Doctor Player - Chapter 138

Chapter 138

‘But I had to make it somehow.’

“We will proceed with the emergency surgery right away. Please be prepared.”

Christine and so did Hanson guess the prognosis was bad.

Everyone nodded with a heavy face.

***

In order to reduce the probability of infection during surgery, the cleanest tent was borrowed to prepare for surgery.

Raymond looked at the sword blade stuck in his chest before starting the incision.

‘It is fortunate that it is a relatively thin sword.’

If a broad-edged sword had penetrated him, it would have pierced, torn, and passed through all kinds of vital organs.

Since it was a thinblade, it was less likely that several organs were damaged.

That didn’t mean that the wound was light at all.

‘The location of the wound is right in the center where the heart is.’

Contrary to popular belief, the heart is not located on the left side, but in the center of the chest.

So now it is piercing through the part where the heart of Duke Raif is located.

‘No. If the heart had been pierced, even the most skilled Sword Master would not have survived until now. At the very least, it is highly likely tat the heart had been missed.’

He took necessary measures for the surgery, such as disinfection and anesthesia. He then picked up the scalpel with a stern face.

‘Use skill!’

[Skill, “Surgeon’s Hand Movement” is manifested!]

[The skill, “Experience of Preface(C)” is manifested!]

‘It was fortunate that I had spared this skill the previous day.’

His sensory stat rose to 66.5

Screeching.

With a nervous hand, the skin was incised once, and then a large ‘knife’ was lifted.

It was a special knife with serrated blade designed to cut the bone in the center of the chest.

Raymond cracked the bone with a lot of strength in his hand.

The eerie sound of cutting through the bones rang out.

Blood splashed on his white cloth gloves.

“Hanson, open the chest bones.”

“Yes, Master!”

Hanson opened both sides of the incised breast bone with an iron tool.

With a loud, eerie sound, the space in his chest was revealed, and Raymond took a breath. Hanson and Christine responded the same way.

‘Ugh’

It was in a terrible state.

It was full of blood and pus.

The pus that was thereatening to burst was weighing on his lungs and heart, and what was more serious was the trajectory of the sword.

Fortunately, it did not penetrate the heart. It did not penetrate the aorta or vena cava either.

However, it tore through the outer membrane of the heart and pierced right through the middle esophagus.

‘Esophageal perforation’.

Raymond groaned.

‘That esophageal perforation must have caused this condition.’

Severe infections occur when the contents of the esophagus leak into the thoracic cavity.

If left untreated, the mortality rate is almost 100 percent.

‘Esophageal perforation surgery is a very major surgery. Can I really save him?’

Raymond could not help but feel that way again.

Of course, Raymond hasn’t saved every patient he had so far.

There were many times he did his best for his patients, but still ended up losing their lives.

Through those experiences, Raymond was acutely aware that he was not almighty himself.

‘No. Don’t think weakly. I’ll save him somehow.’

He moved his hand with a firm will.

The first step was to remove the blade for now.

‘Carefully’

If he does not do it as delicately as possible, there is a possibility of causing secondary injury during removal.

Because the blade was embedded shallowly in the outer wall of the heart, a mistake could have opened a wound in the heart.

He gulped.

Hanson and Christine watched Raymond slowly remove the blade with tense eyes.

Is it because of his 66.5 sense stat?

Raymond was able to pull out the blade without making any mistakes.

‘Ha.’

But it was a moment of deep sighing when something strange happened.

“Master, his heart is suddenly-’

“……!”

With the sternum open, Raymond could see the movement of the heart with his own naked eye-  it was vibrating irregularly!

‘Ventricular fibrillation!’

Raymond’s face turned white.

Becaus ethe body was already weak, even the small shock of pulling out the blade caused an arrhythmia!

In an instant, his heart, which was trembling, suddenly stopped beating.

Cardiac arrest has occured!

“Let’s start cardiopulmonary resuscitation! Please inject epinephrine!”

“Yes!”

It was different from normal CPR because it was an open chest condition.

Raymond grabbed the heart with his own hands and pumped it.

‘It is just a temporary shock. If we could make him hold on, he will come back! He has to hold on.’

The question is when is that.

If the heart stops beating for just one minute, it can cause fatal damage to the brain.

Considering that it was a Sword MAster’s body, he had to return within 3 minutes… at the latest, 5 minutes.

‘Damn!’

Raymond, desperate, also cast the ‘Berserker Curse’.

After squeezing his heart so desperately, in the nick of time.

Tuk. Tuk.

The heart began to move again.

‘Sigh…….’

Raymond exhaled a deep breath. It felt like his heart had stopped as well.

“We will proceed with the operation again.”

They barely made it through the difficult times, but there were still may hurdles ahead.

Thump, thump, thump.

The movement of the heart appeared to be weaker. It seemed like it was going to stop again at any moment.

‘It can’t last long. We have to finish as soon as possible.’

Raymond bought an item.

‘Purchase item, increase skill proficiency!’

[The proficiency of ‘Surgeon’s Hand Movement’ increased to C rank! (Limited to 24 hours)]

[Sense stat increases by 15 points!]

