Chapter 99

Chapter 5 of Episode 99: I'm All Grown Up (4)

After returning to the on-call room, I printed out the surgery schedule.

The surgery schedule for pediatric thoracic surgery wasn't particularly tight.

There was one in the morning and two in the afternoon, which was relatively relaxed compared to thoracic surgery.

The patients were pediatric, meaning children from 24 months to under 12 years old.

Pediatric thoracic surgery also had fewer emergency surgeries compared to thoracic surgery.

Since children don't drive cars and rarely suffer major injuries.

However, pediatric thoracic surgery shouldn't be underestimated.

Surgery for difficult congenital heart diseases.

More delicate surgical skills compared to adults, and so on.

Pediatric thoracic surgery was just a different kind of challenge compared to thoracic surgery.

'This is intense.'

After confirming the surgery scheduled for 40 minutes later, I shook my head.

My first surgery as an assistant was a whopping 5 hours long.

I didn't think I should even drink a sip of water or coffee from now on.

-Excuse me, can I go to the bathroom for a moment?

If an intern said that in the operating room, they would get a scolding and be disliked.

"Are you sure you won't regret this?"

Kim Joon-ho, reading my expression, spoke up.

"If you want, we can split it 50-50 even now."

"No, I can handle it alone. Good luck."

I politely declined Kim Joon-ho's offer and left the on-call room.

A 5-hour assist was indeed tedious.

But I, who had regressed, had no intention of assisting mindlessly.

I knew a magical technique to change a passive attitude into an active one.

It was role-switching and asking questions.

If I were the attending physician, how would I operate and treat the patient?

Why did the attending physician use that suture and choose that suturing technique, and so on.

Just watching the surgeon's operation in a daze.

On the other hand, thinking of myself as the surgeon and constantly asking questions.

There was a huge gap between the two.

I planned to use the latter method to absorb the surgical techniques of pediatric thoracic surgery.

"Hello."

Entering room 401, I greeted the guardian, Lee Mi-ran.

Lee Mi-ran was the mother of the patient who would undergo surgery shortly.

"Yes, hello. But I haven't seen you before?"

"I started working here today. How is Mi-ran doing?"

"She finds it hard to breathe. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be anything special."

The guardian looked at Mi-ran, and I also turned my gaze to her.

Two-year-old Mi-ran looked listless as she looked up at me.

A child who should be running around energetically and babbling was emitting a sense of helplessness.

Seeing her like that made my heart ache.

If I feel this sorry, how much must her parents be suffering?

"Do you know that Mi-ran has surgery today?"

"Yes, Doctor. Will Mi-ran be okay?"

"The professor performing the surgery is an expert in pediatric heart surgery. You don't need to worry too much."

I reassured the guardian using the professor's authority.

It was a bit poor, but the professor's skills and the fact that Shinwon University Hospital was one of the Big 5 hospitals.

Unfortunately, there was nothing else I could do to ease the guardian's worries, even though I had traveled back in time through regression.

-Is this fruit good, sir?

-Yes, it's very good. You can trust it.

I suddenly thought that the conversation I just had with the guardian was similar to a conversation in a fruit shop.

A conversation with a set pattern, a cliché.

But it was a conversation that couldn't be avoided.

"I'll do a brief treatment before the surgery."

I moved to the station, brought a nurse, and returned to the room.

Before the surgery, I needed to insert a central venous catheter (CVC) into Mi-ran.

A CVC is a procedure to insert a catheter into a large vein to administer fluids or medications.

The benefits of inserting a CVC are significant, making it essential for pediatric patients like Mi-ran.

"Are you going to place the CVC line by yourself, Doctor?"

Nurse Ha Soo-jin, who accompanied me, looked at me with a disbelieving expression.

While CVC insertion is a procedure that interns can perform, it is usually done by first-year residents due to its difficulty.

"I've done it many times in cardiology. I've never failed to place a CVC line."

"But the patient is a child, not an adult. If you fail, how will you take responsibility?"

"..."

"If the surgery is delayed because of you, can you handle it?"

Ha Soo-jin still looked displeased with me.

I understood her concern, but it also made me feel bad.

She was undermining me in front of the guardian.

After she expressed her concerns, the guardian's expression darkened slightly.

"Doctor, can you come out for a moment?"

I continued the conversation with Ha Soo-jin in the corridor outside the room.

"How can you say such things in front of the guardian? Are you trying to create anxiety?"

I pointed out Ha Soo-jin's rude attitude.

My skills could be doubted, but showing it in front of the guardian was over the line.

This would make me look like an incompetent doctor.

"Did I say anything wrong? I just stated the facts."

Ha Soo-jin was still looking down on me and clicking her tongue.

I could only think she was ignoring me because I was an intern.

Come to think of it, when I first came to the ward and greeted everyone, the nurse who didn't respond was Ha Soo-jin...

Is she just a person with a twisted personality?

"Even if you say the same thing, you should say it appropriately. If you were worried, you should have talked to me in the corridor separately."

