The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 724, you’re so heartless

"Did you handle a major car accident yesterday?" Qi Wentai asked as he came to work the next morning.

"You bet. We were swamped. I wanted to discuss something with you. What do you think about taking over as the residency director for our side of the hall after I step down?" Liu Banxia asked.

"President Liu, are you already considering that?" Qi Wentai asked in surprise.

Liu Banxia nodded. "The Director has been very busy lately, so I wanted to get your thoughts first. Wang Chao has a lot on his plate, so I've reassigned him to the inpatient ward."

"You both have your strengths. You're busier with admissions, while he's usually busier during regular hours, especially at night. This is the only way you can both become attending physicians next year."

Qi Wentai smiled and nodded. "I don't have any issues with it. I'll have to go through this sooner or later, as long as the Director doesn't have other arrangements."

"Haha, that's pretty much the plan. It's just the three of us here, and they likely won't assign anyone else," Liu Banxia said. "I got a bit of a head start, but don't you two worry; it's mostly a formality. Just be prepared to work hard this year. It will definitely be much more tiring than it was for me.

"The patient volume when I first took on the role is nothing compared to now. Especially since our Second Hospital launched the physical exam center—good heavens, the number of patient visits has shot up. I don't know if the physical exam center is profitable, but a good number of patients have certainly been diverted to us from the inpatient department and other departments."

"President Liu, to be honest, I'm a little apprehensive. The workload for the residency director in the Emergency Center is much heavier than for the one in the inpatient department," Qi Wentai said.

"Actually, it's pretty similar. It's just a bit flustering when you first start, but you'll get used to it after a few days. Don't worry, I'll help you out for a few days when the time comes," Liu Banxia said.

"Well, thank you in advance then," Qi Wentai chuckled.

That wasn't just polite talk; he was genuinely seeking guidance. There was a real difference in their skill levels, a significant one at that. If you looked at all the resident doctors in Binhai City, Liu Banxia was the only one who performed so exceptionally. For many residents, they were still in the arduous phase of learning. Take himself and Wang Chao, for example. If it weren't for the advantages of the Emergency Center, they couldn't have hoped to become residency directors so quickly, much less expect to get attending physician contracts next year. In the hospital, for new doctors like them, even if having connections meant some preferential treatment, it couldn't be excessive. You still had to meet the required standards. Otherwise, if someone without the necessary skills was suddenly placed in a critical position, wouldn't they drive the hospital to bankruptcy? Of course, he also knew that even if he became a residency director, he wouldn't have as much authority as Residency Director Liu Banxia. Liu Banxia's position as residency director was a special case.

"Chief," Liu Banxia began, hurrying over as Shi Lei approached, "should we do a follow-up check on the patient who had ovarian surgery yesterday?"

"Is there a need to be so rushed?" Shi Lei asked.

"Mainly, I feel we still haven't figured out the true cause of her ovarian edema. I also watched the recording of yesterday's exploratory surgery, and it just doesn't look like swelling caused by torsion," Liu Banxia said. "Besides, I saw the patient last night. She said she started feeling some pain yesterday morning, and when she couldn't bear it anymore, she drove to the hospital, which led to the accident. But when I pressed further, I sensed the patient was hiding something. I can't quite figure out what it is she's concealing. That's why I'm suspicious about this, partly due to my own curiosity, I guess."

Shi Lei frowned. "I went home right after work yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to ask. If what you're saying is true, then something is indeed off. It couldn't be due to trauma; the patient wouldn't have engaged in strenuous activity right after waking up. And during the exploratory surgery, we didn't find any cysts, tumors, or adhesions. I checked the other ovary as well and didn't see anything abnormal. Why don't you join me for rounds? We can try asking her again then."

"Better not. She wasn't truthful when I asked last night. And now she probably realizes how significant the damages from her car accident are. I'm afraid if I go ask the same questions again, she'll be even less likely to talk."

"Right, how's the brain-dead patient doing?" Shi Lei asked.

"Still on a ventilator. The family hasn't made a decision yet. It's likely due to issues with determining fault for the accident, and it's not our place to interfere," Liu Banxia said.

Shi Lei nodded. "I'll see how things are. If the patient's emotional state is stable, I'll discuss doing another examination with her. But from what you're implying, it sounds like you think the patient knows what caused it, doesn't it?"

"That's exactly it. That was my first instinct last night too. But since she won't say anything, we're left a bit in the dark, aren't we?" Liu Banxia said.

"Alright, let's just see how it plays out. Let's go, time for rounds. Interns, with me!" Shi Lei called out.

The interns quickly followed him for ward rounds.

