Surgery Godfather-Chapter 302 - 0286 Genetic Testing

Chapter 302: Chapter 0286 Genetic Testing

The next day, Wei Danian was out of danger for good.

His blood pH level has returned to the normal range of 7.40; his blood lactic acid also dropped to within the normal range, 1.0mmol/l, and the other electrolytes, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and calcium, all returned to normal range.

Once the patients’ acid-base imbalance and electrolyte disorder were corrected, their internal environment stabilized, and their life was out of danger.

The internal environment of human cells is like a person’s living environment, it needs to be maintained within certain parameters, otherwise survival would be threatened.

Wei Danian’s tracheal intubation was successfully removed, but for safety reasons, he still needed to be monitored in the ICU for one day before being transferred to the regular ward.

In the ICU ward, all the patients were critically ill or in serious danger, and there were always patients who left the world because their rescue measures weren’t enough. Wei Danian could only lay in bed, still connected with various tubes and wires, naturally he was afraid, and he clamored to be discharged, shouting loudly.

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Doctors and nurses kept persuading him, he, a man of 25, was like a child, relentless and unyielding. Left with no options, Dr. An contacted Dr. Jin, preparing to transfer him to the trauma orthopedics department.

But before even hanging up the phone, Wei Danian fell asleep again, his snoring echoing like thunder, after a flutter of snores, suddenly, silence befalls—his heart monitor showing signs indicative of a ceased breath, Dr. An hurriedly loomed close to his nose listening to his breath, his respiration had truly stopped, then, after a moment, Wei Danian opened his eyes, looked around in a daze, and then the thunderous snoring and normal breathing returned.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome, alarmingly harmless, this illness is common in overweight men. It often happens at night due to the collapse and blockage of the upper airway, leading to a pause in breathing, and then the patient wakes up, and the breathing resumes.

“Record the progression of the illness, and after transfer to orthopedics, I suggest a respiratory medicine consultation and sleep apnea monitoring,” Dr. An instructed the standardized trainee standing beside him.

Dr. Jin detailedly inquired Wei Danian’s parents about the number of times and specific months he gets sick each year and drew a statistical chart. Following the pattern shown by the statistical chart, there will be no seizures within three months for now.

Before finding the intrinsic rhythm, this kind of apparent rhythm could also play a predictive role, at least it could guide the patient, which season, which month of the year are the most dangerous for them.

Dr. Jin would report Wei Danian’s examination results in the group chat every day, so everyone could analyze the situation and discuss what to check next.

The blood sugar control was very good, which ruled out the possibility of elevated blood lactic acid caused by diabetes. According to the examination results, the acquired diseases were also ruled out one by one, and everyone’s attention turned to genetic diseases. Although these diseases had been tested for at other hospitals, it was necessary to check again.

Wei Danian’s parents agreed to further investigate the cause of the disease. Doctors were so enthusiastic; they were of course willing to cooperate. Their only son lived in constant fear. If the cause could be identified, targeted treatment could be initiated, perhaps lifting this tight hoop spell.

“Can we get in contact with the genetics lab of Nandu Medical University for gene sequencing?” Yang Ping suggested to Dr. Jin.

If considering any genetic disease, gene sequencing must be carried out to try to find the cause at the genetic level, along with a thorough investigation into family medical history for constructing a genetic pedigree.

“Getting in touch with the genetics lab at Nandu Medical University? Might be a bit difficult!” Dr. Jin replied.

“I’ll try to get in touch!” Yang Ping responded.

“There seems to be a problem with the conversion of pyruvic acid, whether due to enzyme deficiency or abnormal mitochondrial function—the base camp for processing lactic acid. Only gene sequencing can clarify this,” Yang Ping analysed.

“Congenital lactic acidosis is due to the deficiency in the structure or activity of the enzymes involved in the conversion of pyruvic acid. This disorder was first reported by Hartmann et al in 1962. It’s an X-linked disorder; the mutation is on gene Xpz. Affected patients usually show intellectual and motor developmental delay and may have an enlarged liver, cardiomegaly, cataracts, etc.,. I suggest testing the intelligence with an IQ test, assessing motor function, it’s quite strange, this patient doesn’t have an enlarged liver, no cataracts, and the heart size matches his physique,” a doctoral student in endocrinology voiced his opinion.

Contacting Nandu Medical University and finding Su Nanchen is the best way. Yang Ping got in touch with Su Nanchen on WeChat, explained his thoughts, and sent the patient’s records to him. Su Nanchen was very interested; he immediately recommended a young female doctor—Wen Yulin—from the genetics lab at Nandu Medical University.

The efficiency of the internet era is high. Soon, Su Nanchen and Dr. Wen were added to the group. Dr. Jin sent all of Wei Danian’s data again, so they could see it. He also sent the screenshot of everyone’s discussion just now to the group, so they could understand the progress of the discussion.

Dr. Wen was very interested in the case and quickly responded, “Our lab can check for gene fragments and can test if there is a mutation on Xpz.”

