The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 565: Pregnant woman with sudden internal bleeding

Chapter 565: Pregnant woman with sudden internal bleeding

Early the next morning, in Zhou Shuwen’s office, Liu Banxia and Wang Chao anxiously watched Zhou Shuwen, who was deep in thought.

No fecal transplant procedure had ever been performed in the Second Hospital, so whether it could proceed depended entirely on Zhou Shuwen’s approval. Without his consent, all their efforts would be futile.

"How confident are you two that you can handle this successfully?" Zhou Shuwen finally asked.

Liu Banxia glanced at Wang Chao, signaling that he was the main person for this.

"Director, the principle of fecal separation is quite simple; we just need to extract the beneficial bacteria from the stool," Wang Chao explained.

"However, the challenge lies in selecting healthy donor samples. This aspect is crucial to the treatment plan. Therefore, President Liu plans to help by visiting nearby schools during the lunch break to look for potential donors."

Liu Banxia gave him a helpless look. Why is this guy dragging me into this?

"Are you planning to search among the student population? But from what I understand, there aren’t that many truly healthy individuals among students these days, are there?" Zhou Shuwen inquired with a smile. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"It’s just an attempt. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to recruit from the general public," Liu Banxia replied.

"You’re overlooking something obvious. You could also try the military," Zhou Shuwen suggested with a smile.

"Compared to the general population, military personnel have more regular diets. They also have daily training requirements, so their physical condition should be much better, right?"

"Director, does this mean you approve?" Liu Banxia asked, his voice filled with excitement.

Zhou Shuwen nodded with a smile. "What’s there not to approve? As long as your intention is to treat the patient, not to make a name for yourselves, then you can proceed."

"But make sure you read up more on the relevant literature. Even though the procedure itself is simple, its impact on the patient can be significant. You can’t just focus on the successes and ignore the inherent risks."

"Don’t worry, Director. We’ve also explained the situation thoroughly to the patient’s family," Liu Banxia assured him.

"Actually, we only considered this due to the patient’s family’s strong insistence. We had previously wanted to intervene surgically to spare the patient further suffering, but after consideration, they opted for conservative treatment."

"Fecal transplantation is just one treatment avenue we’re exploring. If the patient’s condition doesn’t improve, or if their vital signs decline, we will still opt for surgical intervention."

This needed to be stated clearly. Even as Zhou Shuwen’s disciples, they had to be explicit about their stance on the matter.

Researching this treatment method wasn’t for glory but for healing patients. More accurately, it was the desire to cure diseases that drove this line of research.

Coming out of Zhou Shuwen’s office, Liu Banxia lightly thumped Wang Chao’s shoulder.

"Don’t blame me, alright? If it were just me, I wouldn’t have the guts. I’ve lived this long and never faced this much pressure. I absolutely had to find someone to share the burden," Wang Chao hastily explained.

"I’ll certainly cooperate with whatever you need from me, but you’ll have to handle the relevant research and information gathering yourself," Liu Banxia said.

"Don’t you realize how busy the emergency center is? I can’t just dump my duties as chief resident on the director, can I? If you think that’s acceptable, I’ll go tell him right now."

"Brother, my dear brother, your moral support is all I need. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on by myself," Wang Chao lamented, his face etched with misery.

"Sigh... I know you’re under a lot of pressure. But in this area, forget our emergency center; even the entire Second Hospital has no accumulated data," Liu Banxia pointed out.

"Do your best, study hard, and I’ll definitely support you spiritually. You’ll become the Second Hospital’s foremost fecal expert. You can do it."

After speaking, Liu Banxia raised his fist towards Wang Chao in an encouraging gesture.

The interns nearby couldn’t help but laugh, but when Wang Chao looked over, they promptly scattered, quickly finding something to do.

Word of this matter had, of course, spread throughout the emergency center the previous night. Regardless of whether they could successfully treat this particular patient, it would fill a void in the Second Hospital’s capabilities.

Moreover, if this project achieved some success, the number of similar patients would increase, gradually elevating their standing within the hospital.

However, this undertaking also placed considerable pressure on them. It’s better to just stick to being general surgeons, they thought. Occasionally observing cardiothoracic and neurosurgery—now that would be the life!

「"President Liu, a pregnant woman with acute abdominal pain is being sent over now," the dispatch nurse called out.」

Liu Banxia grimaced. Just what I was afraid of. He was most afraid of encountering pregnant patients; he still had some psychological trauma associated with them.

"How far along is her pregnancy? Any other information?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Eleven weeks," the dispatch nurse replied.

Liu Banxia nodded. "I’ll take her."

This wasn’t an easy case, so he couldn’t just pass it off to someone else. If it were a trauma patient, he might have let others gain some experience.

After a while, the patient was brought in, already sweating profusely from the pain. Acute abdominal pain ranked very high on the pain scale.

"Patient is 33 years old, severe pain in the lower right abdomen. Blood pressure 80/130, heart rate 110," the paramedic reported.

