Surgery Godfather - Chapter 240 - Chapter 240: Chapter 0225 Boring Meeting
Chapter 240: Chapter 0225 Boring Meeting
On Saturday, at nine in the morning, the conference began promptly.
Sanbo Hotel’s large conference room was packed, with the front row filled with guests.
By nine o’clock, there were over two thousand participants. For a surgical conference organized by a single hospital, attracting a thousand participants is considered highly successful. But the number of registered doctors had already exceeded two thousand.
Sanbo Hotel’s main conference room can accommodate up to a thousand people and even required the addition of temporary benches to manage the crowd.
As planned, there were six additional session rooms apart from the main venue. The additional session rooms utilized large screens to watch guest lectures and facilitate Q&A sessions via video chat.
A telecom company collaborated with Sanbo Hospital to build a video system for the entire venue using 5G technology, seizing the opportunity to promote 5G as well.
Following the opening statement, Director Tan introduced the participating guests.
He began to demonstrate the current situation of Sanbo Hospital’s microtrauma orthopedics, especially using the five-section replantation case as a banner for promotion.
The surgery had complete video data, was extremely persuasive, and Xiao Guoqiang, the surgery patient, voluntarily came on stage to demonstrate limb functionality.
Director Tan’s presentation was in English, and all other guests would also use English. Since the event was positioned as an international conference, not using English wouldn’t make sense.
Tang Fei’s team was responsible for on-site translation. Tang Fei, having attended a bilingual English-Chinese middle and elementary school, had excellent English listening and speaking abilities. Being a doctor herself, she could translate as professionally as professional translators, and would be more accurate in the translation of medical terminologies.
Translation was necessary to enable the attending doctors to understand, as the majority of doctors’ English proficiency was not up to par for comprehension and spoken conversation. Even if they passed the English proficiency levels during their studies, they may only comprehend in terms of written tests, and honest conversation would be difficult.
Qiangzi was slightly nervous backstage, and his girlfriend was there to comfort him, “You’ll be fine, relax. Just show them what you’ve been directed to, like you’re displaying it to Director Han and Dr. Yang.”
Dr. Che, the person in charge of Qiangzi’s rehabilitation, was there instructing Qiangzi again on the actions to be demonstrated, which Qiangzi faithfully followed.
The five-section replantation surgery was a sensation at that time. Almost all trauma orthopedic doctors nationwide had heard of it. While they were amazed by Sanbo Hospital’s high-tech operation, most of them were skeptical about the functionality of the replanted limb.
Most of them felt that Sanbo Hospital only performed this surgery for publicity. They suspected that after some time, due to the lack of limb function, the limb would become a burden and need to be amputated.
Everyone was curious to know the final result, whether the limb had any function, and if it ended up being amputated. Many doctors attended the conference specifically to find out.
Director Tan originally planned to show a video demonstrating postoperative function. Still, after learning about it, Qiangzi actively requested to do the demonstration in person on site.
There was no issue with the blood flow of the replanted limb and the muscle tendons had healed, but the primary challenge was nerve repair.
According to electromyography tests, the nerves have currently grown to the wrist, which is in line with an average growth rate of one millimeter per day.
Nerve rupture isn’t like other tissue ruptures. Other tissues can heal, but nerves are different. Once nerve fiber ruptures, the far-end of the nerve becomes utterly useless. The nerve fibers dissolve, leaving only an empty tube.
Nerve repair depends on the nerve near the rupture growing in from the distal end left by the tube, and it needs to grow to the end of the limb to have good function.
The higher the position of the nerve break, that is, the further it is from the periphery, the less likely it is to make it through. The tubes are large tubes enclosing small ones, and many nerve fibers can’t find tubes. Without the tubes, they stop growing, like a train without rails that can’t go anywhere.
Limb nerves are divided into motor nerves and sensory nerves, which have different functions. Many nerves grow into the wrong tubes at the nerve end, with motor nerves may enter sensory nerve tubes and sensory nerves entering motor nerve tubes. Incorrect entry into tubes results in the nerves losing their function after growth.
With these factors, the recovery of peripheral nerves, especially the recovery of high-position nerve damage, has a poor effect and is a global challenge.
Qiangzi’s nerves had reached the wrist, and the muscles in his forearm were under control.
Both dorsiflexion and flexion of the wrist joint were very good, and the flexion and extension of the five fingers were also good. But the opposition of the thumb and adduction and abduction of each finger weren’t possible because these actions are driven by the muscles of the hand. Currently, the nerves have not reached there, and have not connected with the muscles of the hand.
Based on the current growth trend, the last five centimeters should also grow in place.
Qiangzi demonstrated the resistance activities of the elbow and wrist joints and the ball-gripping exercise of the five fingers with a dumbbell in hand.
