Chapter 887: Department Director of the General Surgery Department

“Doctor Ling is asking me to operate on a patient?” The department director of the General Surgery Department fixed his gaze on the face before him, which was as wrinkled as a wilted chrysanthemum. It was impossible to tell what was on his mind based on his facial expression.

Zuo Cidian smiled so brightly that all the wrinkles on his face were trembling as he stood before the department director of the General Surgery Department. “Yes, the patient is highly likely to be suffering from right-sided colon cancer. Because the operating theater in Bazhaixiang is not well-equipped enough, Doctor Ling is thinking of transferring the patient to Yun Hua Hospital’s General Surgery Department.”

“Is it because it’s not appropriate for handsome men to perform colorectal surgery?” The department director of the General Surgery Department had a peculiar sense of humor.

Zuo Cidian played along obediently and smiled. The General Surgery Department of Yun Hua Hospital was an excellent department. Even though it was not as renowned in the country as the Hand Surgery Department, the General Surgery Department was a large department. Besides, its department director had accumulated his power and influence over a long period of time.

After the department director of the General Surgery Department was done laughing, he asked, “Are you seeking me out in private, or is Doctor Ling the one who asked you to look for me?”

“Doctor Ling,” Zuo Cidian gave a brief answer. He reckoned that this was what the department director wanted to hear.

Of course, it was true that Ling Ran intended to transfer Xue Guixiao to the General Surgery Department of Yun Hua Hospital.

If a person were to look at the doctors’ skills and the hospitals’ facilities, Yun Hua Hospital was, without a doubt a lot better than the Bazhaixiang hospital branch.

This was especially true if the department director of the General Surgery Department of Yun Hua Hospital personally operated on the patient. It would be almost perfect.

The department director maintained a stoic expression as he gazed at Zuo Cidian. He merely flashed a very slight smile.

He was experiencing rather complicated emotions.

On one hand, it was because he did not know Ling Ran, who was a new force who rose to power, very well. At least, he did not know Ling Ran as well as he knew the other chief physicians and department directors in the hospital. So, it was not easy for him to acknowledge Ling Ran’s strength.

On the other hand, the department director was tremendously happy that Ling Ran had asked Zuo Cidian to come over to extend an invitation for him to operate on Ling Ran’s patient.

Doctors frequently recommended each other to patients.

It was especially true for doctors from different departments. It was super normal for them to recommend each other to patients. Doctors from the General Surgery Department would send patients who required cardiothoracic surgery to the Cardiology Department or Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, while the Orthopedic Department would send patients who required colorectal surgery to the General Surgery Department. Meanwhile, Doctors from the Department of Urology would send patients who actually castrated themselves to practice the ultimate technique [1] to the Mental Health Department. This was part of the hospital’s basic operation.

However, there was a prerequisite to this. A doctor would have to recognize another doctor’s skills to transfer his patient to the latter.

No doctor would be willing to transfer their patients to unreliable departments or doctors.

The incident involving Bristol Royal Infirmary from the United Kingdom was an example of this. The death rate in the hospital’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Department when it came to pediatric cardiothoracic surgery had long since been one of the highest in the country. Even before the reporters in the United Kingdom exposed this scandal in 1992, hospitals and doctors nearby had been in the know, and would deliberately avoid this hospital as well as its Cardiothoracic Department.

The department director had never expected to get the privilege to treat one of Ling Ran’s patients.

Even though it was merely a colorectal surgery and Ling Ran never carried out colorectal surgeries, the department director of the General Surgery Department was still filled with pride when he heard about this.

After all, Ling Ran was extremely good at hepatectomy, and hepatectomy was considered the cream of the crop in the field of general surgery.

“So, are you willing to take the patient in?” Zuo Cidian asked and pressed the department director for an answer.

“Yes, we are… The responsibility of helping out the people in Bazhaixiang shouldn’t be shouldered by the Emergency Department alone in the first place. It would be great if General Surgery gets to assist you guys in your efforts.” The department director agreed and continued, “Does Doctor Ling want to participate in the surgery?”

“No,” Zuo Cidian was certain as he answered.

