When the Doctor Uses A Hack

Old Yang’s wife, on the other hand, was a farmer through and through, always wrapping her head with a scarf. Over sixty years old, she appeared as if she were in her seventies, having endured the hardships of life, her faint gaze seemingly unable to withstand any further blows.

The silvery white hair that covered her head had grown over the span of six months, a decade ago, while she was caring for the sick Old Yang.

Now, their family flickered like a candle in the wind.

Not knowing what to say in the face of this, Xiao He forced a smile as he spoke slowly to Old Yang’s wife, “Sister-in-law, it’s nothing serious, no need to worry. It’s like a small nick, really. You go outside and rest awhile, I need to talk to Little Yang about something.”

Seeing the situation, Little Yang also understood what was going on, “Mom, you go outside with Cui Er and take care of the kids. I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Old Yang’s wife nodded, half believing, uncertain whether she truly believed or if there was any alternative to disbelief. With a sigh, she slowly left the endoscopy room.

Watching his mother leave, Little Yang took a deep breath, knowing all too well that things weren’t as simple as Xiao He had made them out to be.

As simple as a small nick…

If only it were that simple.

At this thought, a heavy weight settled in Little Yang’s heart, and he couldn’t help but sigh…

He tried to appear stronger as he spoke, “Director Xiao, please tell me straight, whatever it is.”

Xiao He nodded, “Old Yang has an esophageal perforation, a rather rare type of esophageal injury. Such cases are unusual, but they have been on the rise in recent years, in part due to long-term endoscopic examinations. The constant dilation of the esophagus has thinned its walls. When I was performing the endoscopy just now, I could already see the changes in the esophageal wall and a wound had appeared. I scarcely touched Old Yang’s injury, and he twisted in pain, and then the probe actually went right through the esophageal wall!”

“Such cases are not uncommon, accounting for over sixty to seventy percent of esophageal perforations.”

Little Yang nodded, “I understand, I understand. Director Xiao, just tell me what needs to be done.”

This caught Xiao He off guard.

He had expected a dispute over responsibility.

After all, this medically induced perforation, although primarily caused by the patient, carried a degree of doctor liability as well.

But Little Yang’s words left Xiao He somewhat at a loss.

Ah…

With this thought, Xiao He sighed,

“After an esophageal perforation, the highly irritating gastric contents and bacteria-laden oral secretions, as well as food, quickly pass through the tear and into the mediastinum, leading to serious mediastinal infection. Moreover, since the mediastinum is made up of loose connective tissue, along with negative pressure and the pulsing of the heart and blood vessels, inflammations can rapidly spread and even erode through the pleura into the chest cavity… In short, the consequences are very severe!”

These words plunged Little Yang’s heart into the abyss!

Raising his hand felt like an uphill battle; life was so tough…

“So… what should we do, Director?” Little Yang’s voice trembled with fear, “How can it be treated?”

Xiao He, “We caught it early. As long as the surgery is done promptly, the problem shouldn’t be too severe. What we need to do now is complete the surgery within 12 hours. After 24 hours, the mortality rate triples!”

“No problems within that time period, now what we need to do is contact a doctor, we must operate as soon as possible!”

Upon hearing this, Little Yang was dumbfounded. How am I supposed to know which doctor?

“Director Xiao, could you please help us contact a doctor… I’m just a car washer, I don’t know any doctors, where am I supposed to find a doctor within 12 hours…”

He was just a worker, his words carried little weight. In the vast city of An Yang, he was nothing but an insignificant figure. Where could he go to meet those thoracic surgeons?

Xiao He picked up his phone, flipping through the contacts list, pondering, maybe he should turn to the Provincial People’s Hospital.

As he was about to call an old classmate, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a familiar name!

“Emergency Department – Chen Cang!”

In that moment, Xiao He hesitated. Could Little Chen handle such a surgery?

Xiao Yang suddenly asked, “Director Xiao, how much does the surgery cost? I… need to borrow some money.”

On hearing this question, Xiao He suddenly realized, that’s right!

Why hadn’t he considered this problem!

An esophageal repair surgery costs around ten thousand or more even after medical insurance, doesn’t it?

Old Yang had borrowed a lot due to stomach disease, had Xiao Yang and his wife managed to pay it off after all these years…

After transferring hospitals, they would need inpatient surgery… With all the miscellaneous expenses, plus the surgery costs, there would still be a lot of money to pay after reimbursement. Xiao He suddenly realized that this would undoubtedly be another disaster for the Yang family!

The surgery isn’t that expensive…

Maybe… he could try asking Chen Cang?

Xiao He suddenly had a new idea, which was to have Chen Cang perform the surgery.

It’s like having a friend who wants to have a circumcision and comes to Chen Cang; Chen Cang wouldn’t need to arrange a hospital stay or charge any fees. All he asked was that they come when no one else was around, and then he would perform the procedure as if it were just a simple matter.

Thinking of this, Xiao He was somewhat tempted.

First, he would ask Chen Cang if he could do it before deciding!

With this thought, he dialed Chen Cang’s number.

…

…

After Chen Cang arrived at the endoscopy department, he was taken directly into the office by Xiao He. As soon as he entered, Xiao He got straight to the point and explained the situation!

Xiao He sighed. “Actually, the hospital bears some responsibility for this surgery, but as you know, based on the medical affairs department’s character, Xiao Yang will not get much compensation. Moreover, such a surgery would require quite a sum of money, potentially tens of thousands back and forth.”

“Chen Cang, if you can do this surgery, please help Old Yang. You’d also be helping me.”

[Ding! Mission triggered: Help Xiao He save Old Yang. Upon completion, you can obtain: 1. A random skill from Xiao He; 2. +10 favorability from Xiao He; 3. +2 skill points.]

Chen Cang hesitated for a moment and then opened his skill tree.

He found [Intrathoracic Esophageal Perforation Repair Surgery].

A level three surgery!

If it cost skill points, it would require a lot…

However, Chen Cang suddenly remembered that after his job transfer was successful, he could acquire a free purple skill.

With that in mind, Chen Cang chose to learn!

Immediately, everything before Chen Cang changed.

He found himself in the operating room of a virtual space.

He began to learn the esophageal repair surgery.

Upon completing the task, he would obtain a random skill from Xiao He and two additional skill points, which Chen Cang found to be quite a good deal.

Moreover, the most important thing was that esophageal repair is a critical and emergency clinical condition.

Iatrogenic injuries may be unfamiliar to many, but the other two are certainly not!

One is traumatic injuries, like those from knives, bullets, or blunt force, all of which can cause damage to the esophagus.

The last one is from everyday life, such as perforation due to foreign objects—fish bones, chicken bones, dentures, and the like.

Therefore, learning this skill is very practical!