Chapter 369: Milestone in Surgery

Chapter 369: A Milestone in Surgery

Inside the operating room, all the doctors stood at the ready.

Jiang Yuanshan was talkative outside, but once inside the OR, he silently watched Ye Xiaoxiao's every move.

Director Li did the same. He was curious to see if this young doctor truly had the skill or was just boasting.

Once the anesthesia was fully effective, the surgery began.

Ye Xiaoxiao picked up the scalpel and worked methodically, just as she had practiced countless times.

She made an incision from the xiphoid process to the umbilicus along the midline, entered the abdominal cavity, carefully separated the surrounding blood vessels, cut through the duodenum and esophagus, exposed the lower esophagus and gastric fundus, cut the cardia, and removed the diseased portion of the stomach.

Based on Zhang Runxin’s tumor condition, she cleared the lymph nodes, removed the greater omentum and omental bursa...

She then reconstructed the digestive tract, connecting the jejunum and esophagus, checking the stability of the connection and vascular ligation.

As Ye Xiaoxiao performed the surgery, the operating room was quiet except for brief, necessary exchanges, with only the sound of the scalpel at work.

Director Li and Jiang Yuanshan, serving as first and second assistants, watched in awe as Ye Xiaoxiao removed the tumor from the stomach in a way they found brilliantly skillful.

Forty minutes passed, and Jiang Yuanshan’s worry for the patient turned to worry for Ye Xiaoxiao.

This surgery had to succeed—he was certain that if it did, it would be a milestone in cancer treatment in China.

The surgery lasted two hours. In the final half-hour, Ye Xiaoxiao flushed the abdominal cavity and placed drainage tubes before finally suturing the wound.

Zhang Runxin was taken out of the operating room and transferred to the post-op ward.

Jiang Yi asked anxiously about the surgery's outcome.

Still wearing her mask, Ye Xiaoxiao nodded slightly. "The surgery was successful."

Excitedly, Jiang Yi pumped his fists. "That's amazing! You're incredible, sis. When can I go see him?"

Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "The patient needs to be monitored in the ICU for twenty-four hours. Once he's moved to the general ward, you can stay with him."

Jiang Yi nodded vigorously.

Even more excited than Jiang Yi were Director Li and Jiang Yuanshan. Without resting after the surgery, they immediately called an emergency debrief to review the entire procedure.

Director Li couldn’t believe someone so talented had gone into traditional Chinese medicine.

But with her surgical skills, she could easily join First Hospital now.

When Sun Zhengyao heard the news of the surgery's success, a weight lifted from his mind.

He quickly called Song Guangjing to relay the good news. "Mr. Song, Xiao Xiao's surgery was successful."

Song Guangjing responded briefly.

Though he didn't voice any concern, it was impossible not to care.

After resting briefly post-surgery, Ye Xiaoxiao was invited to the conference room.

Director Li and Jiang Yuanshan fired questions at her, all of which she answered.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t hold anything back. Director Li and Dr. Jiang were just as capable as she was—after a few more tries, they’d definitely pick up the techniques and be able to help more patients.

By the end of the review session, Director Li was even tempted to poach from Mr. Song’s team.

“Dr. Ye, if you ever have similar cancer patients in the future, our hospital would be happy to collaborate anytime.”

It would also give more people a chance to pick up her techniques.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded, though she figured she wouldn’t get many such cases.

After all, hardly anyone believed TCM could treat cancer.

Director Li also asked, “Mind sharing which university abroad you studied at as an exchange student and who your mentor was?”

Ye Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment before naming the school.

As for her mentor, she gave the name, though whether anyone could dig up their credentials in oncology was another question.

That mentor was indeed a top-tier surgeon.

After the meeting, while others continued discussing, Ye Xiaoxiao left first.

She went to check on Zhang Runxin’s postoperative recovery.

Complications could arise at any time within the first 24 hours.

But Zhang Runxin was now the hospital’s top-priority patient—there was no need to worry about poor care.

The hospital was banking on his recovery to help tackle more cancer challenges, so he received the most resources.

Ye Xiaoxiao waited until Zhang Runxin woke up for the first time, asked how he felt, gave the nurses her contact info, and then left the hospital.

His first time awake was short, and since he still couldn’t eat, he needed to conserve energy. Ye Xiaoxiao told him to take it easy and promised to come back the next day.

By the afternoon of the next day, Zhang Runxin had been moved to a regular room.

Apart from some initial discomfort, he bounced back well.

Though still bedridden, he was now able to speak.

When Ye Xiaoxiao arrived, Jiang Yi was sitting with Zhang Runxin in the room.

Surprisingly, Xu Linfeng was there too.

Xu Linfeng, slightly older than Lu Hanchuan, usually called Ye Xiaoxiao by her name.

But now, his tone was full of regret. “Xiaoxiao, I had no idea Jiang Yi would rope you into this. I hope it didn’t cause you any trouble.”

Xu Linfeng was worried that Jiang Yi’s actions might affect Ye Xiaoxiao’s work.

He knew about Jiang Yi’s friend.

Stomach cancer was nearly impossible to beat—even the best doctors could only buy the patient a few extra years.

So when he found out Ye Xiaoxiao had done the surgery, his first instinct was to chew Jiang Yi out. If anything happened to Zhang Runxin, how would it affect Ye Xiaoxiao’s career?

“Not at all. Mr. Zhang had early-stage cancer with great odds of beating it. He just had surgery—so long as he sticks to the recovery plan, it won’t come back.”

A radical gastrectomy cuts out all the cancer. Though it would inevitably affect his body, it was worth it in the end.

As long as there's time, the body can heal.

Xu Linfeng didn't know much about the medical specifics, but now that he'd heard Ye Xiaoxiao say the surgery was successful, he could finally relax.

Jiang Yi quietly edged over to the ward door, giving Xu Linfeng a dissatisfied look.

"I told you Sis is incredible. The hospital experts were in the ward all through lunch, examining Xiao Xin and asking questions—maybe their hospital couldn’t even perform this surgery?"

Jiang Yi wasn't wrong. From how those doctors talked, the surgery seemed unbelievable, almost like a medical miracle.

This showed that Ye Xiaoxiao was truly exceptional.

This must be a classic case of traditional Chinese medicine impressing Western medicine.

Ye Xiaoxiao remained modest. "That’s not quite accurate. An earlier version of this procedure has existed for a long time—it's just that the success rate wasn't this high. But I believe soon more patients will be able to get this treatment."

Jiang Yi thought Ye Xiaoxiao was as beautiful as she was kind.

How could someone be so stunning and still have such a wonderful personality?

Bro Lu really hit the jackpot with her!

Seeing that Ye Xiaoxiao was indeed fine, Xu Linfeng left Jiang Yi with some instructions and departed.

Jiang Yi pouted. "Am I really that untrustworthy?"