Surgery Godfather - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Chapter 0071: Not confident about the surgery?
 

In fact, Director Miao had not left at all, he was standing right at the doorway.

Soon, the door opened, and the family member emerged, holding a document bag with an awkward expression on his face. He spoke to Director Miao in a low voice, “Old Miao, can we step aside to talk?”

The family member was quite familiar with Director Miao, having sought his help multiple times for conditions like cervical spine disease and lumbar disc herniation. If not for this trust in Director Miao, they wouldn’t have entrusted this matter to him.

Director Miao glanced into the office. Director Tian was lounging comfortably, sipping tea, while two young doctors were engrossed in their phones. As to what exactly was happening, he couldn’t quite figure it out yet.

Taking the family member with him, Director Miao headed to the doctors’ duty room. He closed the door behind them, found a bed to sit down on, and said, “Don’t panic, what happened just now? Sit down and tell me!”

The family member too sat on the edge of the bed, his face flushing from anxiety. He wiped his sweat with a tissue, and said, “Old Miao, they refused to accept the consultation fee, adamantly claiming it must be some misunderstanding and told me to find you.”

Whether it was an outright refusal or just a token declination, the family member could tell the difference. If he, a businessman, couldn’t see through such things, he would have wasted all his years of experience.

His heart filled with unease, his initial confidence shattered. “Old Miao, is it because the professor examined my brother and feels the surgery is too uncertain? That’s why he doesn’t dare to accept the consultation fee?”

Remembering the professor’s mention of congenital heart disease, he became even more anxious. Could it be that the heart disease would affect the surgery, adding to its risk? His mind was filled with chaotic thoughts.

He had no doubts about Professor Tian’s skills. Having been in the business world for over 20 years, he was adept at reading people. Even though he wasn’t a medical professional, he could see from the expressions of the onlooking doctors in the ward that Professor Tian was not just ordinarily talented.

He had also been friends with Director Miao for many years. The Professor invited by Director Miao under a “money is not an issue” promise wouldn’t be just any individual. The rationale behind this was quite obvious.

The only plausible explanation: The disease was too severe, beyond treatment. Who dares to accept your consultation fee then? Consider it as volunteering.

If the money had been accepted, the family member would surely be elated and relieved. But now, with the fee not accepted, who could be calm? His feelings were all over the place, like a drum being beaten.

“Old Miao! I’m feeling a bit anxious. How should we proceed? Can you help me with this? I only have one brother. Is his disease in this severe stage now?” The tissue he had used for wiping his sweat was now crumpled in his hand.

Knife-throwing, a term referring to performing surgeries at different hospitals for a certain remuneration, is a very lucrative income source for surgeons.

There are two types of knife-throwing. One where doctors privately go to other hospitals to perform surgeries for a pre-agreed remuneration, commonly known as consultation fee. This practice is somewhat dubious but prevalent, and hospitals usually turn a blind eye to it.

The other type, like the one Professor Tian was involved in, is when a formal consultation request form is sent to Sanbo Hospital’s medical office from Shipo People’s Hospital. The Sanbo Hospital’s medical office then approves the record. This is completely legitimate and reasonable.

As for the price, it’s agreed upon by both parties; there’s not much to comment on. The rates for surgeries performed by the professor are clearly marked.

Director Miao stroked his chin, pondering for a while. Suddenly remembering something, he said to the family member, “You might be overthinking this. If you trust me, you can give the money to me, and I’ll handle it.”

“Old Miao, what are you talking about? There’s nothing to doubt you. Last time when my father had rectal cancer surgery, wasn’t it you who handled it perfectly? We can’t thank you enough. Honestly, with my brother’s condition, if we had to transfer him to a provincial hospital for surgery, not to mention the risks on the road, the costs would be several times higher in the city. Without any acquaintances, we wouldn’t even be able to secure a bed. We’d end up dragging the severely ill patient around aimlessly. Your decision to invite Professor Tian to perform the surgery has been a great help. My whole family is truly grateful.” The family member was sincere, he gave three packets to Director Miao while instructing, “This one’s for Professor Tian, these two are for his assistants.”

