godfather of surgery

Chapter 1164 Ice and Charcoal in the Same Furnace
With Yang Ping's words, Song Ziming felt much more at ease. In Song Ziming's mind, Professor Yang never boasted or did anything he wasn't sure about. Some things he said he wasn't sure about were actually things he was very sure about. Since he said there was no problem, there was basically no doubt about it.

As long-time colleagues and, in effect, mentor and apprentice, Song Ziming knew Yang Ping all too well, and he trusted Yang Ping unconditionally.

Professor Yang always creates miracles. Is he going to create another one? How can a surgeon who has been away from clinical practice for so long still maintain such top-notch surgical skills?
If that's really the case, then Professor Yang is truly a demigod, born to perform surgery.

But now it seems that his talent is not only in surgery, but also in scientific research. Since he started scientific research, he has achieved one success after another, each time with amazing academic results.

"I'll go check on those two patients; I haven't seen them yet."

Yang Ping wasn't busy right now, so he decided to go check on Song Ziming before she went to the operating room.

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements." Song Ziming immediately went to prepare.

"No need for arrangements, we'll just take a casual look around. Just call the attending physician, and everyone else can continue with what they're doing. Don't disturb anyone; this isn't a teaching rounds." Yang Ping stopped Song Ziming. He didn't want to make a big fuss, as that would disrupt the work plan for this morning.

The department performs many surgeries every day. If we make a big fuss about it, the graduate students and visiting doctors will definitely try their best to join in.

Song Ziming understood Yang Ping's meaning, picked up the phone and called the attending physician directly, asking him to wait in the patient's ward. Professor Yang was going to see the patient, and he didn't want to disturb anyone else. This wasn't a teaching round; Professor Yang was just making a private round to see the patient.

As the number of research projects increases, Yang Ping's time in reality is inevitably allocated to those important strategic projects, leaving little time for minor tasks.

Yang Ping and Song Ziming arrived at the ward. The attending physician was a graduate student surnamed Xue. He was a new graduate student who had joined the Academy of Medical Sciences not long after its establishment and had not been working there for long.

This is a single room; many single rooms have been opened in the ward now. The two patients are only nine years old. They must have just finished breakfast; they are clearing the table and discussing their next activities. One is clamoring to go for a walk in the garden downstairs and get some fresh air. The other disagrees; she wants to read for a while, believing that getting fresh air can be done in the ward by simply opening the window.

The two argued back and forth, each trying to convince the other, but they both managed to convince the other, and almost came to blows.

Two brains, two bodies, all connected. Every action either requires consensus or one side to abandon its own opinion to accommodate the other.

The patient's mother was helping to clear the table, and the father was reading an English book nearby. When they saw Yang Ping come in, they stopped the sisters who were arguing.

The patient's father immediately stood up, as respectful as a student. He was a neurosurgeon in the United States, working at a top hospital in New York. He had heard of Yang Ping's great name and deeds when he was in the United States, so seeing Yang Ping was like seeing a god. He was quite excited, and at the same time, he had a natural sense of reverence.

"Professor Yang! Hello!" the father said in broken Chinese, probably having practiced this phrase for a long time.

Yang Ping nodded in response to his greeting.

"Do you speak Chinese?" Yang Ping asked him, so that they could decide which language to use for communication next.

The patient's father shook his head: "Just a little bit, really."

He only spoke about the basics, which was roughly equivalent to being able to say "please," "hello," "sorry," and "goodbye." In reality, even if someone speaks fluent Chinese, they wouldn't be able to communicate effectively in the medical field, as it involves many medical terms, such as "medulla oblongata," which is something even someone fluent in Chinese might not know.

Since they couldn't communicate in Chinese, they decided to use English. Yang Ping had never studied abroad and had learned English while in school. As for his speaking and listening skills, he was self-taught, so his English was entirely Chinglish.

However, even if it's Chinglish, it's better than having a translator as a middleman. It won't cause any misunderstandings. The other party is a doctor, so they must have a large vocabulary of medical terms. Communicating in English should be much smoother. English is practically a global language, so it's good for them to get used to Yang Ping's Chinglish.

"Professor Yang, thank you. Professor Johannesson of Mayo Clinic strongly recommended you to me. He said you are his teacher, the best doctor in the world, with godlike surgical skills. He said your hands are the hands of God, he said..." The American doctor launched into his flattery mode.

I never expected Americans to like flattery too. It seems human nature is universal; they also know how to please others, sometimes just in different ways.

Yang Ping didn't have time to listen to his flattery and went straight to asking about the patient's medical history. This was Yang Ping's habit; he had to ask about the patient's medical history himself, since the medical history in the medical record or the medical history reported by the junior doctor were two separate pieces of information, and sometimes there would be omissions or distortions.

The medical history for this type of case is relatively simple; the child was born this way. However, it is still necessary to ask whether there are any genetic defects, other malformations, whether surgery has been performed, whether other diseases exist, whether certain medications have been taken, especially long-term use of certain medications, etc.