This was an important part of every morning's routine; rounds weren't just about checking on patients but also served as a teaching opportunity.

"My goodness, what happened to you? Didn't you sleep well last night?" Liu Banxia exclaimed, startled at the sight of Wang Chao.

Wang Chao shot him a glance. "I really didn't. It's all because of your careless talk; it's got my mind in a total mess."

"Haha, a swift, decisive cut is all it takes to solve tangled problems," Liu Banxia said irresponsibly.

Wang Chao fell silent. He could only lament his poor choice of friends. Meeting Liu Banxia—he didn't know if it was his good fortune or the beginning of his suffering.

There wasn't much time for idle chatter. The interns had gone on rounds, and Liu Banxia and Wang Chao also had to handle incoming patients. Even though it was early morning, a few trauma patients had already come in. Their injuries weren't too severe, just requiring simple debridement and bandaging. There were also some patients who needed dressing changes for their sutures. These were all handled quickly in the morning so as not to interfere with the day's regular work.

While Liu Banxia was busy, he saw Xu Yino come skipping over, a "mysterious" yet joyful expression on her face.

"What's up? Did your boyfriend finally confess his love to you?" Liu Banxia asked.

"No way! Where would people like us find boyfriends? And I don't want to date a colleague anyway. Teacher Liu," Xu Yino said, abruptly changing the subject, "how about treating me to a lavish lunch today?"

"Something's off. The others aren't back yet, so why are you? Uh... don't tell me you found out the cause of that patient's ovarian edema?" Liu Banxia asked.

Xu Yino nodded gleefully. "I did manage to find out some things, though I don't know if it's the actual cause. So, are you buying lunch or not?"

"Fine, I'm willing to be 'extorted' by you for this meal," Liu Banxia said.

Xu Yino glanced around, then pulled Liu Banxia to a secluded spot. "Teacher Liu, the patient has a history of selling her eggs, more than once. Um... she said she 'donated' them and received 'subsidies and nutritional compensation' in return."

"That's outrageous." Liu Banxia's brow furrowed instantly.

When he had been mulling it over, he'd considered many possibilities, but such an outrageous scenario had never crossed his mind. The principle was simple: normally, a woman produces only one egg per month. In some exceptional cases, perhaps two. But with so-called egg donation or selling, if they only retrieved one egg at a time, how could they possibly make money? That's why, before egg retrieval, the women are given ovulation-stimulating hormones. Then, when they perform the retrieval, they might get ten, a dozen, or even more eggs.

Such egg retrieval procedures are inherently damaging to the ovaries. Moreover, some underground operators performing these retrievals can't obtain anesthetics, or simply don't bother with them, performing the egg extraction without any pain relief at all. If one encountered a more conscientious operator with better skills, the damage to the ovaries might be slightly less. But no matter how skilled, such a procedure is extremely dangerous.

For this patient, the cause of her condition was "Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome." Judging from yesterday's imaging, she was relatively lucky it hadn't caused more severe harm. Otherwise, there could have been ovarian enlargement, ascites, pleural effusion, and localized or systemic edema. And as for this patient, he realized he had misspoken yesterday. Her fertility would undoubtedly be affected to some extent.

"Teacher Liu, so it really was caused by this?" Xu Yino asked curiously, seeing Liu Banxia's expression.

Liu Banxia nodded. "That seems to be it. However, it's best to contact gynecology for a detailed examination. We also need to get the patient's consent for this, so you should discuss it with her. This is extremely harmful to the body and very dangerous. If she hopes to have children successfully in the future, she needs to start proper recuperation now. As for whether medication is needed, that will depend on the gynecologist's assessment. How did you manage to find this out?"

"Uh... I just told her that this kind of swelling could affect future fertility. And if we didn't find the cause, further swelling or torsion could lead to an oophorectomy," Xu Yino said.

"Well, that worked out. Even if it was a wild guess, at least you guessed right. Go and explain everything to the patient carefully. She probably suspected something herself, or she wouldn't have told you," Liu Banxia said.

"Teacher Liu, should we report this to the police?" Xu Yino asked.

"How would we report it? These things can be complicated, and she's directly involved as the patient," Liu Banxia said. "This is an illegal underground operation. Let's see what her attitude is. You continue to follow up with this patient; I'll talk to Shi Lei about it later. The people behind this definitely made false claims and promises. Anyone with a conscience wouldn't do such a thing. It's utterly heartless."

Xu Yino nodded, her mood turning somber. She just hadn't taken the time to think it through earlier. Now, even without Liu Banxia spelling it out, she could imagine the severe harm such a procedure would inflict on a person's body.