Hua Tuo Becomes a Surgeon - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you say last time that you were considering rehabilitation or radiology?”

“I did, but I’ve changed my mind.”

“Why the sudden change of heart? As the chief just said, it’s tough and you won’t make much money, not to mention you could get dragged into medical lawsuits at any moment. So why go through all that trouble?”

Hwabu knew that even though he and his colleagues were conversing in low voices, the residents, including the chief, had pricked up their ears to listen.

What should he say in a situation like this to make the chief and the residents view him in a favorable light?

The answer came to him quickly after a moment’s thought.

“Compared to other departments, it may not pay as much as we put it, but it directly deals with human life. Seeing patients on the brink of death being saved through surgery, I started wanting to become that kind of doctor.”

At Lee Minho’s response, the three interns’ mouths hung open for a moment, unable to close. Could such words really come from someone who had been so wronged?

A while later, Kim Hyungsun continued in a voice as small as a mosquito’s, lace with annoyance.

“Damn, you really don’t care?”

“What do you mean?”

“You still have to ask?”

“I admit it’s a bit unfair, but what can I do? I made up my mind, so I have to go through with it.”

“Huh, really. I just don’t get it. Anyway, no matter what, if you publicly declare it like this, what does that make of us?”

“I didn’t think deeply about that. I’m sorry.”

Hwabu made a half-hearted apology and glanced at the artificial skin that Ahn Jisoo had been practicing sutures on.

The suture marks were done quite meticulously, typical of a woman.

‘Ahn Jisoo said she’s going to apply for the plastic surgery department. So that’s why she’s been practicing suturing. But for someone who wants to apply to plastics, she’s really clumsy. She needs a lot more practice.’

Ahn Jisoo had practiced diligently, but her skills were nothing compared to what Fellow Oh Gook-hwan had sutured in the OR earlier.

Recalling the days when he frequently pricked his fingers suturing human skin with straight needles that didn’t bend, Hwabu picked up the needle holder (surgical tool for holding needles during surgery).

Using a device like a needle holder meant that there was no risk of needle slipping, so there was no worry about your fingers being pricked by the needle.

‘Should I try suturing?’

The feeling in his hands was better when he typed on the computer keyboard than when he secured the central vein. So, wouldn’t it be even better now?

Hwabu connected the suture to the needle, grasped it with the holder, aligned it with the cross-section of the artificial skin, and began suturing.

Prick, in, out, in, out…

He started cautious when initially inserting the needle into the artificial skin, but after a few sutures, he got the hang of it and his speed naturally increased.

‘As expected, my hand movements are more natural than before. But since acting quickly is key for the more urgent patients, so why don’t I do it as quickly as possible?’

Hwabu began suturing with the mindset of performing surgery on a real patient, aiming to be as fast and meticulous as possible.

‘W-what the!’

‘W-what is this guy doing?’

‘How can his hands move that fast!’

The three interns, who were feeling uncomfortable due to Lee Minho’s bombshell declaration, frowned as he began practicing sutures on the artificial skin. But their eyes soon went wide.

His hands were flying over the skin.

‘If you suture that quickly, it’s bound to be a mess, but the spacing and depth are consistent! Has this crazy guy been practicing suturing all this time?’

‘He sutured a foot length in less than five minutes! And not just hand knots, but needle holder knots! Huh! Is this guy really an intern like us?’

When Lee Minho finished suturing in a flash and cocked his head, the three interns blinked several times.

“You, you’re Minho, right?”

When Go Bong-gil asked, his eyes asking if he was indeed the same person, Lee Minho paused for a moment, then chuckled.

“Of course, who else would I be, Minsuni?”

“Your suturing has really improved. When did you practice behind our backs?”

“Practice? Ah! I did an insane amount back in the day.”

Hwabu shrugged, recalling the time when he was called the ‘god of sutures’. Although the needles were different, in terms of the number of sutures he made, he would have far exceeded modern professors.

“Exactly how much did you practice?”

“I did a lot for a very, very long time.”

Hwabu replied to Go Bong-gil’s query, examining his handiwork on the artificial skin.

‘My hand movements have become more natural, but there’s still a bit of an unnatural feel when I increase the speed.’

He couldn’t help but smile wryly at the lingering unnaturalness.

What did dexterous hands even matter? He was someone who might end up in the afterlife anytime the possession ends.

‘Tsk, skillful hands are meaningless if I can’t even use them properly on patients!’

As Hwabu set down the artificial skin, Ahn Jisoo picked it up and examined it carefully. Then, she made an incredulous look on her face.

“Whoa! Not only the surface, but the depth is consistent too!”

“What’s this? Why are you making such a fuss?”

At that moment, Hong Yuna, who had just finished ordering chicken and pizza, approached where the interns were gathered.

“Minho just did a suture and he’s so good at it.”

“Again, what’s the big deal about an intern being good at suturing? It’s nothing to get exc-… huh?”

As Hong Yuna chuckled in response to Ahn Jisoo, her eyes widened upon seeing the artificial skin in her hand.

“Let me see that.”

“Here it is.”

Hong Yuna spread the skin wide and thoroughly examined it, then gave Lee Minho an incredulous look.

“Did you really do this suture?”

“Yes.”

“It looks better than mine… How much have you been practicing?”

“I’ve been steadily practicing since a long time.”

When Hong Yuna made a fuss, not only the other residents but also the chief, Kwak Sang-do, showed interest.

Shortly after, Kwak Sang-do approached and looked at the artificial skin in Hong Yuna’s hand.

