Surgeons Episode 32 Recap
> Surgeons Recap
Distraught by the recent events, Lu Chenxi was unwilling to go home, choosing instead to stay in Zhuang Shu's office. When Zhuang Shu offered to take her home to rest, she declined, stating she would just cry if she lay on her bed and asking to remain in his office for a while. Zhuang Shu covered her with a blanket, encouraging her to sleep.
Lu Chenxi then lamented that she would no longer see Professor Zhong in the ER and noted that Fu Bowen had retired. She confessed that Zhuang Shu was now the only person she could rely on at Renhe Hospital, asking him if he could renew his contract and stay longer, to which he agreed he also wanted to stay.
She reflected on her past strength, feeling that she was outstanding and nothing could topple her, but today she felt weaker, attributing it to finally having someone to lean on. Observing life's impermanence, Lu Chenxi admitted to being a little scared, fearing she would be alone when she left the world, and desired to cherish every moment with the person she loved, confessing that she wanted to get married. She also expressed how much she missed Professor Zhong.
As Lu Chenxi slept, Zhuang Shu silently pondered his return to Renhe, acknowledging it as a place of conflicting emotions: some people earned his respect, others made him feel helpless, and some he could not face. He wondered how long he could persist in his mission without Professor Zhong's guidance. Shortly after, Zhuang Shu received an urgent call that Lin Hao was critically ill again.
Rushing to his bedside, Zhuang Shu watched as Lin Hao refused a ventilator, instead comforting his daughter, Lin Huan, and telling her to live well with her mother, assuring her of their love. After a final, expectant look at Zhuang Shu, Lin Hao peacefully passed away. Overcome with grief and anger, Lin Huan lashed out at Zhuang Shu, blaming him for not removing the HIV-positive patient and for failing to save her father, threatening to sue him.
Zhuang Shu could only bow in apology. The commotion woke Lu Chenxi, who, seeing Zhuang Shu's distress, embraced and comforted him, assuring him he had done his best. Zhuang Shu then decided to reveal everything, telling Lu Chenxi that Lin Huan was his biological younger sister and disclosing his true identity and the full story of their shared past. The weight of these revelations left both of them struggling to process the profound truth.
Three weeks later, the ER continued its operations, but Professor Zhong's absence was deeply felt, especially by Chen Shaocong, who remained in a state of profound sadness and self-reproach, appearing utterly despondent. Lu Chenxi and Zhuang Shu's relationship had grown distant and awkward. On their way to the hospital, they walked far apart, like strangers, reflecting their strained interaction.
Zhuang Shu informed Lu Chenxi of his intention to move out soon, citing the hospital's recent busyness, to which she responded with cold indifference, telling him to move whenever he pleased. She inquired if Lin Huan was indeed planning to sue the hospital, and Zhuang Shu confirmed it was to be expected. Lu Chenxi then expressed her hope that Lin Huan would sue only him, not the entire hospital.
Zhuang Shu offered her a new pair of golf gloves, which she declined before leaving for work. Despite her own emotional turmoil, Lu Chenxi, while at work, noticed a colleague's charting error and gently corrected it, advising him to rest. Meanwhile, Zhuang Shu pursued his investigation into Lin Hao's death. The bacterial culture revealed that Lin Hao was infected with a multi-drug resistant E. coli strain, unresponsive to several antibiotics.
This suggested that his condition was not merely due to a weak constitution, but potentially a unique and persistent new strain that had misled their initial assessment. Although Lin Hao had passed, Zhuang Shu was determined to find the true cause. He proposed sending the sample to UCLA's microbiology lab for a comprehensive analysis, offering to cover the expenses himself to ascertain if the bacterial subtype had changed or if he had handled the case inappropriately.
Yang Fan acknowledged Zhuang Shu's meticulousness but pointed out the extensive bureaucratic procedures required for international sample transfer. Unbeknownst to Yang Fan, Zhuang Shu had already taken action. Yang Fan later visited the lab, inquiring about the analysis of Lin Hao's drug-resistant strain, only to learn from a technician that the sample had already been sent away.
Zhuang Shu then appeared, explaining that he had consulted Director Sun, who informed him of Beijing's CDC's collaboration with UCLA's lab, prompting him to send the sample directly to Beijing. Yang Fan, though initially surprised, conceded that it abided by the rules and remarked on Zhuang Shu's decisive action. In another conversation at the ER, colleagues discussed Chen Shaocong's continued despair over Professor Zhong, noting that even Zhuang Shu seemed to be drooping lately.
Not far from Renhe Hospital, a severe car accident occurred, with a passenger trapped inside, requiring an on-site thoracic surgery expert due to a car door piercing the chest. Lu Chenxi responded with the ambulance, accompanied by Chen Shaocong. Upon reaching the scene, Lu Chenxi assessed the critical condition of the injured passenger, noting that the broken car part had punctured the vena cava, threatening massive hemorrhage.
Just as she prepared to extract the door, she discovered a necklace on the bloodied victim, realizing with a jolt of horror that the injured person was her own mother. Her parents had been on their way to the hospital to bring breakfast. Despite her profound shock and anguish, Lu Chenxi, drawing on her professional duty, quickly regained composure and took charge of the chaotic rescue efforts, directing the team.
With her mother's life hanging by a thread and requiring a large quantity of her rare Rh-negative blood, Lu Chenxi was overwhelmed with despair. She instructed Chen Shaocong to immediately call Zhuang Shu at the ER, informing him of the critical situation and that the victim was her mother, and to request 6 units of type O, Rh-negative packed red blood cells from the blood bank. Zhuang Shu received the urgent page about Lu Chenxi's mother's accident.
Shortly after, Chen Shaocong called Lu Chenxi, informing her that while three units of Rh-negative blood were on their way, it would take 40 minutes, and the remaining three units would require another hour to gather. Lu Chenxi, distraught, questioned who could survive an hour of hypoxia. She then called Zhuang Shu directly, her voice filled with desperation, screaming that her mother was the injured victim and pleading with him to find a way to save her.
After confirming the vena cava injury and the critical blood shortage, Zhuang Shu silently processed the information. As Lu Chenxi's fear grew, Zhuang Shu proposed a high-risk solution: "induced hypothermia" and "induced coma" to "forcefully steal one hour" and buy time for the blood to arrive. He immediately called the ER, requesting 1200 ml of 0-degree saline solution and arranging for OR room 2 to be ready in 5 minutes.
He instructed the team to perform chest opening and anesthesia simultaneously upon the patient's arrival to prevent any delay. Induced hypothermia reduces cellular activity and organ oxygen consumption, effectively placing the patient in a temporary vegetative state – neither truly dead nor fully alive – to gain crucial time for surgery.
However, this method carries immense risks: exceeding the safe duration could lead to permanent brain damage, and in the event of death, an autopsy might attribute organ failure to the hypothermia, potentially ending the surgeon's career. Despite these severe professional and ethical risks, Zhuang Shu, fully aware of the stakes, chose to proceed to give Lu Chenxi's mother this slim chance. Soon after, Lu Chenxi's mother arrived at the hospital, and Zhuang Shu immediately began the emergency treatment, infusing the hypothermic saline.
