godfather of surgery

Chapter 1158
Looking at the sweeping reforms at the Clinical Medical College, Yang Ping felt a headache coming on; it was more dizzying than performing ten major surgeries in a row.

Fortunately, Yang Ping declined the offer from his superiors to become the dean and principal, but that was not a job he was capable of. He preferred to focus on scientific research and surgery.

He didn't want to become an official through academic excellence; he wanted to pursue research. His dream was to become a scientist with some achievements, not a dean.

The various doctors' groups are buzzing with activity right now, with everyone discussing the election of the hospital's president. At Sanbo Hospital, the vote is overwhelmingly in favor of President Xia. President Xia's achievements over the years are undeniable, and he is fully capable of expanding Sanbo Hospital by two, three, or even ten times. However, expanding the scale is meaningless. Expanding the scale would simply mean taking business away from lower-level hospitals: district hospitals, county hospitals, and even street clinics. Such expansion is pointless; it's merely using existing monopoly advantages to create an even larger monopoly.

Instead of blindly expanding, Dean Xia continuously improved the hospital's management and technology, focusing on doctors and leveraging their enthusiasm to ultimately better serve patients. This established Sanbo Hospital's position as a top-tier hospital; a top-tier hospital should do what a top-tier hospital should do, not compete with county-level hospitals. This is Dean Xia's philosophy.

Everyone, stay calm and we must get Lao Xia up there.

[Absolutely. If Lao Xia (Old Xia) collapses, won't I lose my job as director? I just got the position through a competitive selection process.]

Brothers, I'm currently studying abroad, I should have a vote too.

The president of Sanbo Hospital is as stable as a rock, but there's a real fear that someone might sabotage the dean of the clinical medical school, causing his position to become unstable.

Don't worry, we have people in the monitoring team. They're watching closely 24/7; there absolutely cannot be any problems.

Yang Ping put away his phone and came out of the director's office. It was already past six o'clock, and everyone was still busy in the office.

Song Ziming and several students are studying Sisi's treatment case.

The treatment for the K virus is now only lacking stability before it can be clinically approved. As for clinical trials, that's a matter of following the established procedures. Poor stability will lead to inconsistent treatment effects and reduced safety, because you don't know what consequences these viruses will produce during the iteration process. Although the possibility of adverse consequences is relatively low, in medicine, even a low possibility must be supported by data.

Moreover, if iteration cannot be controlled, then the risks cannot be controlled either; any medical measure must balance effectiveness and risk.

Through genetic testing, the genetics laboratory made a major discovery: Tong Yongqian's maternal grandfather was missing a gene on his Y chromosome, a gene that is very important for cloning.

Because of its high degree of isolation, the Y chromosome cannot recombine with other chromosomes. However, it is losing genes at a rate of about one gene per year. This one-in-one-out mechanism will eventually lead to the Y chromosome losing all its genes and disappearing after two million years.

"So a saying has spread in the genetics community: men don't have much time left—only two million years. Will men disappear after two million years because of the disappearance of the Y chromosome?" Song Ziming said to his students with great insight.

"Therefore, we must have a sense of crisis and shoulder the glorious task of safeguarding men's survival." Yang Ping sat down next to him and joined in the study.

"professor!"

Everyone immediately made room for each other.

"Go on, I'd like to hear it too."

Yang Ping pointed to the image of Sisi on the screen.

At the door of the doctor's office, a large, fat man carrying a bag of fruit peeked in, then walked in with a smile.

"Everyone, have some fruit." The fat man placed the fruit on his desk, opened the bag, and invited everyone to eat.

It turned out to be the chubby Wei Danian, but he had lost a lot of weight, and everyone almost didn't recognize him.

"Professor Yang!" Wei Danian greeted Yang Ping warmly as soon as he saw him; he was a naturally enthusiastic person.

Yang Ping was surprised: "Wei Danian, what are you doing here? Are you here to have a follow-up examination with Director Fang?"

With his eyes half-closed, Wei Danian smiled and said, "No, my surgery was very successful, and with the exercise, you can see I've lost a lot of weight. I'm only a little over 100 kilograms now, and I'm still losing weight. I had a follow-up appointment with the respiratory medicine department today, and they said it's obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. I had a sleep monitoring test a few days ago, and it was confirmed. The symptoms are quite severe, and the doctor said I have to wear a ventilator every night."

Wei Danian's condition is called obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in obese adults, which is generally seen in obese adults.