[50 skill points is used up!]

‘One more!’

[The proficiency of ‘Surgeon’s Hand Movement’ increased to B rank! (Limited to 24 hours)]

[Sense stat increases by 20 points!]

[100 skill points is used up!]

In total, 150 points were consumed.

It was not a small expenditure, but it was not a time to be frugal.

Fortunately, a message came to mind.

[Desperate efforts are being made to save a patient in critical condition!]

[You will receive special privileges!]

[The skill point consumption is reduced by half!]

Fortunately, the point consumption was only 75 points.

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.

The operation had to be completed before the dying heart stopped moving.

“The sterilized water.”

The next step is to clean the inside of the chest filled with pus.

It wasn’t an easy task.

It is not just about washing it with water, but also removing all the contaminated and infected tissues, avoiding the densely packe heart and large blood vessels.

Raymond moved his hand and slashed at the contaminated tissue.

‘Is it because I’ve increased my skill in hand movements? Or is it because I’ve developed superhuman concentration?’

He displayed much better dexterity than usual.

Raymond removed the necrotic tissue surprisingly quickly and accurately, and exhaled for a long breath.

‘This is the last step. I need to repair the penetrated esophagus.’ 

Last.

The most difficult stage remains.

‘Considering the condition, primary suturing is difficult.’

The simplest way to treat a perforated esophagus is to seal the open section with a thread.

But in the case of Duke Raif, it was impossible.

The wound was in extremely poor condition. It was already necrotic and would have opened up immediately if sutured.

‘In this case, the damaged part of the esophagus must be cut out and connected to the stomach below.’ 

This was the most standard treatment.

For reference, the structure of the intestines extending from the human mouth is as follows.

Mouth → esophagus → stomach

So, if you cut the esophagus, you have to connect it to the stomach located underneath.

There were two ways to connect the stomach with the cut esophagus.

First, the method of connecting the upper part by pulling it up lengthwise.

Second, the stomach is opened and intestines from other parts are cut out and transplanted into the middle area.

Both methods were procedures that put a great burden on the patient’s body.

‘No matter what method I use, Duke Raif’s body will be unable to withstand it.’

Raymond snorted.

‘What should I do? I have to choose between two ways.’

‘If I leave it alone, he would die. So, the esophagus had to be cut and connected to the stomach.’

But neither of the two methods was easy.

No matter which surgical method was chosen, there was a high probability of death.

‘What is a slightly more likely method that will keep him alive?’

The pressure weighed on him.

Raymond couldn’t easily choose and was anxious.

Perhaps he felt Raymond’s agony, Christine and Hanson swallowed their saliva.

‘I don’t know. How?’

Raymond used his skill in a desperate attempt to grab onto even the smallest scraps.

[‘Skill, ‘Expert’s Judgement’ is activated!]

[Intellect stat increases by 5 skill points!]

Although his intellectual power increased further, no clear trick came to mind.

It was a natural thing of course.

A desperate situation doesn’t become hopeful just because you’ve become slightly more intelligent. It just makes you more aware of the dangers of both methods.

‘I can’t drag on any longer. I have to do something.’

It was the moment when he tried to move the scalpel by clenching his teeth.

Raymond came to his senses.

‘I wonder if I am being overly anxious under pressure.’

‘That’s why I thought I might not be able to make a proper judgment.’

‘Think, Raymond. Is there any other way? We have to figure out a way not to put as much pressure on the patient’s body as possible,’ 

After thinking about it that far, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

‘We can cut the esophagus and connect it to the stomach later! For now, we are just doing emergency treatment!’

Raymond thought to himself.

In short, it’s a two-step operation.

‘For now, we will only perform emergency treatment to cut the esophagus, and connect the esophagus and stomach after the body has recovered.’

This way, the surgery could be completed without putting a great strain on the Duke’s body.

Raymond immediately moved the scalpel.

It was not difficult to remove the esophagus.

He cut it with a scalpel and sewed the cut section tightly with a thread.

Christine was surprised by Raymond’s sudden treatment.

“If it’s not going to be connected, what would happen to his nutrition?”

If they don’t connect the esophagus to the stomach, the patient can’t eat. He will eventually starve to death.

But Raymond simply offered a solution.

“It can be administered by injections.”

“Oh…….”

‘Either way, he is not in a good condition to eat. For the time being, he can get the nutrition he needs through IV fluids.’

After completing the final treatment, Raymond let out a deep breath.

“I will close it.”

That’s how the operation was completed.

***

Is it possible to say that the treatment was successful?

‘I don’t know anything yet.’

‘I just tried everything I could.’

‘It’s up to the Duke to do what’s left.’

After using all the methods, including heals, as well as postoperative treatment, Raymond looked at the Duke Raif’s face with heavy eyes.

He is still unconscious. His vital signs are not recovering from the shock.

Having done all the treatments he could, it is now entirely up to him to recover.

The only thing that gives him hope is the fact that he is a Sword Master.

Since his basic physical strength is superior, he has a high chance of winning.