, the listeners dare not overstep, presumably this is not the first time he’s been scolded.

The voice was loud and seeped through the gap in the door, all people in the doctor’s office were listening.

“The new intern is from Fuer Hospital, came here to learn about scoliosis orthopedics, he’s the nephew of the vice-chancellor of Nandu Medical University, he’s either late or leaves early, doesn’t take things seriously.” Song Zimo whispered to Yang Ping.

“Zhang Lin’s got him by the throat—” Song Zimo chuckled silently.

Yang Ping turned to the side and saw Zhang Lin through the gap in the door, he couldn’t help but smile. He really looks the part and carries himself with authority.

“He manages the interns very well, no one dares to make trouble.” Song Zimo was obviously very pleased with Zhang Lin’s performance.

Just as Yang Ping was about to resume the explanation of scoliosis correction to Director Hu, a disturbance came from the hallway.

Yang Ping faintly heard someone shouting ‘quack’, ‘sue’, ‘wrong surgery’ etc.

Graduate student Li Guodong came in with a worried look: “Director, the patient transferred from the spinal surgery department is still experiencing back pain after the surgery. He’s creating a disturbance there, Director Qin and Dr. Song contacted us to transfer him to our department.”

“Oh, they’re here. Let’s go take a look, it’s a patient dispute case I’m consulting on.” Song Zimo immediately took Yang Ping to see the patient, followed by a group of medical trainees.

The patient was a male, thirty-six years old, and was noticeably overweight. For two years, he had been suffering from back pain and numbness coupled with a burning sensation on the outer side of his left thigh; the pain would intensify when he stood or sat for long periods and would only ease after resting. An X-ray of his lumbar spine showed slight narrowing between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae and between the fifth lumbar vertebra and the first sacral vertebra. An MRI indicated protrusion of the disc between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae, along with inflammation of the vertebral endplates above and below the disc.

He had previously been diagnosed at another hospital with lumbar disc herniation and had undergone minimally invasive surgery – cryoablation of the disc at L4/L5. However, his symptoms had not improved after surgery, so he was referred to the Spinal Surgery Department at Sanbo Hospital by an acquaintance. He underwent a second surgery, consisting of removal of the L4/L5 disc from the back and fusion of the intervertebral space with bone graft and pedicle screw fixation.

The patient was wheeled into the ward, while the spinal surgeons were handing over the case to Li Guodong from the Comprehensive Orthopedics Department.

The patient was lying on his side in a curled position, with what looked like a weird creature tattooed on his arm.

In this day and age, where crackdowns on criminal activities were rigorous, it was audacious of this fatty to still get tattoos of dragons and tigers. Nowadays, tattooed people were under special scrutiny.

The patient was a potential dispute case, and it being a tricky task, Director Qin had to seek help from Comprehensive Orthopedics. Since Yang Ping was in the United States, Song Zimo was called in for a consultation. As soon as Song Zimo saw the case, he decided to transfer the patient to Comprehensive Orthopedics.

Spinal Surgery was the subfield within Orthopedics with the most disputes.

When Yang Ping was seeing patients in rural areas with Southbridge Hospital, Teacher Yan’s case was a classic example of a dispute.

For patients with back pain, lumbar disc herniation may seem straightforward as it is a common diagnosis made within Spinal Surgery, but in actuality, it is extremely complex.

This patient had already caused trouble once at another hospital. Now, after his second surgery, with no improvement in his condition, he had concluded that Director Qin had operated on the wrong part because there was no effect from the surgery whatsoever.

Director Qin, a straightforward man, sincerely wanted to help the patient, especially since the patient was referred to him by an acquaintance.

Usually, doctors would be reluctant to undertake cases that required additional surgeries, especially those with potential disputes. They did not want to invite trouble upon themselves.

When the patient first arrived, Director Qin had hesitated. However, since an acquaintance had referred him and the patient had earnestly pleaded for help, Director Qin had softened and taken on the case. After careful analysis, he believed that the patient’s herniation at L4/L5, along with severe inflammation of the vertebral endplates at the same segment, could not be dealt with by minimally invasive surgery but required an open procedure. So, he decided to surgically remove the disc and scrape off the inflamed vertebral endplates for a thorough treatment.

However, even after the seemingly successful operation, the patient’s symptoms did not improve. Initially, the patient didn’t think too much about it, attributing it to recent surgery. In fact, he even thoughtfully sent a banner expressing his gratitude. But after a few days passed without any reduction in his pain, he lost his temper and started to make a fuss in the ward.

“I have lumbar disc herniation, and this quack surgeon must have operated in the wrong place. He didn’t remove the herniated disc but instead removed a healthy one? I’ve asked around and searched online. It’s just like this. He operated on the wrong spot. It’s a medical accident!” The patient was aggressive and fully confident in his assertions, challenging the doctor’s competence.

Many patients who come to the outpatient clinic say the same thing: “I have lumbar disc herniation.”

Indeed, the imaging report would confirm lumbar disc herniation, and both doctors and patients would have little doubt about this.

But back pain does not necessarily equate to lumbar disc herniation, and lumbar disc herniation does not necessarily mean the presence of lumbar disc herniation disease.

If this logical relationship is not clarified, it’s impossible to effectively treat patients suffering from back pain.

Back pain is the primary complaint in outpatient clinics, with 80% of people experiencing it at some point in their lives. At any given time, 18% of people are suffering from back pain.

This means that in this moment, out of 100 people, 18 are experiencing back pain – a quite significant ratio.

The causes of back pain are complex. Lumbar disc herniation is just an imaging diagnosis, whereas lumbar disc herniation disease is a clinical diagnosis. The difference may be subtle, but the implications are significant.

It’s not right to diagnose every case of back pain as lumbar disc herniation disease.

Similarly, spotting “lumbar disc herniation” on a CT or MRI report does not confirm diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation disease.

It’s not as simple as that, nor as frustrating.

“Can you lie down? I want to examine you!”

The patient turned his head and shot a sidelong glance. He seemed about to curse, but the gaze of Yang Ping, together with the group of doctors in white lab coats around him, had a powerful effect and silenced him.

“You—are—Dr. Yang? The one who straightened that twisted guy?” The patient suddenly changed his demeanor. The fearless disposition he just exhibited seemed to have faded, replaced by a timid inquiry.

“This is Dr. Yang I told you about. You need to cooperate with his examination. You’ve already had two surgeries without improvement, which is more than a simple issue. This is what we call a complex and difficult disease. If you trust us, trust Dr. Yang, and want to get better, comply and behave. If you don’t trust us, tell us. We will immediately transport you back to the Spinal Surgery Department for you to continue your fuss.” Song Zimo had already dealt with him before.

The patient struggled to turn and lie down: “Dr. Yang! I believe in you. Outside, people say you’re a miracle worker. You reattached several amputated parts of a firefighter’s arm; you healed a football player who was thought to be done for and sent him back onto the pitch; you operated on a man who was as twisted as a pretzel when no other doctor in the country dared to.”

“Are you still in pain?” Song Zimo urged him to lie down properly.

“Pain! Of course it’s painful! I’m rolling with pain!”

The patient readily replied.