Chapter 87

As the time approached eight o'clock, the surgical building gradually became lively.

Professor Bergmann slowly prepared in his office, and then, with a smile, he said to John, who had been standing beside him, "Let's go, I'll introduce you to the other surgeons."

Under Bergmann's introduction, John met the other six surgeons of Charlotte Hospital in two offices.

The other five were fine; there were no names that John was particularly familiar with. However, one person named Thomas Hunt caught John's attention. He clearly heard from Professor Bergmann that Mr. Hunt was also an American who came to study at Berlin University eight years ago. It took him five years to obtain a doctorate in surgery, and then he was retained by Bergmann. After meeting these six doctors, John also met the other four medical students who were learning under Bergmann: three Germans and one Pole.

Finally, Bergmann brought John back to his office. After they sat down, Bergmann suddenly put on a serious face and looked at John intently.

John was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Professor, is there something wrong?"

"No problem, just a bit worried," Bergmann said after silently looking at John for a few moments and sighing.

"Worried? Worried about me?"

Hearing this, John became even more puzzled. He felt that he had been performing well since coming to Charlotte Hospital. What was there to worry about?

Under John's puzzled gaze, Bergmann frowned slightly and said, "John, you are a very smart young man. You completed all your courses in just one year after coming to Berlin University, which surprised and impressed me! I can say that, except for the lack of practical surgical experience, your knowledge has already reached the standard of a surgeon!"

"Thank you for your praise!"

After Bergmann finished speaking, John politely thanked him, but his confusion did not diminish.

After a brief pause, Professor Bergmann took a deep breath and continued, "But because of this, I am even more worried about you! I noticed that although you chose surgery, you have never shown enough respect for it, which concerns me..."

"Respect for surgery?!"

Hearing this, John's eyes widened instantly.

What does this mean?

John frowned tightly and immediately began to recall what had happened since he met Bergmann that day. The more he thought about it, the more puzzled he became, as he could not think of any place where he had shown disrespect to surgery!

In his previous life, he was a surgeon, and in this life, he chose surgery again. Wasn't that respect?

Seeing that John did not seem to understand, Professor Bergmann sighed inwardly and shook his head, "Alright, John, I have a few minor surgeries to perform soon. You can watch with the other students... These surgeries are not complicated. Once you are familiar with them, you can try them yourself."

"Yes, Professor."

Although John was still pondering Professor Bergmann's words, he immediately nodded and followed Professor Bergmann to the operating room with a puzzled heart.

According to the schedule, Professor Bergmann had three surgeries to perform that morning.

Don't doubt whether a surgeon can perform three surgeries in one morning. In the surgery of that era, operations were far less complex than in later times. Most were bloodletting, incising abscesses, and other simple procedures. There were also more cases of fractures and amputations. For other seriously ill patients sent to the surgery department, it was like grasping at the last straw in despair. Due to the constraints of anesthesia, bleeding, and other factors, the human body's cavities were still taboo for most surgeons. Even a top surgeon like Bergmann dared not easily step into this forbidden area.

In addition to John, the other four students were also in the operating room, but they were already able to help and immediately got to work.

John quietly stood to the side, patiently observing.

Perhaps considering that it was John's first time in the operating room, Bergmann did not arrange any complex surgeries. There were only two abscess incisions and one bloodletting. The first surgery was bloodletting for hypertension. John was indeed surprised when he first heard it, but he quickly calmed down. He knew that in the absence of effective drugs, bloodletting was one of the main treatments for hypertension.

With the students busy, Bergmann mostly watched without getting involved. However, he took the opportunity to give the new student some special attention, "John, I heard you met Lister in London?"

"Yes, sir, we talked for a few minutes."

While observing the other students' actions, John casually replied.

Bergmann nodded and smiled, "A few years ago, I sent people to Edinburgh and London to specifically learn Lister's antiseptic techniques. After several years of application, the results have been significant. So when I heard your description of antiseptics, I knew you were quite knowledgeable about this area..."

"Hmm?"

Seeing the four students busy with carbolic acid to disinfect surgical instruments and other items, and hearing Bergmann's words, John's heart stirred!

In the development of surgical antiseptic techniques, Bergmann was an indispensable figure.

Steam sterilization was probably Bergmann's greatest achievement and the reason he left his name in medical history. However, besides steam sterilization, Bergmann also made significant improvements in dressings, auxiliary materials, and surgical instruments, which John had previously learned about. Therefore, after hearing Bergmann's words, he suddenly thought that since he was now the teacher's student and had shown talent in the fields of bacteria and antiseptics, why not push Bergmann to improve the entire antiseptic technique?

While John was deep in thought, the four students, with Bergmann's nod, began their operations.

The patient was a middle-aged man in his forties, not very tall, about 1.6 meters, but weighing over 120 kilograms, making him very "round." It was understandable that he had hypertension.

One of Bergmann's students, Schneider, picked up a shiny scalpel and made a small incision on the patient's arm!

"Tsk!"

Seeing this, John couldn't help but smack his lips.

The blood flowed out slowly, but the speed was quite slow. Another student picked up a heated glass bottle, placed the mouth of the bottle over the wound, and slowly, as the glass bottle cooled, John clearly saw the dark red blood being drawn out by the compressed air...

"Such a simple surgery."

After watching the entire process, John shook his head with a bitter smile. He really didn't know what expression to make when learning such a surgery.

However, while John was sighing inwardly, he didn't notice that Professor Bergmann was paying attention to his performance. Seeing his expression, Bergmann couldn't help but frown. He had noticed that John was different from other students. He showed no nervousness upon arrival and no excitement or anticipation when discussing the work everyone was striving for, which slightly disappointed Bergmann.

Talent is one thing, but lacking passion for learning and research is another!

By a twist of fate, a small misunderstanding arose between John and Professor Bergmann, making their first meeting in the surgery department less than successful. However, John was not overly concerned about these matters. He was quietly considering the idea that had suddenly come to him.

The three surgeries were completed in just over an hour.

As Bergmann summarized the three surgeries and announced that everyone could take a break, John finally made up his mind. He followed Bergmann back to his office and said very seriously, "Professor, I have some new ideas about the current antiseptic techniques in surgery. I would like to conduct a systematic study and implementation here. Do you think it's feasible?"