Director Miao casually took a pen out of his white gown, circled the packet meant for Professor Tian, and wrote a few words as a distinction, so the packets wouldn’t be switched later on.

Only after this urgent discussion did the situation seem to have a handle. Hearing Director Miao’s words comforted the family member as if a weight was lifted from his heart. As long as the professor was willing to accept the consultation fee, it meant the surgery had a very high chance of success.

Being the eldest, the entire responsibility was on him. If everything went well, no one would acknowledge his efforts. But if something went wrong, everyone would blame him.

Director Miao sent the family member out of the duty room, reassuring him to wait patiently in the ward for the patient’s transportation to the operating room.

Looking at the time, it was time for lunch, Song Zimo turned to Professor Tian in the director’s office, “Professor Tian, should we go for lunch?”

Director Tian took another sip of tea and said, “Let’s go, let’s have our meal early and take a break.”

Yang Ping and Song Zimo put away their phones.

The lunch was arranged in the hospital’s cafeteria. Though it was just a few stir-fry dishes, they were still prepared with care.

Director Miao said, “Please make do with lunch. Tonight, we will have a good gathering. President Dong will also be joining us. He said he must thank you all. Director Han has given us enormous support in orthopedics over the years. See, these past years, our orthopedic department has evolved from being mixed in with general surgery, to becoming a separate department, and now we have expanded to ninety beds. This is all thanks to the help of Director Han.”

Director Tian said, “You guys are also putting in a lot of effort. Everyone knows that Director Miao’s professional skills and management level are exceptional. If you weren’t effective, even with Director Han’s help, you wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything. Other counties also invited support from hospitals in the provincial capital, but they haven’t achieved any results.”

Director Tian had a way with words that was always well-received.

Doctors in higher and lower-ranking hospitals have a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship.

Doctors from lower-ranking hospitals maintain good relationships with professors from higher-ranking hospitals, so they can consult the professors if they encounter any problems. If the situation gets complicated, they may request professors to fly over and assist with surgeries. When implementing new techniques, the professor can provide hands-on guidance. Having connections also makes job promotions smoother.

In short, there are plenty of benefits.

As for higher-ranking hospitals, they often receive lots of patients and many come for advanced studies. These doctors, once they have completed their training, are key members in their departments. If they encounter complex cases they can’t handle, they send those patients to the hospitals where they trained since they are familiar with these hospitals and the people there are easy to cooperate with.

Whether it was due to hunger or the unique taste of the dishes in a small county town, everyone had a hearty meal.

After checking the time, Director Miao offered to drive them all to the hotel across from the hospital to rest for two hours. They would then return to prepare for the surgery scheduled for two o’clock.

They took a brief nap at the hotel to gather energy. Performing surgery is a task that drains both mental and physical resources, especially for major operations.

Two hours later, Director Miao called to inform that the patient had been sent to the operating room and was being anesthetized. He was now coming to pick them up.

They rode Director Miao’s car to the hospital and followed him into the operating room.

Director Miao was very enthusiastic, helping them with their surgery gowns, masks, and caps, and asking the head nurse for the locker key.

In the changing room, Director Miao took out three envelopes from his bag and handed them to Professor Tian, “This is a consultation fee from our hospital for your hard work.”

Professor Tian hesitated slightly.

Director Miao said, “Why so formal? There are plenty of times in future we will need your help again. We can’t let you work for free.”

Professor Tian accepted the envelopes, handed them to Song Zimo, who put them back into the bag. Then, using Director Miao’s key, he opened the locker and locked the bag inside.

“I sent over pictures of the instruments last time,” Director Miao said.

“Yes, I’ve seen them. No problem. We will use those,” Professor Tian had already changed his clothes.

After changing into surgical gowns and putting on caps and masks, everyone followed Director Miao into the operating room.