"..."

"Please be more careful in the future."

"I understand. But are you really going to place the CVC line by yourself? And you'll take responsibility for it?"

Ignoring Ha Soo-jin's persistent nagging, I returned to the room.

I'll let the results speak for themselves.

* * *

The CVC insertion was completed in just 5 minutes.

With a precision and speed that were hard to believe for an intern.

It was a natural result.

I was just an intern on the surface, but inside, I was an associate professor in thoracic surgery.

The catheter was inserted into Mi-ran's subclavian vein, and the suturing and dressing around the catheter were completed neatly.

The guardian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ha Soo-jin, who had assisted, pouted.

Ha Soo-jin seemed to have secretly hoped my procedure would fail.

This revealed how malicious her intentions were.

If the procedure failed, the patient would ultimately suffer.

The fact that she wanted me to fail more than she cared about the patient's pain showed that Ha Soo-jin's character was already disqualified.

With such a temper, the nurses, patients, and guardians around her must be very tired...

I decided to investigate Ha Soo-jin further and give her a stern lecture when the opportunity arose.

In my past life, I avoided conflicts and pretended not to notice, but in this life, I wasn't so soft.

I was like a bull that charges at what I don't like.

Didn't I give Kim Seul-gi in cardiology a good scolding?

"You did better than I expected."

As we left the room, Ha Soo-jin praised me with a lifeless voice.

It was the first time in a long while that I felt unpleasant after receiving praise.

"If I wasn't confident, I would have called a first-year senior from the start."

After saying my piece, I pulled Mi-ran's bed and left the ward, heading to the X-ray room.

The X-ray showed that the catheter was properly inserted into the subclavian vein.

Of course, it was a natural result, given who inserted it.

The next stop was the operating room.

After scrubbing, putting on the surgical gown, cap, mask, and gloves, I entered the operating room.

"Mi-ran, is your name Lee Mi-ran?"

"Yes."

After hearing Mi-ran's answer, I double-checked the wristband on her wrist.

The pre-surgery timeout.

This is to confirm that the patient and the surgery match.

Although rare, there are cases where the wrong patient is brought in.

"I'm... scared."

Mi-ran spoke in a tiny voice.

Her eyes were already brimming with tears.

If I touched the corner of her eye, the tears would fall like dew.

It was natural for her to be afraid, being separated from her mother and in a sterile operating room with strangers.

I paused the connection of the patient monitoring devices.

I had a secret weapon prepared for such moments.

I took out my phone, which I had sterilized in an air shower, and played a music file.

-Running is the best. Friends, run! Always happy! Troublemaker Pororo.

I played the theme song of Pororo, which is very popular among children.

I had downloaded the music file the previous evening during my on-call shift.

"Mi-ran, how do you feel now?"

"Much better."

"Hasn't it been hard not eating anything since yesterday? When you get better, we can eat lots of snacks, okay?"

"Yes."

The operating room filled with the theme song of the cartoon, and the promise of snacks brightened Mi-ran's face.

This must be her usual expression.

Seeing Mi-ran perk up, I felt more energized too.

I finished connecting the patient monitoring devices and prepared for the surgery with the circulating nurse.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I was assisting in a proper surgery since regressing.

Of course, I had practiced with Professor Yang Sun-jae, but the subject was a cadaver.

As the surgery time approached, my heart started pounding.

It wasn't due to nervousness.

Rather, I was looking forward to the upcoming surgery.

The surgeon for Mi-ran was Professor Park Jeong-ryeol.

He was known as an expert in congenital heart disease surgery, and I had seen him a few times and exchanged greetings at conferences in my past life.

He must look younger now than in my memories.

His personality would still be straightforward, and his skills impeccable.

I would learn a lot by actively asking myself questions while observing Professor Park Jeong-ryeol's surgery.

"What's this? A children's song in the operating room?"

Two residents entered the operating room and tilted their heads.

-The tall senior is Oh Chang-seok, a third-year resident. The one with a protruding belly is my classmate, Ha Sang-tae. You know Sang-tae, right?

I recalled what Hong Seon-ah had told me during the handover.

"Hello, I'm Lee Min-seum, and I'll be assisting in the operating room from today."

"Oh, Min-seum?"

"Yes, Sang-tae senior."

"If it's Min-seum, I can trust you."

Ha Sang-tae nodded vigorously.

"Do you know each other?"

"She entered when you were in medical school, so you might not know her, but she's quite famous. In a good way, of course."

"That's a relief. By the way, what's with the children's song?"

Oh Chang-seok's eyes demanded an explanation.

I explained that I played the song to reassure Mi-ran.

"Even as an intern, you're so considerate... Min-seum, maybe you should come to pediatric thoracic surgery?"

"I'll think about it."

"That thinking again."

While we chatted briefly, the preparations for the surgery, including general anesthesia, were completed smoothly.

Zzz.

Just then, the last doctor, a middle-aged man, entered the operating room.

Finally, the surgeon, Professor Park Jeong-ryeol, had arrived.