"Dad, how many times have I told you? But you just don't listen."
"I told you to rest at home, just rest. Can't you understand that?"
"My work is already busy enough, and now with you like this, I have to take care of you, too."
A thirty-nine-year-old woman was scolding an elderly man who bore a resemblance to her.
The old man lowered his head, not saying a word.
Seeing her father like this, Ma Shu shook her head in frustration. "If you weren't my dad, I wouldn't even bother with you."
She took the old man into the emergency department's surgical consultation room.
The doctors on duty were Luo Ming and Wu Ting, who was shadowing him to learn.
"What's the patient's situation?"
Luo Ming looked at the two of them.
"Doctor, here's what happened. My father injured his wrist before and ruptured a tendon. He had a tendon repair surgery done here at your hospital, and it was almost completely healed. I told him to rest at home and not to move it, but he wouldn't listen. He's always looking for something to do."
"Then yesterday, he went out to the building's garbage collection area to pick up cardboard and accidentally hurt it again. Now his entire wrist is swollen, and he can't move it at all."
Listening to the woman's story, Luo Ming got a general idea of the situation. If a ruptured tendon isn't allowed to heal properly, a re-rupture is highly likely, and treating it a second time is very tricky.
"Alright, first, you'll need to go get some imaging done for a proper examination."
As Ma Shu wheeled her father off for the exam, Luo Ming and Wu Ting discussed the case.
"From the looks of it, there's a high probability the patient's tendon has re-ruptured. If so, a second surgery will be the only option. For now, admit him to Bed 19. You'll be responsible for him."
"Once the patient's imaging results are back, I'll go find Dr. Qin and we'll hold a meeting to finalize a treatment plan. A case involving a re-ruptured tendon requires his personal expertise."
Wu Ting had no objections to Luo Ming's plan.
However, Wu Ting took note of some of the patient's details. From the daughter's words, he gathered that the family's financial situation was modest, and the father was collecting cardboard to help make ends meet. Wu Ting couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
City First Hospital was always crowded with patients, so it took a long time to complete Ma Weiguo's examination. The results were just as Luo Ming had predicted: a re-ruptured tendon, with infection present in the surrounding tissue.
After admitting the patient to a ward, Wu Ting immediately hurried to the office, where Qin Donglai was presiding over a preoperative consultation.
In addition to Luo Ming, Cheng Feng had also been called to participate.
When he heard it was a surgery for a ruptured tendon, Cheng Feng's eyes lit up, especially seeing that Wu Ting was also participating.
"Since everyone is here, let's discuss the case and decide on a treatment plan. What ideas do you all have? Go ahead and share."
Qin Donglai already had a plan in mind, but he still wanted to give the junior doctors under him an opportunity. It was both a test and a training exercise.
"Dr. Qin, I've actually been studying quite a few tendon repair cases recently, and I've also spent a good deal of time practicing on animal tendons on my own. I have some thoughts on this patient's condition."
Cheng Feng was the first to speak up.
"First, let me summarize the patient's symptoms. He is suffering from a secondary flexor tendon rupture. On the surface, the cause seems to be that he began manual labor before he was fully healed. However, the root cause is that he was too hasty with his post-operative functional exercises and used improper techniques. This resulted in poor blood circulation to the tendon, meaning it never healed correctly in the first place. With this re-rupture, we can see significant retraction of the tendon ends."
Hearing Cheng Feng's analysis, Qin Donglai was both surprised and gratified.
"That was an excellent and very detailed analysis, Cheng Feng. Now, tell us your proposed treatment plan."
Luo Ming shot him an encouraging look, thinking to himself with a sigh, 'He really is Director Huo's protégé. He's learned how to pick himself up after a fall.'
Cheng Feng, full of enthusiasm, continued to present his case:
"Therefore, I recommend performing a modified tendon suture method combined with an allograft tendon transplantation repair—a cutting-edge technique currently being pioneered internationally!"
"A modified tendon suture method?"
"An allograft tendon transplantation repair?"
Hearing these two terms from Cheng Feng, Qin Donglai and Luo Ming were again taken aback. Allograft tendon repair, in particular, was a very advanced concept.
"I didn't expect you to know about allograft tendon transplantation."
After being so impressed by Wu Ting last time, Qin Donglai was now stunned by Cheng Feng's bold proposal. 'The new generation truly surpasses the old,' he thought.
"Explain in detail."
It was Wu Ting's first time hearing about allograft tendon transplantation repair, so he listened intently. Of course, he had his own treatment plan for the patient as well.
"First, due to the retraction caused by the re-rupture, it will be very difficult to align the tendon ends using a conventional suture. That's why I thought of an allograft tendon repair technique I read about in an international journal. By using a segment of an allograft tendon to bridge the gap, we can perfectly solve the problem of poor apposition caused by the retraction."
"As for the suture method, I would choose a modified Kessler suture technique using absorbable sutures. This method provides better apposition of the tendon ends and leaves the tendon much smoother post-suture. Using absorbable thread also minimizes post-operative complications and reduces the probability of re-rupture or adhesions. Furthermore, this surgical technique is designed to leave behind almost no scarring after healing."
After hearing Cheng Feng's proposal, Qin Donglai fell into deep thought. It was, he had to admit, a highly innovative and feasible surgical technique.
After a moment of thought, Qin Donglai asked:
"With an allograft repair, there is the risk of an immune rejection response. How would you address that?"
Cheng Feng had a confident answer ready. He deliberately glanced at Wu Ting before explaining:
"I've already considered that problem. I looked up an article in an international journal titled, '...TRANSPOSITION OF THE LATERAL SLIPS OF THE APONEUROSIS IN TREATMENT...' It can be solved through tissue regeneration—specifically, through cellular biotherapy."
"...We can use growth factor-β2 to promote tendon remodeling and collagen synthesis, which will eliminate the immune rejection response!"
After finishing, Cheng Feng looked triumphantly at the three of them. In that moment, he was practically glowing!
Qin Donglai looked at Cheng Feng, his eyes filled with admiration and praise.
"Cheng Feng, I have to say, your proposal is theoretically very sound. In fact, the overall prognosis is even better than what I had envisioned. The only issue with this Surgical Technique is its high degree of difficulty, but I believe your innovative thinking is worthy of praise."
"Alright. Wu Ting, Luo Ming, do either of you have any other ideas or surgical plans to propose? I'm going to call Director Huo now. If we're really going to adopt Cheng Feng's new, internationally cutting-edge surgical plan, it needs to be reported to him!"
Hearing that Director Huo would be coming as well, Cheng Feng grew even more excited.
'Looks like today is the day I, Cheng Feng, make my name in one fell swoop!'