Chapter 22 – Battlefield(4)

1 minute from now. That was it.

Hwang In-gang who’d been lost in thought clicked his tongue.

“Blocking the aorta with a balloon catheter would save time. But, that’s an emergency technique even our chief hasn’t tried before. I also only watched the video posted by the thoracic department at the Shunguk University website.”

Dowook’s fingertips twitched at the specific surgery plan Hwang In-gang revealed, and he recognized that the process was something he could do.

That was it, the patient could be saved with that.

“If there’s a way, we should try it.”

“Who’s going to do it? Even now, we can send him up to surgery….”

Beee—

The electrocardiogram showed that the heart had stopped.

“Arrest! CPR!”

Yoon Jin Cheol immediately went to the chest and started compressing. Hwang In-gang’s expression froze when the patient went into cardiac arrest as Dowook said.

Be-beep.

Cardiovascular drugs were injected and the heart, which had stopped, started beating again due to the continuous CPR. However, the rhythm was more unstable than before.

The pulse transmitted through Chief Ji’s sense could not be felt any longer. It meant there was no difference with death.

Dowook became more sure of his decision.

“I will do the procedure. Dr. Hwang, please assist.”

It was a nonsensical proposal from a neurosurgery resident to perform an abdominal procedure in front of a thoracic surgeon. Hwang In-gang was so shocked that he couldn’t even get angry.

“Then, there will be punishment. It crosses the line.”

“Rather than killing the patient at the next arrest, I will cross the line.”

Everyone was astonished by the declaration and looked at Dowook.

Dowook gave the order at the thought that it was a battle of time in seconds.

“Nurse, please look for a balloon catheter. Since it has to go into the femoral artery, tube size no. 7. Dr. Yoon, Dr. Seo, what do you want to do?”

Yoon Jin Cheol had already stepped up to assist Dowook, Seo Dae Jun also looked at him and just stuck next to him.

The nurse rummaged through the emergency kit and found an envelope containing a silicone balloon tube. Even while the envelope was opened and the tools inside were sterilized, Hwang In-gang was looking at the situation sourly.

“Everyone’s just gone crazy.”

Hwang In-gang let out a deep sigh.

“Hey, neurosurgeon. Let me ask you one thing. Does your department also train for severe trauma? Holding the arteries as well for the matter. What kind of response is this?”

“I was taught that this is how it should be in the emergency center.”

“Who? Your teacher?”

“Yes.”

To be more specific, the owner of the sensation at his fingertips, Commander G, said so.

“I’ll get punished for not stopping this anyway, so I’ll help. The emergency doctor should prepare for CPR and Dr. Seo take care of that artery the neurosurgeon is holding.”

Hwang In-gang’s declaration of participation.

The creaking bed no. 2 started to work as if manned by a well-coordinated trauma team.

Dowook touched the thigh with the femoral artery and lightly made an incision with a scalpel.

“The catheter, please. I will start the procedure.”

Chief Ji was standing in the middle of the severe treatment area.

“Don’t miss a single wound! Focus!”

He was screaming in annoyance at the heartbreaking situation.

He exerted power to call over doctors who were not on duty, but the condition of some patients whose life signs were fading could not be improved by effort alone.

Be-be-be-beep!

At the sound of the vital warning for bed no. 4, Chief Ji’s eyes turned without a break.

-Shock! CPR!

Just as he was about to focus on that, the same sound rang out from bed no. 6 when he thought the patient’s condition had improved.

-I have cardiac arrest! Bring the cart! Defibrillator ready!

It was a situation where he wished he had one more body, no, even 10 would not be enough.

He ran to bed no. 4 and pushed in the patient’s crushed shoulder blade. He barely managed to catch the blood vessel broken by the bone and handed it over to the orthopedic surgeon. Then he immediately jumped over to bed no. 6.

He instructed the doctors to insert a drainage tube for a stomach injury that was becoming peritonitis, and once again scolded the doctors who were tired from the continuous CPR.

[TN: Peritonitis-Peritonitis that develops without an abdominal rupture (spontaneous bacterial peritonitis) is usually a complication of liver disease, such as cirrhosis.]

“D*mn it. Not a single one is getting better. You b*stards, hold on to life! We will save you!”

He even burst into anger towards the unconscious patients.

“D*mn it.”

The anesthesiologist, An Hosan, approached Chief Ji who was in despair.

“The nearest operating room is ready. Who should we send up first?”

“The one who can be sent up.”

“Then we can’t send anyone up. None of these patients here are in a condition to be operated on.”

“Just wait.”

After scanning the six beds, the chief’s gaze stopped on bed no. 2.

-Ultrasound! Quickly!

-I know, I know. Dr. Park, you’re a pretty fretful person.

A hospital bed with a young doctor at the center providing first aid to stop abdominal bleeding. That surgery where a balloon was pushed into a blood vessel in the thigh was by no means a usual response.

-Please check the amount of blood loss.

-I’m looking.

Those who checked the ultrasound together, let out a cheer at the same time.

-It’s done! We stopped the bleeding, Dr. Park!

-Insane. We really did it.

Upon achieving stable hemodynamic status, the monitor on bed no.2 also showed positive vital signs. Aortic block resuscitation performed by a young doctor. That was the reason.

[TN: Hemodynamic-Dynamic of blood flow]

“A patient we can send up appeared. Who is that thoracic surgeon? Do you know, Dr. An?”

At Chief Ji’s question, Dr. An also looked at bed no. 2.

“Who…..huh? Dr. Dowook? Dr. Park Dowook is from neurosurgery though?”

“What?”

Chief Ji’s eyes got bigger. An Hosan didn’t know why he reacted like that so he continued.

“He’s quite skilled. There are rumors that he is the next ace in neurosurgery. He’s in his last year of residency but he’s at the same level as the staff.”

Wearing new sterile gloves, Dowook looked around and jumped to bed no. 4.

He waved his hand at the doctor, who was bewildered by the patient’s condition as he spat out blood, and said.

-The lungs are just a bit injured. You just need to insert the tube from the opposite direction. Doctor, you just focus on the popliteal artery. And… uh! There! Control the blood transfusion! There’s an inflammatory reaction!

Chief Ji listened to these words carefully and burst out laughing.

Proposing to throw away the lungs within a second of approaching the patient to save them.

It was the emergency sense disregarding means and methods and was the virtue needed to save multiple critical patients.

He’d just wished for two bodies, and just in time, someone similar was roaming around.

He wasn’t one to ask things from God, but Chief Ji looked at the ceiling brightly lit by LED lights.

“I guess this is His way of telling us to save all these kids.”

Continuing to run around the severe treatment area, Chief Ji wiped his sweat with a towel and shouted.

“Chang Soo! Did you become a doctor just to do that kind of CPR! Beat the heart even if you break the ribs! Seongjun! How can you squeeze the EMBU like that! Match it to your breathing! Orthopedic over there! Aren’t you going to fix that wobbly ankle?! It’s on the verge of sepsis!”

[TN: Emergency Medicine bedside ultrasound (EMBU)]

Let his throat give out, let his feet break. He continued to lead the entire hospital ward.

Be-be-be-beep!

The emergency room was like a battlefield where life and death changed every moment.

Patients, doctors, nurses. There was no one who was not covered in blood.

And

No one had died yet.