When a person breathes normally, outside air enters through the nasal cavity, passes through the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and then the lungs, finally entering the alveoli for gas exchange.

The key to this gas exchange process is that the upper respiratory tract above the larynx allows airflow to enter the trachea and bronchi unimpeded. If, for some reason, this airflow is obstructed, snoring or obstructive sleep apnea will occur.

Severe cases may experience 200 or more episodes of sleep apnea per night, accompanied by hypoxia.

The average respiratory arrest time is 25-30 seconds, but can sometimes exceed 1 minute. As a result, pulmonary artery pressure increases as blood oxygen levels decrease, and over time, this can lead to increased burden on the right heart, resulting in right ventricular hypertrophy and even heart failure.

Obesity is a common cause of this disease, and crowding of the neck and throat tissues can lead to airway obstruction.

"I looked up some information online, and it said that I'm too fat, and the tissue in my throat is too obese. When I lie down, this obese tissue blocks my airway, which causes sleep apnea. This is very dangerous; I might not wake up while I'm asleep. It's terrifying. So I was thinking that since surgery can help me lose weight, maybe I could have surgery to remove the obese tissue in my throat and that would solve the problem," Wei Danian said slowly, seemingly unconcerned.

Obstructive sleep apnea typically presents with snoring and is a chronic condition. Unlike regular snoring, it causes pauses in breathing, which are like a ticking time bomb.

According to current estimates, there are more than 900 million people suffering from this disease worldwide, and more than 100 million in China. This is a very alarming number. Therefore, anyone who snores should go to the hospital for sleep monitoring to see if they have obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Because this chronic disease slowly damages the heart and causes complications in multiple organs and systems throughout the body, people with this disease are more than four times more likely to have a stroke than the average person, and their mortality rate is more than twice that of the average person. The mortality rate of untreated patients with this disease is four times that of the average person.

"With your condition, do you need to wear a small ventilator at night to help you breathe when you stop breathing?" Xiao Wu said.

“Yes, that’s what the doctor said, so I plan to buy one,” Wei Danian said.

"Should I put in a good word for you with your colleagues in the respiratory department and ask them to look out for you?" Xiao Wu thought Wei Danian was a good person, very honest and kind.

"That would be perfect. I'm not familiar with that area either. It would be great if you could put in a good word for me." Wei Danian was rather naive because he had been spoiled by his parents since childhood.

"Which doctor did you see?" Xiao Wu asked.

Wei Danian took out a piece of paper with the doctor's name written on it: "Dr. Zhou Xuan." "Zhou Xuan is the best at treating your condition. He has published many clinical papers on this topic. I'll talk to him for you." Xiao Wu picked up his phone and sent a WeChat message to Dr. Zhou Xuan, briefly explaining Wei Danian's situation, and then made a phone call.

The voices outside the door and on the phone were distinct. Zhou Xuan, still on the phone, had already reached the door, and the two were talking face-to-face.

"Fifth Brother, what's going on here? I'm having a consultation in your department right now." Zhou Xuan quickly hung up the phone.

"Fifth Brother, what do you want to see me about?" Zhou Xuan walked over.

"This young man is our friend. He said he's seen your clinic and asked you to look after him," Xiao Wu introduced.

Dr. Zhou Xuan recognized him immediately. Wasn't this Wei Danian, who had seen the outpatient doctor that morning? He remembered him clearly because he weighed 200 pounds and claimed to have lost a lot of weight, and he was the only one who had done so.

"Dr. Zhou, I saw you at your clinic this morning. I had obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and you said I needed a small ventilator. Do you remember me?" Wei Danian immediately stood up to offer him his seat.

Zhou Xuan said, "I remember, I remember."

How could anyone forget someone with such distinctive features?

"Your friend?" Zhou Xuan looked at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu nodded.

"So, does he have any good ideas?"

Zhou Xuan grabbed a grape and popped it into his mouth: "If you had told me earlier that he was your friend, I would have asked him to go to Hong Kong to buy medicine."

"Wei Danian, you can go to Hong Kong or Boao, Hainan, to buy a drug called telpotetamide. It's a newly launched drug in the US, specifically for treating moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in obese adults. It's not officially available here yet, but you can buy it in those two places," Dr. Zhou Xuan said while eating grapes.

"You don't need to use a ventilator every night?" Wei Danian said in surprise.

Zhou Xuan said, "No need. Remember to continue your weight loss journey. Currently, this medicine is the only one that can treat your condition."

