Surgeons Episode 36 Recap
> Surgeons Recap
Following a call from Chen Shaocong, Lu Chenxi arrived to intubate a child. Her relationship with Chu Jun seemed to soften as Lu Chenxi offered Chu Jun the opportunity to learn during the procedure. Working together, they successfully intubated the child, and Lu Chenxi affirmed Chu Jun's excellent performance. The successful intubation brought relief to everyone.
Not only was the child saved, but the doctors had proceeded with treatment without a guardian's signature, a decision that carried significant responsibility if anything went wrong. Outside the room, Zhang Xiaohan, the child's mother, wept tears of relief upon hearing her baby was out of danger. After the intense rescue, Yang Yu confided in Chen Shaocong that she was pregnant. Chen Shaocong, initially distracted and talking about his exhaustion from running and craving noodles, was shocked by the news.
He asked why she hadn't told him earlier, and Yang Yu explained that she had initially planned to abort the baby. She worried about their difficult family situation, Chen Shaocong's "personality," and her demanding job, wondering who would care for a child. However, seeing him run with the rescued child filled her with confidence that he would be a good father, making her unable to go through with an abortion.
Chen Shaocong's eyes welled up as he realized, "So the one I saved was my own child." Yang Yu cautioned him to consider the difficulties they might face with a child. Undeterred, Chen Shaocong immediately called his mother, asking about soy sauce, then took Yang Yu to his surprisingly affluent home to meet his parents. Yang Fan and Director Jiang discussed Director Jiang's father's surgery in Yang Fan's office.
Director Jiang expressed confidence in Lu Chenxi, stating that she was unmatched in esophageal cancer surgery in Jialin City, and asked Yang Fan to trust her. Yang Fan agreed, even downplaying past rumors of conflict. Director Jiang mentioned that for the next two to three years, he would decrease the sales of his company's surgical staplers at Renhe Hospital while increasing promotions elsewhere to maintain profits.
However, Yang Fan insisted that not only staplers, but the purchased volume of other Pioneer Medical Treatment Corporation instruments and equipment must also be gradually reduced, especially after the drug-resistant organism outbreak. Director Jiang asserted that their equipment was flawless and could withstand any investigation, attributing the outbreak to high patient density and inadequate disinfection during disaster relief. Yang Fan agreed that the equipment was up to standard but highlighted that someone had died, which was the problematic part.
Director Jiang then understood Yang Fan's true concern: he was not worried about them investigating the equipment; he was worried that someone would focus the investigation on him. Yang Fan admitted that "these are special times" requiring caution in their actions, hoping for Director Jiang's understanding. Director Jiang scoffed, asking if Yang Fan felt they were no longer needed since his son, Yang Zixuan, was finishing postgraduate studies.
Yang Fan passionately wished Director Jiang would fire Yang Zixuan, referencing Yang Zixuan's sharp dissertation published in "Tumor Science Journal." He pointed out that while the dissertation contained mere "numbers" to the casual reader, if someone truly scrutinized Renhe's usage of Pioneer equipment, those numbers could be seen as damning evidence. Director Jiang showed a hint of worry upon hearing this. Lu Chenxi's mother remained in a coma, her recovery uncertain despite normal vital signs.
Lu Chenxi had been neglecting herself, going straight to her mother's side after work without even combing her hair or washing her face. Her father expressed his concern, urging her to stop living like that. He questioned how long she planned to live in such a state, emphasizing that her mother wouldn't want to see her like this, nor would a patient want a doctor in such disarray.
Lu Chenxi, acknowledging his words, promised to try her best and wash her face. Her father then encouraged her to spend the upcoming Sunday relaxing and shopping with Zhuang Shu and Chen Shaocong, rather than accompanying him at the hospital. He reminded her that for her mother's situation, they could only focus on the process, not the outcome, doing their best while preparing for the worst.
He also shared some wisdom, words Lu Chenxi often offered her patients: "A person will not always have good fortunes in his life. You cannot mess up your life just because of one bad fortune. If you continue like this, you will scare all the other good fortunes away." Lu Chenxi jokingly suggested he should join the psychiatry department, to which her father simply told her to wash her face and go to work.
Yang Zixuan was deeply frustrated, unable to obtain the necessary data for his dissertation because Yang Fan had seemingly extended his influence to block his access even at Jinyang Central Hospital. Despite having signed permissions, the hospital repeatedly postponed giving him the data. Chen Shaocong offered to help, explaining his "rule": when seeking something, it's often more effective to find the person who holds the "keys" rather than going to the "boss."
He revealed that the programmer in charge of electronic medical records at Jinyang Central Hospital, Rong Rong, was an old friend of his. He warned Yang Zixuan to pretend not to see or hear anything unusual during their visit. Rong Rong, recognizing Chen Shaocong, was happy to help, confirming that she alone managed the electronic data. She quickly provided Yang Zixuan with the necessary files.
However, she then turned her attention to Chen Shaocong, expressing romantic interest and inviting him to meet her father. Caught off guard, Chen Shaocong tried to politely decline, stating he had to accompany his wife for a prenatal check-up that afternoon. Rong Rong, furious at learning he was married, immediately expelled both Chen Shaocong and Yang Zixuan from her office, throwing the data back at them.