If they waited another two months, he should probably be able to write and use chopsticks easily. At present, the intrinsic muscles of the hand have not yet received neural control, and without the thumb’s opposition movement, it is challenging to hold a pen and chopsticks.
For the five-section replantation, achieving such results in half a year’s time is already considered a significant success.
—
Yangzi’s estimation of G City’s traffic situation was spot-on. At around half-past eight, she managed to deliver Fujiwara Miyuki and Takahashi Fumiya to Sanbo Hospital on time.
Of course, Fujiwara Miyuki and Takahashi Fumiya naturally became the focus of the conference.
Fujiwara Miyuki is the champion of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and the only doctor in the world to bear that title. As a doctor of the Tokyo University affiliated hospital, Takahashi Fumiya gained fame early and was often active in various large international conferences, a top figure in traumatology.
For instance, at the North American Trauma Conference, he was invited as a guest, seated in the first row. The only others of this standing in Asia was probably his teacher, Fujiwara Masao, and him.
After hearing Director Tan’s introduction, Takahashi stroked his chin. The five-section replantation of the upper limb, hoping for a good function was impossible. Takahashi Fumiya had a clear judgement about this.
This was merely a gimmick for the conference. There was nothing substantial to offer, only the expertise in limb replantation was available. As for its function, wait and see.
From beginning to end, Takahashi was reluctant to participate in such a minor conference. He had strong resistance. Behind every polite act, he hid arrogance and prejudice.
He didn’t even initiate conversation with the South Korean doctor next to him. When asked a couple of questions, he also answered rigidly, hoping for the conference to end quickly. He was there to complete the task on behalf of his teacher.
The surgical video of limb replantation was very shocking. The speed and rhythm of the surgery was simply unbelievable. But Takahashi believed the video was likely edited and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
As a top figure in trauma surgery, he was very clear about the challenges of the five-segment replantation.
If the nerves were to grow successfully, they would have to bridge five gaps. This required extremely sophisticated nerve suturing techniques. It was theoretically possible but impractical. Nobody could accomplish this.
If he couldn’t do it, who could?
Takahashi decided that if there was an opportunity, he would personally examine the patient’s functions. It was yet uncertain if he would get that chance.
Though initially uninterested in the conference, this thought suddenly sparked his interest, much like a spectator insisting on exposing a magician’s trick.
The theme of the presentation Takahashi brought today was – the application of infrared monitoring equipment in trauma surgery, especially the usage of hemoglobin fluorescence imaging technology. Combined with excellent computer algorithms, it could render trauma patients transparent on the operating table.
Their team currently led the world in this technology, making it almost impossible for bleeding to go wrong on the operating table.
Fujiwara Sensei’s next goal was to conquer the reparative aspect of peripheral nerve damage. He would also be using infrared technology. They would use a drug to clean the nerve fiber, allowing it to appear red under the infrared light while sensory nerves appeared blue. Then we would integrate these images with the camera system. All nerve fiber images captured on the screen were segregated into clear blue and red segments.
Blue to blue, red to red, there would be no mismatching of nerves. The result of nerve restoration would multiply exponentially.
The two factors of a poor nerve recovery were incorrect nerve regeneration resulting in nerve fiber damage and slow nerve growth causing degeneration in target organs.
The Tokyo University affiliated hospital had solved the first problem and were currently testing the latter. Though it wasn’t fully mature yet, a breakthrough could be made very soon. If both were resolved, they would overcome a global challenge.
The second problem was that nerve growth was too slow. Motor nerves control muscles, which sometimes undergo degeneration due to a lengthy lack of nerve control. By the time the nerves have luckily grown in, the muscles are no longer muscles. They have turned into fibrous tissues, unable to perform their usual function of contraction, even with nerve control.
To counter this second problem, one could either speed up nerve growth or maintain normal muscle conditions for a prolonged period of time, preventing fibrosis.
Takahashi was currently researching this topic, aiming to speed up nerve growth and expedite their combination with target organs.
Attending such conferences was boring. It felt like a university student listening to a primary school lesson. Takahashi really felt like yawning.
He secretly glanced at Fujiwara Miyuki, who was listening attentively to the speech. Takahashi found this lady quite amusing.
The killer point was, there was the same on-stage trauma surgery demonstration, later today or maybe tomorrow.
This was just too boring. It was like watching a football match.
A match between Brazil and China was going to be a completely one-sided encounter, leaving the spectators extremely bored.
“Takahashi-kun, please be serious. Sensei sent you here for a meeting, not for vacation.”
Miyuki reminded the Takahashi beside her.
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For he was actually falling asleep, his hands crossed over his chest, with eyes half-closed.
At this point, Director Tan was about to invite the patient, Qiangzi, to demonstrate his limb function.
The magic show was about to begin and Takahashi was getting excited.
He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and took a sip.
Because his concentration was elsewhere, he almost choked on the water.