Even though Ling Ran had just obtained Gastrointestinal Perforation Repair and all the skill branches under the Exposure umbrella, his skills were still limited when it came to colorectal surgeries. He could be an excellent assistant, but he would not be a good chief surgeon. If he were to operate on the patient as chief surgeon, he could only try to figure things out using his existing skills.

Moreover, colorectal surgery was a messy affair, to begin with. Hence, Ling Ran forwent any thoughts about joining the surgery.

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The department director could not decide if he was disappointed that Ling Ran would not be participating in the surgery or looking forward to receiving the patient. He smiled and asked, “So, I will be able to make all the decisions regarding the patient’s surgery?”

“Of course.”

“That’s great, then.”

“But there is one thing that I need to talk to you about,” Zuo Cidian added.

“Go ahead.”

“Doctor Ling is quite sympathetic about the patient’s situation, as the patient isn’t really well-covered by his medical insurance. Moreover, the patient is facing financial difficulties, to begin with. So, Doctor Ling plans to subsidize part of the patient’s medical bills and try his best to reduce the sum that the patient has to pay for. I’m wondering if you…”

The department director did not expect Zuo Cidian to talk about this. He thought about it for a moment and said, “I don’t mind subsidizing part of the medical bills. We’ll follow the procedure.”

“Alright. I’ll report this to Doctor Ling, then,” Zuo Cidian said and prepared to take his leave.

“How about the handover of the patient’s information?” The department director did not allow Zuo Cidian to leave immediately. He asked the question in a firm tone.

“There are some dated test results. The patient’s family members will be bringing them over. We only conducted a lab test of his feces in the Bazhaixiang hospital branch. We’ll leave the colonoscopy to you guys,” Zuo Cidian explained things clearly.

The department director nodded slowly and said with a relaxed expression, “This is a good way to go about things. If the patient is indeed diagnosed with colon cancer, I’ll operate on him.”

To a department like the General Surgery Department of Yun Hua Hospital, this was a relatively easy surgery.

Zuo Cidian knew that it was time for him to leave, so he bade farewell with the department director and walked away.

The department director narrowed his eyes and leaned against his chair as he rested for a moment. He then rose and headed to the main office.

“A patient will be here soon. He’ll be transported here from Bazhaixiang in a helicopter. Arrange for a few people to conduct various lab tests and examinations for him. Make sure that you guys conduct as many lab tests and examinations as possible. Also, the patient will be going through the green channel,” the department director ordered slowly.

“Okay.” All the young doctors in the office rose to greet the department director.

The department director did not say much. He arranged for the patient to receive a colonoscopy and returned to his office.

At night, the meeting room of the General Surgery Department was brightly lit.

It was a tradition for the General Surgery Department of Yun Hua Hospital to carry out a department consultation prior to treating a patient.

For doctors from the older generation, it was a habit. In the past, hospitals were not that well-equipped, so it was more effective for doctors to gather and discuss than stay in the office to think of a solution alone.

The tradition continued in Yun Hua Hospital’s General Surgery Department. Theoretically, they were supposed to sit down and talk about every single patient before operating on them. But in reality, the amount of time available was limited, so it was impossible for them to properly carry out a preoperative consultation for every single patient.

The department director of the General Surgery Department did not usually participate in such preoperative consultation. However, he attended the consultation today and announced the topic of discussion: a sixty-eight-year-old patient with colon cancer.

Even though the doctors in the General Surgery Department were suspicious about things, they actively participated in the discussion.

The department director quietly made notes.

The surgery had something to do with his reputation, and he refused to allow any mishaps to happen.

Of course, under normal circumstances, he was not so lousy that he would make a mistake while operating on a patient with colon cancer. However, it was better to be safe than sorry. In the field of medicine, more preparation meant less risk during surgery.

“Do a PET scan and see if there are metastases.” The department director waved and arranged for the patient to undergo a PET scan. He then said, “If the patient’s family members are unwilling to do it because of money, we’ll cover the fee for the PET scan.”

“We’re doing it for free?” Some of the doctors in the meeting room were baffled.

“Yes, for free. And we’ll try our best to make treatment as cheap as possible for the patient,” the department director said in an extremely certain tone. Now that he knew what to do, things like medical feeds were not important factors for consideration at all.