He wouldn't have said that if he weren't Xiao Wu's friend. This particular drug isn't yet available in mainland China, and directing patients to buy it like that could lead to misunderstandings and accusations of personal gain. Treatment is risky; if the medication isn't effective or causes side effects, the patient could complain, causing serious problems for the doctor. Therefore, he wouldn't give such private guidance unless it's someone reliable. Dr. Zhou Xuan usually follows domestic guidelines strictly. Regardless of the outcome, staying on the right track is paramount.

Since this fat guy is Xiao Wu's friend, that's a different story. It's not appropriate to make him wear a ventilator every night.

In fact, Wei Danian had been treated by Yang Ping before, and Yang Ping had saved his life. Later, he would often come to the research institute to greet everyone. Every time he came, he would bring some fruit for the nurses and doctors. If the doctors had time, he would chat with them for a while. If the doctors were busy, he would sit for a while and then leave. Over time, he became a familiar face to everyone.

He is a very warm person, always smiling, so everyone likes him, considers him a friend, and is willing to help him.

“You’re my fifth brother’s friend, so I’ll help you all the way. Go to Boao Super Hospital. I’ll contact a doctor for you in advance. He’s my classmate and now works under a team led by an academician. He specializes in respiratory medicine.” Dr. Zhou Xuan wrote down a note with the doctor’s name on it.

Dr. Zhou was very efficient. He immediately picked up the phone and dialed: "Hey, Brother Xiao, I have a friend here who has OSA. Didn't your Super Hospital already introduce telpolide? Can I have him come to you for a checkup and to get some medicine? Okay, okay, thank you. When is a convenient time for you? Okay, okay, thank you."

"Wei Danian, you should go there next Thursday. He'll be seeing patients there on Thursday afternoon," Dr. Zhou Xuan instructed him. "Make sure you go on time. If you don't see him when you get there, contact Dr. Lu. Dr. Lu will let me know."

"Can I make an appointment online now?" Wei Danian asked.

“You can’t make an appointment now. Just go directly there. He’ll finish his outpatient clinic at 5:30 PM. Just knock on the door and go in to see him. Getting the prescription will only take a few minutes,” Zhou Xuan said.

Wei Danian immediately said, "Thank you, I'm really grateful to you."

Dr. Zhou Xuan stood up and patted Wei Danian on the shoulder: "You should thank Dr. Lu; he's the one who helped you."

"Fifth Brother, I have something to do, I can't chat with you." He waved a thick stack of consultation forms in his hand, "I'm dizzy from running around today."

Wei Danian didn't want to bother the doctors: "Teacher Lu, Teacher Zhang, I'll go back first. I'm going to Hainan a few days early."

Yang Ping was leading his students in studying images when Wei Danian went over to say hello: "Professor Yang, I'll head back now. I'm sorry to trouble you."

"Wei Danian, don't always be so polite. Just come and sit down when you have time. Don't bring fruit. I heard you bring fruit to the outpatient clinic and wards every time you come. That's not good. I also heard from the outpatient nurses that you were helping them move things when they were setting up the clinic last time?" Yang Ping thought this fat man was quite simple-minded, the kind that seemed harmless.

Wei Danian chuckled: "I happened to see them carrying things, so I went up to lend a hand. I have the strength, and I'm trying to lose weight anyway."

"Aren't you guys off work yet? Do you want me to get you some food from the cafeteria?" Wei Danian realized it was lunchtime.

"No need, no need, you can go back," Xiao Wu said.

Wei Danian went back with a smile. He was always smiling, as if he never had any worries. When he was in the ICU, he wasn't worried about his life being in danger, but rather about going hungry.

"Professor, they asked us to form a team in Hainan to perform outpatient surgeries regularly. You haven't replied yet." Song Ziming remembered this after hearing them mention Hainan.

Yang Ping had forgotten about it. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's too much trouble. It's better not to go. It's tiring for everyone to fly back and forth every week. You should decline their invitation."

“Okay, that’s what I think too. Flying back and forth is quite troublesome, but there are also many advantages over there. Many new international drugs and medical devices can be applied immediately, keeping pace with the world,” Song Ziming said.

"We won't be sending a team. You stay in touch with them. If they need our technical support, we'll do our best to help," Yang Ping instructed Song Ziming.

Song Ziming said, "Many professors there are familiar with you. Professor Liang is currently leading a team to open clinics there, so they really hope you can go and participate as well."

“They are already very strong, basically bringing together the top talents in the country. We have many projects to complete right now, so let’s not cause trouble.” Yang Ping still wants to stay here and focus on his research.