Sitting next to Gao Jun, Zhao Heng watched as Huang Jincheng and Song Chen performed the surgery, with two resident doctors assisting nearby.
Just moments ago, the cardiac arrest and extracorporeal circulation were completed. The next step was to take the great saphenous vein from the leg, then determine the position for the heart bypass, using the transplanted great saphenous vein to create a channel between the proximal and distal ends of the narrowed coronary artery, allowing blood to bypass the narrowed section and reach the distal end.
This step is the most critical in the entire heart bypass surgery and can determine the success or failure of the operation.
Especially with current medical technology advancements, cardiac interventional surgeries have become very refined; typically, thromboses or detached atherosclerotic plaques can be managed by reopening the vessels through cardiac arterial intervention.
Conducting a heart artery bypass has become an option when interventional procedures are not feasible.
At this moment, Huang Jincheng’s expression suddenly grew tense because he discovered that next to the blocked artery, where he intended to select the distal end of the coronary artery for the bypass, there was a severe deformity.
"Director, this?"
Song Chen was also taken aback upon seeing the deformed distal end of the coronary artery.
Usually, a coronary angiogram is performed for heart bypass surgeries, and such a severe deformity should have been visible during the angiogram.
"It seems to be an imaging issue. The patient might have taken some medication before hospitalization that affected the contrast agent’s imaging."
Huang Jincheng thought for a moment and said.
Although this situation is extremely rare, due to his extensive experience, he had encountered it before.
Nevertheless, encountering such a situation would definitely impact the surgery significantly.
"Xiao Song, the step of harvesting the great saphenous vein will be up to you alone."
After pondering for a while, Huang Jincheng said gravely.
Originally, the opening of the coronary artery and the harvesting of the great saphenous vein were to be done simultaneously, with manpower allocated such that Huang Jincheng and Song Chen, along with one assistant each, would work together.
But now, with the unexpected situation of severe deformity in the coronary artery’s distal end, at least two assistants would be needed to assist Huang Jincheng in repairing the severely deformed vessel.
This shift in circumstances instantly put pressure on Song Chen’s side.
What was supposed to be a task that two people would complete together now had to be done by one person, doubling the difficulty.
"I understand, Director."
Song Chen also felt a weight in his heart, responding with a serious expression.
Repairing the deformed vessel is vital, but harvesting the great saphenous vein is equally crucial. If the vein harvested is unusable, the surgery can’t proceed.
Under the current circumstances, with the heart already arrested and extracorporeal circulation in place, there could be no turning back.
Thus, the burden on Song Chen was extremely heavy.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the operating room turned heavy and oppressive.
This is how surgeries are; the human body is incredibly complex, and no one knows what unexpected issues might arise during a procedure.
As Song Chen moved to the bottom of the operating table, took a deep breath, and prepared to begin harvesting the great saphenous vein,
Zhao Heng suddenly stood up, saying to Song Chen, "Teacher Song, shall I be your assistant?"
As Zhao Heng spoke, the focus of everyone in the operating room shifted to him.
Gao Jun also stood up, looking at Zhao Heng with some confusion; stepping in to seek attention was inappropriate at this moment.
Additionally, Gao Jun hadn’t heard of Zhao Heng ever assisting with cardiac surgeries before.
"Can you do it?"
Gao Jun whispered to Zhao Heng.
"I can, Teacher."
Zhao Heng gave Gao Jun a confident look, nodded, and said.
"Are you sure, Xiao Zhao? This is an operating table, not a place for jokes."
Seeing Zhao Heng step up to volunteer as Song Chen’s assistant, Huang Jincheng spoke seriously with a furrowed brow.
In the operating room, he disliked young doctors who only wanted to show off.
While it’s not inherently bad for young doctors to seek attention,
the operating room was a place where even the slightest mistake could be fatal.
The greatest taboo was blind confidence that recklessly pressed forward.
This was forbidden!
Witnessing Zhao Heng stepping up and volunteering, Song Chen was momentarily surprised, but recalling Zhao Heng’s apparent familiarity with cardiac surgeries earlier, she considered briefly and said, "Director, let him try; I believe he can cooperate well with me."
"Xiao Song, are you certain?"
Seeing Song Chen strongly support an unknown entity, Huang Jincheng doubtfully asked.
"Let Xiao Zhao try, Director, I also believe he can cooperate well."
Seeing this, Gao Jun reinforced.
If Huang Jincheng refused to let Zhao Heng participate, Zhao Heng’s proactive volunteering would become a joke.
Therefore, Gao Jun had to stand up for Zhao Heng.
Seeing both Song Chen and Gao Jun speaking up for Zhao Heng, Huang Jincheng felt a slight surprise; Song Chen and Gao Jun, one being his trusted subordinate, the other an experienced anesthetist, were both people of high standards.
These two simultaneously recommending one person was unprecedented.
With these thoughts, Huang Jincheng nodded towards Zhao Heng, saying, "Young man, learn and observe more; go ahead."
The patient’s condition wouldn’t allow for much contemplation, and in just a moment, Huang Jincheng made a decision.
However, he felt curious, wanting to see if this young person truly had any special skills.
After all, even assisting during a cardiac bypass required extremely high standards for an assistant.
Even the two resident doctor assistants present had been trained for several years.
And training a surgeon capable of independently performing cardiac bypass surgery could take at least five to ten years.
The cultivation of an excellent surgeon is a demanding and prolonged process.
"Thank you, Director."
Zhao Heng nodded.
If Huang Jincheng had insisted not allowing him on, there’d be nothing he could do, as in this operating room, Huang Jincheng held absolute authority.
With Huang Jincheng’s approval, Zhao Heng promptly changed into surgical scrubs and stood across from Song Chen.
"Teacher Song, I’m ready."
Standing opposite Song Chen, Zhao Heng said.
Truthfully, he did have some admiration for Song Chen.
In surgical operations, males typically have the upper hand in terms of physical strength and mental resilience.
Imagine, in the operating room, operations lasting several hours or even tens of hours are quite common.
Maintaining high concentration for such long periods is extremely physically demanding.
Thus, indeed, standing on this operating table and becoming Huang Jincheng’s most trusted cardiac surgeon, Song Chen must have indeed put in substantial effort and hard work!
```