"Resuscitation Room One. Xu Yinuo, perform an initial physical exam. When did the pain start?" Liu Banxia asked.

"It started this morning. Right after I washed my face, I felt nauseous and then vomited a little," the patient said with some difficulty.

"Connect the monitor. Liu Yiqing, perform an abdominal ultrasound and run a rapid blood test," Liu Banxia ordered, frowning.

Some unsettling thoughts crossed his mind. The patient was in so much pain; it could very well be an organic lesion in the abdomen. Appendicitis, cholecystitis—these were all possibilities.

"Teacher Liu, the McBurney’s point test is negative," Xu Yinuo reported.

Liu Banxia didn’t speak, waiting for Liu Yiqing’s ultrasound results.

"Teacher Liu, no fluid in the abdominal cavity. The fetus is normal, and the appendix and gallbladder show no abnormalities," Liu Yiqing quickly reported after completing the ultrasound.

Liu Banxia’s brow furrowed deeply. This is getting complicated. The two most likely causes have been ruled out, leaving intestinal perforation or obstruction as the remaining possibilities for the acute abdominal pain. Considering the recent ultrasound results, intestinal obstruction seemed more likely.

"Hang in there a little longer. Because you have a baby inside, we can’t do an X-ray. We’ll have to do a CT scan. For the baby’s sake, try to stay as still as possible during the CT scan, okay?" Liu Banxia said to the patient.

The patient nodded with difficulty.

This highlighted one of the challenges in treating pregnant women: an X-ray would yield quick results, but pregnant patients would almost certainly refuse one at this stage.

"Doctor, how is Fengru? What’s wrong with her?" As Liu Banxia stepped out of Resuscitation Room One, the patient’s husband rushed up to him.

"We’ve ruled out appendicitis and cholecystitis. The abdominal ultrasound is normal, and the fetus is also normal. Currently, I suspect an intestinal issue, possibly an obstruction or a perforation," Liu Banxia said.

"Since we can’t do an X-ray, we can only opt for a CT scan. Talk to her, encourage her. She has to endure the pain and stay still during the CT scan."

The patient’s husband nodded and followed the gurney towards the CT room.

"Teacher Liu, should we call doctors from the obstetrics department?" Liu Yiqing asked.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "It’s not labor, so calling them would be useless. Let’s see if it’s an intestinal problem. The pain is so severe, we might have to operate."

"By the way, tell the OR staff to prepare, just in case. I’m still a bit uneasy; I’ll go with them to the CT room."

「When they arrived at the CT room, performing the CT scan proved to be genuinely challenging.」

The patient was in excruciating pain; remaining still amidst such agony was an incredibly difficult task.

"President Liu, you really should have persuaded her to have an X-ray. With proper shielding, it should have been fine," Wu Bo said with a wry smile.

"It’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, convincing her would take time. By the time we managed that, the CT scan would probably be done," Liu Banxia replied.

"I just didn’t expect her pain to intensify so much. When we examined her earlier, it wasn’t this severe. We’ve already ruled out appendicitis and cholecystitis. A quick check of the right ovary also seemed normal. I’m worried it’s an intestinal obstruction."

"In her current state, doing the CT scan properly is going to be tough," Wu Bo frowned.

"That’s why I came along. Even if we don’t get a clear image, having something to reference is better than nothing. If worst comes to worst, I’ll have to perform a diagnostic laparoscopy, and I’ll need to explain it to the patient," Liu Banxia said, a wry smile on his face this time.

"AH..."

"BEEP, BEEP... BEEP, BEEP..."

At that moment, the patient on the CT table cried out, and simultaneously, the monitor began to alarm. Startled, Wu Bo immediately stopped the scan and pulled the patient out. Liu Banxia rushed in as well.

The patient unexpectedly went into convulsions. Liu Banxia quickly turned her onto her side.

"Take her to the OR, now! Her blood pressure has dropped too; it’s very likely an intestinal perforation!" Liu Banxia shouted.

The others quickly cleared a path, and Liu Banxia’s team supported the patient as they pushed her gurney directly to the operating room.

After about thirty seconds, the patient’s convulsions finally subsided. However, she had fallen unconscious, and her blood pressure had dropped further. Liu Banxia’s heart sank.

Such a rapid drop in blood pressure definitely meant internal bleeding.

"Tell the OR to prepare for a rapid transfusion; there’s internal bleeding," Liu Banxia ordered.

Everything happened too fast. The best course of action now was to get her to the OR for a rapid transfusion and resuscitation. Waiting here for blood from the blood bank would be wasting precious time.

Once they reached the operating room, Liu Banxia had the OR nurses take the patient inside while he began to scrub in meticulously.

He reminded himself: don’t rush, follow procedure. Rushing leads to panic, panic leads to mistakes, and there are two lives on the line.

Likewise, Xu Yinuo and Liu Yiqing, who were also scrubbing in, were equally meticulous, knowing that diligent scrubbing was fundamental to being responsible for the patient.