Chapter 51: What is this? (1)

Thud.

Thud.

Suhyeok, leaning on his cane, struggled to enter the elevator, following the bed. For some reason, he was with a neurology resident who had to squeeze the Ambu bag, an intern pulling the bed, and the hospital director.

"Is the reservation made?"

Lee Hyun-jong, after briefly checking the patient's blood pressure and heart rate again, turned to look at Suhyeok.

"Yes, Director. The emergency angiography room was available."

"Well, it's not that we can't do it because we lack facilities, but because we lack people."

In response to Suhyeok's words, Lee Hyun-jong began to grumble and started watching the numbers on the elevator slowly change.

The angiography room was only on the third floor, so it was quite close.

However, with a patient who was dying in real time, his heart was only filled with anxiety.

"Make this thing go faster... The hospital spends all the money it earns."

Lee Hyun-jong, despite his words, was repeatedly pressing the button for the third floor.

'Sure, something's a bit off.'

[I would like to try diagnosing once I have more experience in psychiatry.]

'Cut the crap.'

[Ah, the door is opening.]

'Let's go quickly. I walk slowly.'

[This needs to be fixed too.]

Baruda muttered, feeling Suhyeok's limping legs.

In response, Suhyeok, with a glimmer of hope, asked Baruda.

'Is there a way?'

[No, not yet.]

'Why did you make me hopeful?'

[I haven't accumulated the relevant knowledge, Suhyeok.]

'Don't make excuses...'

Despite his constant chatter, Suhyeok managed to run towards the angiography room without getting lost even once.

Partly because he had been a practice student here before, but mostly thanks to Baruda, who had memorized the hospital map.

Creak.

Thanks to this, even with his slow pace, Suhyeok was the first to enter the angiography room.

"Ah, Director, you've arrived!"

As soon as the door opened, two technicians stood up and greeted him respectfully.

For Suhyeok, who had been treated like a scarecrow during his practice student days and ignored during his internship, it felt quite strange.

'Sure enough, people change when they rise to a higher position.'

If it were in the past, Baruda would have immediately teased him, but now, Baruda was somewhat in agreement with Suhyeok and didn't say much.

"Yeah. Stop with the formalities and get ready."

In contrast, Lee Hyun-jong was a person who didn't care much for formalities, focusing only on interesting cases and patients.

"Yes, Director. This way, please."

Of course, the technicians knew the director's preferences very well, and the preparations were already perfectly completed.

Considering that Suhyeok had only made the call about 10 minutes ago, it seemed almost impossible.

"Good. Suhyeok, put on the lead apron. There are many who become arrogant if they don't pay attention to this."

"Yes."

Arrogant?

With his leg limping, becoming arrogant seemed a bit too much.

Suhyeok nodded desperately and, swaying, put on the lead apron.

"Put on the gown over that. And you... what's your name?"

"Third-year neurology resident, Choi Jun-yong, Director."

"Oh, neurology. Keep squeezing. And the intern, help move the patient. Make sure the arms don't fall off. Arms. I always hear complaints about arm pain, it's really frustrating."

"Yes..."

Choi Jun-yong, wondering why the director asked his name if he was going to call him by his department, squeezed the Ambu bag with all his might.

"Okay."

The technicians and the intern worked together to move the patient onto the operating table.

[Now, disinfect the patient. You know it's the right thigh, right?]

'Of course. Do you think I'm an idiot?'

[Hmm.]

'Hmm?'

[No, I mean, use Betadine. There. Good.]

After putting on the gown, Suhyeok cut the patient's pants with scissors and picked up the Betadine.

Following Baruda's guidance, he wiped the patient's right thigh.

Seeing this, Lee Hyun-jong marveled again.

Honestly, this was something an internal medicine doctor should do, but in his heart, Suhyeok was already his favorite.

"Sure enough, our Suhyeok."

He muttered and looked at the technician.

Just by looking, the technician skillfully turned the fluoroscope to show the patient's right thigh.

"Yeah. Don't turn it on yet! The neurology resident and the intern are becoming arrogant, right?"

"Director, the machine isn't on yet."

"Oh, really? What's that in the background? Ah, it's from before. Hehe."

Lee Hyun-jong, feeling a bit embarrassed about his outburst, laughed and continued.

"Now, the neurology resident and the intern, switch hands. Keep squeezing the Ambu bag."

"Yes, Director."

"Give me the catheter."

"Yes, Director."

Despite the serious situation of a myocardial infarction patient lying right in front of them, their expressions and attitudes were surprisingly relaxed.

However, the progress was not slow at all, thanks to the technicians and the director being seasoned professionals.

'Cardiology is really cool, really.'

[Can I do it with my leg condition?]

'Me? I can't. I'm already struggling.'

With the disinfected gown and gloves on, he couldn't lean on his cane, and standing was quite difficult.

