Surgery Godfather-Chapter 351 - 0334 Scaring Yourself

Chapter 351 -0334 Scaring Yourself

The day after the surgery, the child said he hadn’t felt any pain all night.

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The child’s father was certain that the root of the illness had been completely removed, but then a problem arose: the number of friends who had asked him to get in touch with Doctor Yang had grown to more than ten, and they were all from G City.

He had only spoken a few words with Doctor Yang when discussing his child’s illness; they were hardly acquainted.

But he had spoken out of turn, claiming on a whim that he was familiar with Doctor Yang. Now his friends wanted him to arrange an appointment, eager to see the doctor for a consultation as soon as possible.

After making rounds, the child’s father followed Yang Ping to his office, “Doctor Yang, I am Zhang Zhe’s father—”

“Do you need something?” Yang Ping asked, seeing his hesitance.

“Doctor Yang, I have more than ten friends whose children have conditions similar to Zhang Zhe’s. They want to bring their kids to see you for treatment, hoping for the same surgery to remove the root of the problem.”

More than ten? He guessed they were parents troubled by their children’s “growing pains.”

“Most children’s pain is not a serious issue. Your child’s condition is relatively rare, and not every child requires such surgery.”

Yang Ping felt he had a deep misunderstanding, believing that all “growing pains” had an underlying root that surgery could remove, naturally eliminating the pain.

“Everyone is anxious, Doctor Yang. Please, could you see when you might have time to help us all out?” Zhang Zhe’s father finally blurted out his request.

“Have them come precisely at 4:30 p.m. to the teaching room. I’ll hold a free clinic for everyone. Zhang Lin, you’ll be responsible for the reception and arrangements,” Yang Ping said, noting his urgency.

Any pain has a cause, and if the cause can’t be found, at a minimum, other rare, serious diseases must be ruled out to reassure the parents.

With chronic, recurrent pain, certain basic tests definitely have to be conducted, or else falling into the trap of low probability can delay treatment of an illness, leading to regret.

The development of medicine has been a gradual process from ambiguity to precision, from reliance on experience to evidence-based practice. Testing may not always find a problem, but it can also confirm the absence of feared issues, such as tumors.

Upon hearing Yang Ping agree, Zhang Zhe’s father immediately posted in the group chat: “Everyone hurry, this afternoon at four o’clock, meet at the main entrance of Sanbo Hospital’s Comprehensive Orthopedics, don’t be late.”

Zhang Zhe’s father felt empowered, and there was nothing he could do about it—after all, he knew such an impressive doctor. Everyone had to depend on him and count on his help.

If it were his own matter, he would likely make various excuses to delay, not taking it to heart as he did with his child’s well-being, which could not afford a moment’s delay.

That afternoon, aside from a few special cases, a dozen parents, either fathers or mothers, led their children to the Comprehensive Orthopedics entrance.

The security guards thought some group incident had occurred and came to inquire. When told they were there to see a doctor, the guards didn’t press further.

Zhang Zhe’s father called out, directing everyone to line up, reminding them of the etiquette during the medical consultation and to cherish the hard-earned appointment time.

The parents were immensely grateful. Zhang Zhe’s father had never before held such a leadership position among a group of people, or received such respect. He felt as if he had done a great service for everyone, and his pride soared.

Following him, they took the elevator to the Comprehensive Orthopedics Ward. As they passed by, Zhang’s father greeted every doctor and nurse, demonstrating his familiarity with the place.

Zhang Lin led them to the teaching room, and Little Five offered water to everyone. With the parents and their kids, there were almost thirty people gathered, a modestly sized group.

At 4:30 p.m., Yang Ping appeared on time. Despite his youth, his unique demeanor inspired great trust among everyone.

Some had already had tests done and brought their X-rays, while others had never gone through an examination and now felt somewhat worried and afraid. But then they thought, it was only about removing the root of the illness; it was nothing too serious.

“In fact, most children’s lower limb pain is not a major issue, and you don’t need to be overly anxious. Everyone’s situation is different, and surgery isn’t always necessary. For example, Zhang Zhe’s circumstances are relatively rare. For chronic, recurrent pain, necessary tests still have to be done. The tests are not solely to diagnose an illness but more importantly to rule one out. Necessary testing is not overtreatment.”

Yang Ping began with these opening remarks to alleviate everyone’s excessive anxiety.

Then they proceeded to consult with the patients in order, those without test results first, and those with results after.

Even for a hastily organized free clinic, Yang Ping was still meticulous and serious, with no intention of skimping.

With each child, he would ask about their medical history, personally examine them, and the X-rays had to be carefully reviewed on the light box; he never just held them up to natural light for a quick glance.

“This child is likely to have an osteoid osteoma, with pain in the proximal part of the left lower leg, night pain, and progressively worsening. Oral aspirin can relieve the pain. Doctors at Fuer have already conducted diagnostic treatment and recommended an X-ray considering osteoid osteoma. Why haven’t you had one taken?” Yang Ping wondered, as the medical history written by the doctors was very clear.

“X-rays have nuclear radiation, and my child has never had this disease before, and no one in my family has ever had it. I looked it up online, and it’s just growing pains.”