“How should the sample be collected and stored? Do we need ethical approval? And what about the cost?”

The group’s discussion started to flood the screen like a snowstorm, with the discussion having escalated from the clinical level to genetic testing, everyone was extremely excited.

This is challenging cooperation, with clinical doctors and basic medical researchers having rare overlaps. When doctors read and do research projects as graduate students, they might have some interactions with basic medical researchers. Once they enter the clinic, they no longer cross paths.

“I’ll send everyone the detailed standard collection and ethical procedures later—” Dr. Wen was quite enthusiastic.

From a patient’s clinical symptoms, tracing the vine to find the melon, gradually deepening the investigation, reaching the level of genetic testing, connecting various isolated knowledge that they usually come across.

This was destined to be no ordinary case. Yang Ping faintly sensed that this case could set a precedent for a completely new diagnosis method, and it was likely that a previously unknown disease might be discovered.

Because, none of the currently known diseases matched the condition of Wei Danian.

Medicine needs this group of passionate and courageous people to challenge the unknown. Without obsession, without madness, it is difficult to forge ahead along the thorny road.

As the Spring Festival drew near, the holiday atmosphere grew increasingly rich. The hospital started to hang red lanterns in advance, and the hospital leaders inspected each department, issuing numerous instructions to arrange holiday shifts and ensure medical safety during holidays.

Usually, at this time, everyone would be discussing the Spring Festival holidays or scrambling for tickets. However, doctors and nurses remained calm, because none of them have holidays or anything of that sort.

Zhang Lin scheduled a duty roster, allowing everyone to review it. Barring any special circumstances, the Spring Festival would proceed according to this schedule.

—

Luo Jin participated in the recording of the hospital’s promotional video, as well as the recording of a documentary featuring the Department of Orthopedics. The TV station added a segment specifically documenting his injury, surgery, and recovery process.

Hermes was discharged from the hospital. He continued his treatment at the outpatient department. Skinny as he was, he was still larger than the average person. He sold a house near the hospital, a duplex of over two hundred square meters, and got over ten million cash from the sale.

This fellow had a head for business. He used the cash to buy a 140 square meter apartment near the hospital for him to live in. He spent the remaining four million to buy a small investment property near the Nandu High-Speed Rail Station. In the end, he still had one million cash on hand, which he would use for his medical expenses and to find opportunities for a comeback.

After all this operation, although his living space had shrunk, he still owned a house, had cash on hand, and owned a small property that could appreciate in value.

During Hermes’ hospitalization, the community near the hospital experienced a hike in property prices. Unexpectedly, upon selling his house now, he not only recovered his medical expenses but also made a significant profit.

Hermes was rather lucky. Although his company had gone bankrupt, other worries, like going to prison, hadn’t come to pass.

Upon hearing about his bankruptcy and potential jail time, his friends and relatives, including those who had often relied on him for help, all severed their ties with Hermes.

When you’re wealthy, even distant relatives become close, but when you’re poor, even close relatives act like strangers.

Previously, even though he was all the way in G City for treatment, friends and relatives would keep calling to express their concern. Messages filled with care would pop up on WeChat, and people often delivered various precious medicinal ingredients to the hospital.

Now, it was as if his phone had lost network access overnight. It was eerily quiet without any incoming calls. Occasionally, when Hermes tried reaching out to friends and relatives through phone calls or WeChat, he met with no response. Some even blocked him outright.

After experiencing these changes and having revisited the oncology department, he had gained a deeper understanding of life. He was no longer upset about his huge loss and faced life calmly.

As Yang Ping told him, “The fact that there is no obvious abnormality on your test results is your biggest fortune.”

Hermes bought a nice sound system, and every day he would have his wife push it to the footbridge next to the hospital. He would belt out the old song “Boundless Oceans Vast Skies”. Having personally experienced the ups and downs of life, he sang with sincere passion and heart, moving the listeners deeply.

Passersby were all moved to tears. Even though there was no begging bowl in front of him, kind-hearted passersby still generously tossed one or ten yuan coins his way.

Hermes picked up the coins and returned them to the passersby. His singing was just a way for him to vent, and although he was down on his luck, he was not so desperate for money.

With the money from selling the house in hand, he could make ends meet by investing in the stock market through his phone daily. At this point, an investing mind was also an essential survival skill.

The third phase of Sisi’s surgery has begun, focusing on treating the tumor in her lungs. The ribs made it very difficult to carry out high-frequency ultrasound focusing on the lungs, as the ultrasound waves could only penetrate through narrow gaps between the ribs.

However, Yang Ping had already run countless simulations in the system space and obtained accurate data. He could use these data to complete the surgery.

Medication, iron, and fire! The energy represented by fire would surely shine brightly in the future.

Perhaps one day, many surgical procedures would not even require minimal invasive incisions, and these forms of energy could be used to remove lesions.

That would be the dawn of a new era.