[It will be tough.]

'That's right. I need to focus on diagnosis.'

[Don't say that. Diagnosis is the flower and the essence of medicine.]

'Yeah, that's true.'

[Honestly, surgery and procedures are for technicians, right?]

'That's a good point.'

While making comments that would make a surgeon grab a scalpel and run, they gently pulled the patient's right thigh with both hands.

"Good. And watch this, here."

Lee Hyun-jong, with a brief compliment, pointed to the screen with his chin.

The screen showed the image of the thigh area, taken by the fluoroscope that was now powered on.

A very sharp object was piercing the skin.

Thud.

Thanks to Suhyeok pulling the skin to the sides, the catheter easily pierced the skin.

"Now..."

Lee Hyun-jong, with his characteristic expression of sticking out his tongue when concentrating, slowly but steadily advanced the catheter towards the femoral artery.

"Look closely, you can see the pulsing. Can you see it?"

"Yes."

"That's the artery, and the one next to it is the vein. There shouldn't be any confusion, but sometimes accidents happen."

Even experienced cardiologists sometimes mistake the target vessel and pierce the wrong one, sometimes leading to the patient's death.

However, Lee Hyun-jong had never lost a patient due to his own mistake.

This time was no different.

"Good."

He quickly pierced the femoral artery and turned to Suhyeok.

Following Baruda's advice, Suhyeok inserted the guide wire through the hole in the catheter.

"You're doing well. Is this your first time?"

"Huh? Yes, it is."

"Of course. Who would bring a first-year to do this? One mistake and it's over. Only a genius like me can do it, hehe."

Lee Hyun-jong, taking the guide wire from Suhyeok, smoothly inserted it.

He inserted it as if he had no thoughts at all.

The amazing part was that the tip of the guide wire, as it went in, never twisted and continued to move upwards.

'Is this possible?'

[Hmm. There are indeed some surprising aspects to his skills.]

If Suhyeok and Baruda hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they probably wouldn't have believed it.

But they were watching the tip of the guide wire through the fluoroscope.

The radiologist, a seasoned professional like the director, skillfully controlled the fluoroscope, following the guide wire without losing it.

"Okay. Here, slightly... like this."

The guide wire, now past the abdominal aorta and the thoracic aorta, was moving through the aortic arch.

If the procedure was this fast, it was indeed unusual.

It wasn't for nothing that people from all over came to see Lee Hyun-jong's angiography.

Now, as the director, he might refuse other things as too troublesome, but in his prime, people from the U.S. and elsewhere came to learn his techniques.

"Wow."

"Do you understand how impressive this is?"

"Huh? Yes. Passing through the aortic arch like this."

"Yes. You're better than our fellow. He's always so stiff."

Lee Hyun-jong, after briefly criticizing the fellow, finally passed through the aortic arch, the most critical point, and reached the beginning of the coronary arteries.

"Zoom in. Pull it up here."

"Yes, Director."

The technician, as if waiting for this, zoomed in on the tip of the guide wire.

The wire, which had looked quite small until now, appeared almost as thick as a pen.

"Amazing, right? This machine costs a few billion. The hospital didn't want to buy it, but after I lay down a few times, they bought it."

"Ah, yes..."

It seemed that "lying down" was not a metaphor but a literal action.

Given Lee Hyun-jong's history, it was entirely possible.

"Here... huh?"

However, fine wrinkles appeared on Lee Hyun-jong's face, which had been confident until now.

Something was wrong.

Although he had found the correct path, the scene was not what he usually saw.

Instead of the two branches of the coronary arteries, one from the right and one from the left, only one branch extended.

"Damn."

"Anatomical variation..."

In surgical procedures, anatomical variations can often be a critical variable.

Especially in such a rare form, it was even more significant.

[It's a single vessel. All the coronary arteries will be branches of the left coronary artery.]

'0.1%?'

[Yes. It might be difficult.]

As Baruda said, Lee Hyun-jong couldn't easily insert the guide wire into the vessel.

He had assumed the right coronary artery was blocked based on the ECG, but with no right coronary artery, it was impossible.

"Professor, it seems to be a single vessel variation. Let's start with the left..."

"Yes. That's the right approach."

But Lee Hyun-jong was a veteran.

Even before Suhyeok spoke, he had already carefully inserted the guide wire into the only coronary artery.

When dealing with a single vessel, there was a risk that the entire vessel could be blocked by the procedure, requiring extra caution.

"Slowly... slowly..."

However, Lee Hyun-jong, who had successfully performed thousands of cases over several decades, overcame the critical point and successfully inserted the guide wire into the right branch of the left coronary artery.

But soon, a sigh rather than a sigh of relief escaped from both Lee Hyun-jong and Suhyeok.

"Short..."

"The vessel is short..."