“Lee Minho really did this?”

When Kwak Sang-do showed interest, Hong Yuna handed him the synthetic skin she was holding.

“That’s what he said. From what I can see, his suturing looks better than mine.”

“Hmm!”

Kwak Sang-do also thoroughly examined the artificial skin before giving Lee Minho a look of full surprise.

“Did you really do this, Dr, Lee Minho?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe it. At this level, you can even anastomose vessels [1].”

[1] anastomose vessels – suturing vessels.

“What? Oh, come on, Chief! No matter how good he sutures, how could he-……”

“No. With this level of meticulousness, it’s possible. Jiho.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Bring an artificial vascular anastomosis kit.”

“But, Chief, for an intern, a vascular kit is……”

“What! Hah, really. I guess giving you all a bit of slack lately has made you question my words?”

“Not at all sir, I’ll bring it right away.”

As Kwak Sang-do frowned, Song Jiho hurriedly ran off and soon returned with the artificial vascular anastomosis kit.

Kwak Sang-do took it and handed it to Lee Minho.

“Try anastomosing the aorta first.”

The aorta is the largest and thickest vessel in the vascular anastomosis kit.

Hwabu hesitated a little as all eyes were on him, then eventually accepted the kit.

When he touched it with his hand, it seemed to feel stronger than a real blood vessel.

The artificial skin he had touched a while ago also felt tougher than real human skin, but it was similar.

“This is my first time trying vascular anastomosis, so I don’t know if I can do it well.”

Hwabu trembled slightly as many eyes were focused on him. In fact, he was confident that he could do it well because he had already gotten used to the feeling while suturing the artificial skin.

“If you’re going to be one of our people, you need to be able to anastomose blood vessels well. That’s the largest and thickest artery, so don’t feel too pressured and just treat it as practice for now.”

“Understood.”

Shortly after, Lee Minho began to cut the cross-section of the artificial vessel with scissors before aligning them, and then proceeding with the anastomosis. Kwak Sang-do wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Prick, in, out, in, out…

Lee Minho’s hand was slow and cautious at first, like when he sutured the artificial skin for the first time. But after a few passes, his speed began to pick up.

And by around the tenth pass, piercing the vessel and turning his wrist flowed as naturally as water, his dexterous movements akin to a master who had already spent decades doing vascular anastomoses.

As Kwak Sang-do watched Lee Minho’s anastomosis, his eyes widened more and more until they seemed about to pop out of his head.

‘How can he be better at vascular anastomosis than me? And this brat isn’t even using loupes!’

In fact, a little while ago, when Lee Minho was about to anastomose the blood vessel, Kwak Sang-do had intended to tell him to use loupes but held his tongue. So he planned to advise him to use them once he was done. But at this level of skill, loupes didn’t seem necessary.

Shiiiik…

A moment later, after Lee Minho finished the anastomosis and finished it with a two-handed knot, Kwak Sang-do took the artificial blood vessel and spread it apart to inspect whether the sutures had gone beyond the vessel wall.

‘Huh! Unbelievable. It’s so dense, yet the spacing is even and not a single suture penetrated through the wall!’

Even he had to use a loupe and be extremely careful to achieve this level of quality.

He didn’t time it, but it seemed that Lee Minho took less than half the time it would take him to anastomose a blood vessel.

‘And he’s even twice as faster as me!’

Come to think of it, this level of skill seemed faster than that of a professor or associate professor in the cardiothoracic surgery.

As Kwak Sang-do examined the artificial vessel for a long time, the third-year resident Im Jahoon asked tentatively.

“Chief, how is it?”

“See how it is.”

When Kwak Sang-do handed him the artificial vessel, Im Jahoon accepted it and examined it closely.

“Well?”

“I-it’s amazing. He didn’t even use loupes, and it’s like this! Hey, Lee Minho!”

“Yes, sir.”

“What are you? Your skin sutures were already unbelievable, but this is even crazier! Do you have a doctor in your family? Have you been playing with suture kits since you were a kid?”

“No doctors in my family, sir.”

“Then what is this? To get this good, you must have crazily practiced suturing.”

“No doctors, but I did practice suturing a lot in the past.”

“Even with tons of practice… hah, whatever. I heard there are sometimes geniuses who are born with great hands, so I guess you’re that kind of guy.”

“Dr. Im, just how good is it?”

When Choi Yongsoo, who was next to him, expressed his curiosity, Im Jahoon handed him the artificial vessel.

“Take a look for yourselves.”

When the artificial vessel was passed to Choi Yongsoo, the second-year residents including Hong Yuna examined it, and later, first-year residents, including Song Jiho, also examined it.

After a while, fourth-year residents, including Hong Yuna, also examined it, and later, first-year residents, including Song Ji-oh, also examined it.

After examining the anastomosis site of the artificial vessel, the residents looked at Lee Minho with eyes full of disbelief.

“Wow! I thought it’s going to be sloppy because he was so fast… but it’s really like Dr. Im said, you have naturally skilled hands.”

“Hey, if your hands are this good, why were you so careless with procedures until now?”

When Choi Yongsoo cocked his head quizzically, Hwabu pondered for a moment how to respond.

Originally, Lee Minho, the owner of this body, planned to choose a department unrelated to surgery, so he had been going through the motions during the cardiothoracic surgery rotation with the intention of just passing the time. But Hwabu himself, once renowned as a divine physician, had a different mindset altogether.

After an awkward pause, Hwabu scratched his head and forced an embarrassed smile.