Chapter 1100: Chapter 1100: Fracture
“The patient can’t afford any more delays. Please prepare the operating room immediately. I assure you, I’m a qualified surgeon.” Bai Xiao didn’t want to waste words; this was her brother, and she needed to treat him as soon as possible.
She felt more at ease entrusting Bai Song’s surgery to herself than to anyone else. The fact that even a steel pin could break inside him was something Bai Xiao didn’t want to comment on.
The doctor was amused and angered.
“Are you out of your mind? This is a hospital! Even if you’re a doctor, you can’t just come to someone else’s hospital and start meddling around. Send the patient to the MRI room for an examination and notify the Dean, Director, and all specialists for a consultation.” The doctor ordered.
The nurses had already begun to get busy, pushing Bai Song’s bed and moving swiftly.
There was no time to waste.
Bai Xiao closely followed, fully aware that her impulsive request to conduct the surgery was reckless. No hospital would lend an operating room just because you’re a doctor; such an act involves taking significant risks.
She held onto Bai Song’s hand tightly, intermittently channeling her special ability, treating him as much as she could. At the very least, she couldn’t let Bai Song remain in a coma.
She hadn’t expected him to suffer such a severe ordeal.
This sepsis could either be serious or benign.
Bai Song was wheeled into the MRI room. Before entering, he had already regained consciousness, seeing Bai Xiao gripping his hand, trying hard to give his sister a reassuring smile. But the pain was so severe he couldn’t manage one, his expression was quite grim.
“It’s okay, brother, I’m here waiting for you. You’ll be fine.”
Bai Xiao’s heart ached unbearably.
The MRI results came out, and a meeting was held with the Dean, specialists, and the Director.
“What’s going on? Bai Song’s condition was stable, so why such a drastic change this time? Previously, it was just leg pain, and the MRI didn’t show any issues, but the leg is severely swollen; that’s a fact. Let’s hear everyone’s opinions.” The Dean was also troubled; Bai Song was a soldier, and such an injury shouldn’t be a problem for their Military District Hospital.
The competence of their doctors was impeccable, and the surgical procedure had been reviewed numerous times without any errors.
Yet the leg wouldn’t heal.
“I’ve seen Bai Song’s lab reports. His white blood cell count is abnormal today; it wasn’t when we checked a couple of days ago. We suspect sepsis but can’t identify the source, which is very puzzling.” The Director’s doctor was also baffled by the report.
In all their years of experience, this was the first time encountering such a diagnostic challenge.
“Sepsis?”
The surgery was a month ago, and the wound checks had consistently indicated stable healing. Now sepsis suggests a pathogen that wasn’t detected or visible.
“Could the MRI be wrong?”
The Head of Surgery realized that his comment was problematic. How could an MRI, costing millions, be wrong? If it were, their hospital could just shut down.
The inpatient doctor, who had been silent, couldn’t hold back. Failing to speak would be a disservice to his conscience, but these were unsubstantiated words! Could Bai Xiao really be so capable that, with just one glance, she discerned Bai Song’s problem?
“Dean, today a family member of the patient, named Bai Xiao, claimed she’s a doctor from Modu Hospital and that she diagnosed the cause of sepsis. It’s due to a fractured steel pin in the leg, requesting surgery to be redone.”
Everyone was stunned.
The patient’s family member is a doctor?
This was unexpected for them.
The Dean and Director both picked up the MRI images, which clearly showed the position of the leg’s steel pin. But on the image, they couldn’t tell if the pin was broken. Curious, they examined it more closely again.
The Dean even put on his glasses. They finally noticed a subtle difference at the junction point. If not scrutinized carefully, the fracture would be invisible. It was so slight that the naked eye couldn’t catch it. Without the resident doctor’s hint, they wouldn’t have suspected.
This fracture was something hardly anyone would notice.
There was a hitch in their hearts; this was the reason for Bai Song’s persistent leg pain—the steel pin fractured inside, undetected in time, causing sepsis.
“Arrange the surgery immediately. I will meet the patient’s family member.”
With this said, all the doctors felt a collective tension rise.
This could be considered their medical error. The patient’s family member is also a doctor; if they pursue accountability, significant responsibility will fall on them.
It’s an inescapable responsibility.
Although their hospital is a critical one, such liability demands accountability from the Dean down to the Director.
Anxiety spread suddenly.
“Dean, perhaps you should not get involved! We’ll talk to the patient’s family; if you step forward, they’ll surely believe it’s our responsibility, complicating matters.” At this point, two Surgical Directors stepped forward, intending to pacify the patient’s family, hoping not to escalate the issue.
They wanted to deflect as much responsibility onto Bai Song’s wound. If surgery revealed the pin, no one could ascertain the real truth.
These surgeons, especially, argued that a portion of the pin’s fracture could relate to the patient, improper posture, excessive force; it couldn’t all be blamed on their hospital.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to bear responsibility, but the situation was too complex to clarify.
The Dean shook his head, “Stop talking. Bai Song is a hero enduring pain, and aren’t you ashamed? After all these years of experience, we failed to identify the problem. A family member did! Instead of correcting the mistake, you’re thinking about covering it up. Aren’t you embarrassed?
Doesn’t it make your old faces turn red?
No matter the cause of this incident, we should first self-reflect, not find excuses from the patient. I will immediately discuss surgery with the patient’s family and schedule it as soon as possible. Delay can no longer happen since the patient is already septic, and prolonging it poses a life threat. Not a moment can be wasted.” Dean Bao Guoping’s calm words made several Directors blush.
Their first thought wasn’t how to resolve the patient’s ailment but about the hospital’s reputation, their Surgical department’s image, fearing being scammed by the patient, and having their reputation tarnished, being accused of incompetence.
It had become instinctive thought; seemingly protecting their reputation from critique was their first reflex.
The two felt ashamed, visibly abashed.
The Dean, together with the Director, went to the ward. Bai Song, due to timely intervention, had regained consciousness and was on an IV drip.
Bai Xiao sat by his side; the two were talking! Upon seeing such a line-up, Bai Xiao knew they had discovered it.
The steel pin’s tricky location wouldn’t have been easy to detect without her special ability.