“You should listen to the doctor, get the X-ray done quickly. Once diagnosed, proceed with surgery for resection and then a pathological examination. Don’t worry too much; if it’s an osteoid osteoma, it’s benign, and as long as it’s completely removed, the likelihood of recurrence after surgery is very low. Every diagnostic and therapeutic activity is a choice made after weighing the pros and cons. Not performing needed tests, you’ll delay the illness,” Yang Ping had to explain to him.

“Doctor Yang, there’s something I don’t understand. Can you explain in detail why you can determine this just by looking, and if you’re so sure, why do we still need to get an X-ray? Also, isn’t there a way to treat this disease with medication? Why must it be surgery?” This parent liked to get to the bottom of things.

Placing him first, who knew he was going to be so fussy. When a doctor tells you to get checked, you go do it. If you want to probe deeper, will the others still get their turn?

“You want to understand? First, go read all the textbooks for a five-year bachelor’s degree in clinical medicine, then study the textbooks for a master’s and doctorate in orthopedics, and after that, read a hundred academic papers on bone tumors. Find an orthopedic and oncology department in a hospital, train as an apprentice for a few years, then come back and discuss with me slowly. Right now, everyone’s in a hurry, it’s not suitable for discussion. Little Five, could you arrange a left knee joint anteroposterior and lateral view for him? Be quick, the imaging department is closing soon.”

The parent wanted to discuss a few more points but was taken away by Little Five. The parents behind, with their children, immediately filled the vacancy, and Yang Ping moved on to examine the next child.

“Your child has flat feet, which leads to excessive internal rotation of the lower leg when bearing weight. Have a pair of flatfoot orthopedic insoles made to elevate the arch and correct the internal rotation of the lower legs. The pain should be relieved,” Yang Ping advised the parent.

“Flatfoot deformity? Can’t be, that should be hereditary. Look at my feet, aren’t they normal?” The child’s father immediately took off his shoes and stepped on a piece of paper that Yang Ping provided.

“Your arches are normal,” Yang Ping glanced.

The child’s father was a bit confused: “I don’t have flat feet? Then how does he have flat feet?”

“Flat feet tend to be hereditary, but it doesn’t mean they absolutely are. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. Some people can be stubborn and sensitive, and if you keep thinking about it, you might end up with a misconception,” Yang Ping said, fearing the man might take it the wrong way.

Next was a mother with her ten-year-old daughter, who had pain on the inner side of her right thigh, particularly after exercise. Yang Ping called a nurse to accompany them to the examination room. Upon returning, he said, “Dance leg presses injured the adductor muscles; take her to the rehabilitation department for adductor muscle recovery training.”

“No problem with that. It’s caused by lactic acid buildup or minor muscle fiber injuries due to exercise. Take a warm bath in the evening.”

“Look, there’s a slight deformity in the ribcage and both lower limbs are slightly bow-legged. Did he have rickets as a child? Increase outdoor sports, get some sunshine, and take calcium supplements.”

After seeing more than a dozen children, Yang Ping slowly finished. A few had other diseases, but most of them had no problems and were attributed to lactic acid buildup or minor muscle fiber injuries from exercise. Warm baths after more strenuous activities could usually provide relief.

The parents were all pleased and felt much more secure, knowing the cause of the pain and the solutions to deal with it. The face of the parent of the child being considered for osteoid osteoma was ashen.

Yang Ping asked Little Five to help contact the radiology department to quickly arrange the X-ray. After the X-ray was done, they should come back to the Orthopedics general ward, and Yang Ping would explain the condition to the child’s father in person. This wasn’t the time to be unclear, as the whole family might not sleep well that night.

Under Little Five’s supervision, the X-rays were swiftly completed, and the parent, with their child, took the X-rays and reports back to the Orthopedics general ward.

Yang Ping opened the X-ray on the electronic review screen: indeed, there was a small osteoid osteoma on the proximal part of the left tibia. The medical history, physical examination, and X-rays, all three combined, led to an unquestionable diagnosis of osteoid osteoma. However, a final definitive diagnosis would rely on a postoperative pathological examination.

“Where’s your child?” Yang Ping only saw the parent coming in. “Such a big kid should understand this for himself; otherwise, he might feel burdened.”

The father, seeing the slight bone prominence on the X-ray, was gloomy and sighed, “Doctor, you were right, it really is an osteosarcoma. Doctor, this is too much for me to take in at once, but don’t comfort me; just tell it like it is. I just checked on Baidu, and osteosarcoma is malignant, highly malignant, and incurable.”

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and tears flowed.

“Calm down, look carefully at these words: ‘considering osteoid osteoma,’ not ‘osteosarcoma.’ It’s different,” Yang Ping corrected him.

“It’s almost the same, one grows inside the flesh, the other inside the bone.” The child’s father rubbed his eyes.

“Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor, osteoid osteoma is benign. With osteoid osteoma, you just need surgery for a complete resection, scaring yourself for no reason. Pick a time for the child to be admitted and have the surgery done. It will only take three days; admit the day before, operate the next day, and be discharged the third day, followed by a pathological examination after surgery, so that everyone is assured. Don’t go searching aimlessly at night.”

Then, Zhang Lin brought out a textbook of “Surgery,” flipped to the chapter on osteoid osteomas, and pointed for him to look: “See, this is osteoid osteoma, and this is osteosarcoma. Read it for yourself.”

The child’s father read it slowly, word by word, and then burst into a smile, “It really is different.”

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