Outside, Yang Zixuan playfully teased Chen Shaocong about his "Sister Yang" (Yang Yu) knowing about Rong Rong, to which Chen Shaocong threatened to break his leg if he ever mentioned it to Yang Yu. Immediately after leaving Jinyang Central Hospital, Chen Shaocong received a phone call from Yang Yu informing him of an emergency meeting at Renhe. An investigation team had been formed by the hospital administration to examine the case of Lu Chenxi's mother.
All doctors and nurses involved in her resuscitation were required to attend and be questioned individually. Upon returning to the hospital, Chen Shaocong spoke with Lu Chenxi, who already expected the investigation. He relayed that the investigators had meticulously questioned him about the blood loss, her mother's condition, and specific timings.
He confirmed that he mentioned Zhuang Shu and their actions from the ambulance to the transfer to Zhuang Shu's care, but the questioning stopped before her mother entered the operating room. Lu Chenxi asked why she hadn't been called, to which Chen Shaocong suggested it was because the hospital already knew of their close relationship and her unwavering support for Zhuang Shu.
He also tried to reassure her, explaining that hypothermia induction was a dangerous method, so an investigation was normal. Lu Chenxi expressed doubt that it was that simple, and asked him to cover for her, as she intended to go somewhere. Chen Shaocong warned her not to cause trouble by approaching the administration, but Lu Chenxi stated she wasn't going there. Meanwhile, Lin Huan and her lawyer arrived at the hospital to negotiate with Yang Fan regarding Lin Hao's death.
Just as they were conversing, Lu Chenxi, intending to discuss her mother's case with Yang Fan, entered the office. Seeing a meeting in progress, she began to leave, but Yang Fan called her back. He asked Lu Chenxi, as Lin Hao's initial doctor and a specialist, to explain the drug-resistant bacterial strain infection to Lin Huan.
Lu Chenxi apologized for being unable to save Lin Hao's life, explaining that despite similar syndromes, patients and bacteria differ, leading to varying treatment effects. She tragically noted that Lin Hao was one of those "rare differences." However, Lin Huan, while personally grateful to Lu Chenxi, remained unconvinced. She insisted that her father's condition worsened only after an HIV-positive patient was transferred to his room, and rejected the explanation of individual health differences.
Yang Fan then offered Lin Huan two options: either request the city medical mediation committee to intervene and assess for medical malpractice, or file a direct lawsuit in court. Lin Huan's lawyer agreed to let the Medical Mediation Committee handle the matter, bringing the discussion to a close for the day. After the meeting with Lin Huan, Lu Chenxi stayed behind to speak with Yang Fan about her mother's induced hypothermia surgery, eager to defend Zhuang Shu.
Yang Fan, however, appeared annoyed, asking what was the point of her coming to him. He defended his own position by saying he was the one who invited Zhuang Shu to the hospital and would naturally defend him, implying he wasn't behind the investigation. He emphasized that he, as Zhuang Shu's direct superior, had to recuse himself from the investigation, making her appeal to him useless.
Lu Chenxi insisted that as a patient's family member, and having approved Zhuang Shu's treatment, she wanted to explain that he didn't break any rules. Yang Fan retorted that it wasn't up to the patient's family to decide if a doctor broke rules, especially when Zhuang Shu had used a "special" treatment method. He clarified that the hospital affairs committee was conducting the investigation, and no conclusion had been reached yet.
Lu Chenxi then questioned why she, as one of the initial doctors on the case who also participated in the surgery, hadn't been called for questioning. Yang Fan dismissed her concern, stating that the committee would question her when the time was right, and advised her to prioritize caring for her mother. He subtly hinted that the hospital was also considering her mental state and her relationship with Zhuang Shu, implying that her bias was obvious.
Fu Bowen sought out Zhuang Shu, wanting to provide an explanation before leaving the hospital for the nursing center. He began by showing Zhuang Shu a framed piece of calligraphy, "Initial Intention," written by his late teacher, Dean Shen Tao. Fu Bowen reflected on the difficulty of truly embodying such principles. He then asked Zhuang Shu to remove the frame from the wall.
From inside the frame, Fu Bowen retrieved the original drug procurement form for lidocaine, dated September 3, 1984, personally written by Zhang Shu Mei (Zhuang Shu's mother). Zhuang Shu looked at the document, clearly in disbelief. Fu Bowen took Zhuang Shu to the hospital rooftop, a place where he and Lao Zhong (Zhong Xibei) often smoked in the past. There, he confessed the full story of what happened thirty years ago.
He recalled that on that fateful morning, Zhuang Shu's mother, Zhang Shu Mei, informed him that patient Lu Zhong He was experiencing intermittent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) post-surgery. Fu Bowen then ordered her to administer lidocaine if the PVCs became persistent. Subsequently, Zhang Shu Mei injected Lu Zhong He with lidocaine, which caused a severe hypersensitivity reaction and respiratory distress. The then-Director of Thoracic Surgery, Xiu Min Qi, immediately suspected lidocaine allergy, a condition barely known at the time.
They realized that truthfully reporting the incident would not only jeopardize their careers with significant responsibility but also halt the lung transplant project, which they had painstakingly worked for years to get approved. Therefore, Fu Bowen and Xiu Min Qi coerced Cao Guang Yi, the pharmacy head, to immediately fabricate a procurement request for penicillin under Zhang Shu Mei's name. Despite Cao Guang Yi's reluctance, he complied. However, just as Fu Bowen was about to burn the original lidocaine procurement receipt, he hesitated and instead secreted it away.
