My Medical Skills Give Me Experience Points Chapter 1238 - 488: Level 6 Separation Skill, All the Surgical Nurses Are Good-Looking

With his current surgical expertise, repairing the tendons in this patient’s finger is effectively impossible; the only viable course of action is to perform a tendon transplant.

Under normal anatomical conditions, human fingers possess a superficial flexor tendon, a deep flexor tendon, and an extensor tendon.

These tendons function through contraction and relaxation to facilitate the flexion and extension of the fingers.

While the anatomical structure appears straightforward, cases involving adhesions elevate the surgical difficulty to a daunting level. It is a highly intricate procedure that puts the surgeon’s experience and precision to the ultimate test.

Despite his usual confidence, Zhou Can feels a sense of trepidation when approaching a Level 2 surgery of this complexity.

Upon noticing Zhou Can’s hesitation, the patient pleaded for him to find a solution, promising that even if the surgery failed, they would hold no grievances against the hospital.

The patient’s father interjected, explaining that they had arrived early and spent four nights at a nearby hotel waiting for a chance to see him.

Appointments were so scarce that they were unable to secure one through official channels.

In desperation, they paid two hundred yuan to a scalper just to get an appointment.

The couple only has this one son, now twenty-five years old. An unfortunate accident left his right hand disabled, severely hindering his career, marital prospects, and daily life. To finance the treatment, the father took on seventeen acres of land and a physically taxing job at a local forestry farm.

He told Zhou Can that he feared neither hardship nor fatigue.

As long as there was a chance to restore his son’s hand, he would spare no expense.

He further described how his son had continued his studies with immense dedication, bearing pain that would be unbearable for most people.

Moved by their story, Zhou Can finally agreed to help.

He conferred with Dr. Xu to develop a comprehensive surgical plan.

The patient was admitted the previous day to complete all necessary diagnostics. Subsequently, the nurses and attending physician performed preoperative preparation, including shaving the patient’s hands and feet and trimming his nails.

For the tendon source, there are three primary options: the first is allogeneic, which requires a donation from a deceased donor.

This path involves a complicated process and a mandatory waiting period.

However, since tendons are not as chronically short in supply as organs like corneas, hearts, or kidneys, the wait is usually manageable, and the costs remain relatively modest.

Despite this, allogeneic grafts carry a significant risk of immune rejection.

For a family facing such severe financial constraints, the cost is still substantial.

The second option involves the use of artificial tendons.

Thanks to technological progression, artificial tendons have become a mature, viable solution.

Nevertheless, the price tag is high, and they carry potential risks of inflammation or rejection.

All transplantations—artificial or biological—carry inherent rejection risks. Many recipients must rely on lifelong medication to suppress these responses.

It is clear that neither of those two methods is ideal for this patient.

Furthermore, the patient has already undergone two failed corrective surgeries, which complicates any further transplantation attempts.

Following an in-depth discussion with Dr. Xu, Zhou Can chose to perform an autologous transplant, utilizing either the plantar tendon or the extensor digitorum longus from the patient’s own foot.

There are significant risks involved in this procedure.

A failure could result in the total loss of function in the patient's right hand, while simultaneously compromising the flexion and extension in his toes.

After clarifying these risks with the family and obtaining formal consent, the surgery commenced today.

"Watch closely, you two. For these incisions, the zigzag cut on the palmar side of the finger is the standard approach."

Zhou Can guided them through the specific surgical techniques as he worked.

The zigzag incision on the finger’s side prevents scarring directly over the tendon, which simplifies the suturing process while the finger is bent.

Upon dissecting the digit, signs of the previous surgeon's work became apparent.

The previous doctor was technically proficient, and their work was quite delicate.

However, their choice of correction methods was questionable.

Zhou Can opted not to critique the previous doctor's errors, choosing instead to focus on finishing the dissection and harvesting the tendon from the patient's foot.

Yang Zhi and Pu Dingdong currently lack the experience to assist Zhou Can with such high-level procedures.

If they were more skilled, they could have synchronized their movements with his.

As Zhou Can was readying the hand for the graft, the assistant successfully extracted the plantar tendon.

[Incision Skill Experience +1, Separation Skill Experience +1. Challenging plantar tendon harvest completed, reward +100 Experience Points.]

Seeing the sudden boost in his Separation Skill experience delighted Zhou Can.

His Incision Skill has already reached the Director level; leveling it up further requires one million experience points. At current rates, it would take a lifetime to reach the next tier.

Even with rare 100-point bonuses, the climb remains incredibly steep.

Yet, Zhou Can feels certain that he will bring all his core surgical skills to Level 7 within the next five to ten years.

As his team grows, he will delegate routine procedures to subordinates while dedicating his own time to increasingly complex cases.

The current tendon transplant serves as an example.

While categorized as a Level 2 surgery, the precision and skill required are on par with major Level 4 operations.

Level 2 surgeries generally involve lower risks and less procedural complexity, but that is the extent of it.

Believing that all Level 1 surgeries are trivial or that Level 4 surgeries are the only ones requiring true mastery is a narrow and shortsighted view.