Chapter 38: You have an eighty to ninety percent chance of success?
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At that moment, in the director’s office of the Department of Cardiology, Tang Zhenglong sat listening anxiously as the department director spoke.
Beside him sat a distinguished-looking middle-aged man, whose face was equally grave and troubled.
“Doctor, is there really nothing else that can be done?” Tang Donghai asked in a low voice.
Liu Zhengming said helplessly, “Mr. Tang, your father already suffers from high blood pressure, which will worsen his coronary heart disease. If it flares up again, the consequences could be severe.”
“As I said before, the best treatment would be to implant a stent in your father’s coronary artery. However, given his current condition, the procedure carries a very high risk. Even if I performed it myself, the chance of success would be no more than twenty percent.”
Tang Donghai could not help sighing at those words.
If even the director of the Department of Cardiology had only a twenty percent chance of success, what else could he do?
The Affiliated Hospital of Linhai University was already one of the finest major tertiary hospitals in the region. Its medical expertise went without saying. If even this hospital had no confidence in the operation, where else could he take his father for treatment?
There were certainly hospitals across the country better than the Affiliated Hospital of Linhai University, but given his father’s current condition, there was no time to transfer him elsewhere.
“Dad, what should we do now?” Tang Zhenglong let out a soft sigh. “Grandpa really won’t be able to hold on much longer. We have to make a decision. Are we going through with the operation or not?”
Tang Donghai drew a deep breath and said to Liu Zhengming, “Director Liu, then I’ll have to trouble you to perform the operation on my father. I hope you’ll do everything you can.”
He had no other choice. All he could do was place his hopes in Liu Zhengming.
Liu Zhengming nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
Just then, a nurse hurried into the office.
“Director Liu, Director Bai from the Emergency Department is here. He says he has something important to discuss with you,” the nurse told Liu Zhengming.
“Director Bai has something to discuss with me?” Liu Zhengming nodded. “Could a critically ill patient have arrived in the Emergency Department and require my assistance?”
“No. If a patient in the Emergency Department needed treatment from our department, they would only have to call. There’d be no need for him to come here in person,” the nurse said, shaking her head.
“You mean Director Bai has come to our department?” Liu Zhengming exclaimed.
Under normal circumstances, whenever Bai Yunxiao had something to discuss, he would call directly. He rarely came in person.
“Please show Director Bai in,” Liu Zhengming said hastily.
For Bai Yunxiao to come all the way to the Department of Cardiology himself, he clearly had something very important to say.
The nurse nodded, then quickly left.
Before long, Bai Yunxiao entered the office, with Lin Nan and Tang Wanqi following behind him.
“Director Bai. Doctor Lin.” Tang Zhenglong hurriedly greeted the two men when he saw them.
Previously, when his younger sister had gotten her head stuck in an exhaust pipe, it had been the doctors from the Emergency Department who solved the problem. As a result, he had developed a great deal of goodwill—and gratitude—toward Bai Yunxiao and Lin Nan, especially Lin Nan.
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Bai Yunxiao gave a slight nod.
Lin Nan smiled faintly in acknowledgment.
“Wanqi, why are you with the two doctors?” Tang Zhenglong asked in surprise when he saw Tang Wanqi beside them.
“Because there’s something we need to discuss,” Tang Wanqi replied solemnly.
Tang Donghai glanced at Bai Yunxiao and Lin Nan, then said to Liu Zhengming, “Director Liu, since you have business to discuss, we’ll step outside for now.”
“Dad, there’s no need for you to leave. Director Bai and Doctor Lin came here because of Grandpa’s condition,” Tang Wanqi quickly explained.
“The two doctors came because of your grandfather’s condition?” Tang Donghai asked in astonishment.
Hearing this, Liu Zhengming looked at Bai Yunxiao. “Old Bai, did you come here because of Mr. Tang’s condition?”
“Yes.” Bai Yunxiao nodded.
“Do you have any good ideas?” Liu Zhengming asked, then glanced at Tang Wanqi beside him.
Bai Yunxiao had presumably been invited here by Tang Wanqi after she went to the Emergency Department.
“I don’t have any good ideas myself,” Bai Yunxiao said, shaking his head.
“Then why have you come?” Liu Zhengming asked, looking at him in confusion.
“I don’t have any ideas, but he does.” Bai Yunxiao turned toward Lin Nan as he spoke.
“Hm?” Liu Zhengming instinctively looked at Lin Nan, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.
He had naturally noticed Lin Nan standing beside Bai Yunxiao earlier, but he had paid little attention to him.
In his view, the young doctor was probably someone Bai Yunxiao had brought along to gain experience and learn. What he had not expected was for Bai Yunxiao to allow this young doctor to offer his own opinion.
Tang Donghai was also deeply surprised. He stared at Lin Nan with a strange expression.
His father’s condition was both severe and complicated—that much had already been established. What useful idea could this young doctor possibly have?
He shook his head, harboring no real expectations of Lin Nan.
He assumed Bai Yunxiao had merely brought the young doctor along to give him some practical experience in the Emergency Department.
It was unlikely he could make any real difference.
Tang Zhenglong, however, was secretly stirred by the revelation.
He walked over to Tang Wanqi and asked in a low voice, “Wanqi, did you invite Doctor Lin here?”
“Yes.” Tang Wanqi nodded. “You’ve already seen what Doctor Lin is capable of. Grandpa’s condition is urgent, and the doctors in Cardiology aren’t confident about the operation, so I decided to look for Doctor Lin and see whether he could find a way to save Grandpa.”
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“Can Doctor Lin perform the operation?” Tang Zhenglong asked excitedly in a lowered voice.
He had witnessed Lin Nan’s abilities before. Perhaps he really could save their grandfather.
“Yes.” A hint of delight flashed through Tang Wanqi’s eyes.
“How confident is he?” Tang Zhenglong asked urgently.
“Doctor Lin didn’t say, but judging from his manner, I think his chances should be quite good,” Tang Wanqi replied uncertainly.
Noticing Liu Zhengming looking at him, Lin Nan smiled and said, “Hello, Director Liu. Miss Tang showed me Mr. Tang’s examination reports earlier. My treatment plan is the same as yours: implanting a stent in his coronary artery.”
Liu Zhengming gave a slight nod. “Go on.”
“May I ask, Director Liu, if you were to perform the stent implantation, what would your chance of success be?” Lin Nan asked sincerely.
Liu Zhengming answered honestly, “Because Mr. Tang’s condition is quite complicated, his coronary artery is severely blocked, and the degree of stenosis exceeds seventy percent. The operation is extremely difficult. My chance of success would be no more than twenty percent.”
Bai Yunxiao nodded inwardly.
Given his own abilities, his chances of successfully performing the operation were about the same as Liu Zhengming’s.
This was an extremely difficult procedure that only doctors at the level of deputy director or above could perform. Other attending physicians would not be capable of carrying it out at all.
Lin Nan nodded. “To be completely honest, I’ve studied this type of operation before. If I were to perform it, my chance of success would be considerably higher.”
“You can perform such a difficult operation?” Liu Zhengming was stunned.
Lin Nan nodded.
Liu Zhengming studied him intently.
No wonder Bai Yunxiao had brought this young man here. It turned out that he could perform this kind of operation as well.
“Then what is your chance of success?” Liu Zhengming immediately asked.
“About eighty to ninety percent,” Lin Nan replied.
“Eighty to ninety percent?” Liu Zhengming’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You have an eighty-to-ninety-percent success rate for this kind of operation?”
It was simply astonishing!
He dared say that among all the major tertiary hospitals in Linhai, no doctor capable of performing this operation had a success rate exceeding twenty percent.
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