Even with various examinations, Yang Ping would never skip the physical examination step. The physical examination is the doctor's most direct objective examination of the patient. Although the method is very primitive, it is irreplaceable precisely because the method of collecting information is primitive.

Yang Ping carefully examined the points where they were connected, as well as the independent performance of their respective nervous and motor systems. The examination of the nervous and motor systems was very important, as it determined whether the surgery was feasible and how the specific surgical plan would be formulated.

For example, regarding the four legs of the lower body, which two legs are controlled by the brain, and whether there is any cross-control or misalignment of control, in addition to some neurological instrument examinations, a careful physical examination by the doctor is also required.

“Dear doctor, please operate on me as soon as possible. I’ve had enough of my sister. She’s always so stubborn. We can’t go on living like this,” one of the girls with the whip said to Yang Ping.

"Oh, don't talk, the doctor is working, don't disturb him. I'm sorry, Dr. Yang, they always can't control their emotions." The patient's mother comforted the two girls, and then apologized to Yang Ping on their behalf.

Another girl with a ponytail retorted defiantly, "Doctor, don't listen to her nonsense. She's not the older sister; I am. My head is visible, you can ask my mother, and it's recorded in my birth certificate. I reserve the right to sue her."

"Honey, please reserve your rights and wait until Dr. Yang finishes his work before you argue, okay? This is very impolite," the mother tried to calm them down.

"Dr. Yang, do you realize how urgent the need for surgery is?" the child's father said helplessly.

But this didn't quell the argument; their debate continued. "I'm the older sister! My body came out first, so I'm the older sister! Your speed doesn't matter; I was the first to reach the finish line, so I'm the older sister! Please don't bring this up again; it's an indisputable fact. If necessary, I'm willing to go to court with you and let the judge decide who is the older sister and who is the younger sister!" The girl with the braids clearly didn't want to lose.

"Can't you sit a little to the left?"

"Why should I listen to you? Can't you move a little to the right?"

"Then why should I listen to you?"

The two little girls started arguing about whether it was a little to the left or a little to the right.

Faced with this comical situation, Yang Ping could only laugh. This was his first time performing surgery on conjoined twins, and he didn't know if other conjoined twins were like this. The two little girls in front of him were too harmonious, as if they wanted to argue about every single issue, and neither of them would give in.

Fortunately, they have two bodies, which can be surgically separated into their own independent individuals. If they were two heads sharing one body, and were so incompatible, how would they live their lives? They would only spend every day in endless arguments.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry… It’s not just today or now, they’re like this every day. They’ve been quite restrained today. If it were any other time, they would definitely fight. You don’t know, they used to scratch each other’s faces all the time when they were little.” The mother kept apologizing and explaining.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Yang." The child's father was also very embarrassed.

Yang Ping waved his hand: "It's alright."

In fact, their arguments were of no value to Yang Ping, and he was not bothered by them because he was concerned about the condition of the conjoined twins. Even their arguments were examined and studied from a medical perspective.

For example, they argue that at least the cerebral cortex functions independently, but the brainstem is connected. Are they completely independent anatomically and functionally? Are there mixed areas? These are all key issues.

Of course, some professional auxiliary examinations can also help in identification, but no auxiliary examination can replace a doctor's physical examination.

Their arguing, this irreconcilable conflict, could be related to certain biochemical substances in their bodies, such as the secretion of certain hormones, or there might be some connection between them, etc.

Seeing that Yang Ping was not affected by the sisters' quarrel, the doctor couple were relieved.

Instead, Yang Ping waved his hand, stopping the mother from trying to calm the argument. He wanted to let them argue naturally so he could observe their reactions during the argument, including not only their psychological reactions but also their physiological ones, such as changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing.

“From the moment they were born, we wanted to separate them. We consulted doctors all over the United States and Europe, and everyone advised against surgery because they believed that they could live healthily coexisting. However, the surgery was extremely risky. Their skull base and cervical spine are connected, and no one can separate the brainstem and medulla oblongata, not even the best neurosurgeons. I believed them because I am a neurosurgeon myself, and I thought I couldn't do it.” The children’s father recounted the medical history from the side.

“I’m going to have the surgery even if it’s life-threatening. I don’t want to be with her for even a day. Doctor, please do the surgery now.”

"Yes, I don't want to be with her for even a second, doctor, just cut us apart with a sharp scalpel right now."

"I want to go for a walk, but she wants to read a book."

“I don’t like the smell of peanut butter, but she loves to eat it.”

"I hate durian, why do you still eat that awful stuff?"

"Why should I consider your feelings when I eat? If I can't decide what to eat independently, then what can I decide?"

"Me too, so please don't interfere with me, and I won't interfere with you. Let's not interfere with each other, okay?"

They were quiet for a short while, then they started arguing again.

Fortunately, it was a private room; otherwise, the other patients in the same room would have found the atmosphere unbearable. Their parents were used to it, so there was nothing they could do.

"Their personalities and hobbies are completely opposite; they are a pair of contradictions by nature. There's nothing we can do about it; we've gotten used to it, and we're always trying to reconcile their differences," the mother said with a wry smile.

The father shrugged and gave a helpless smile: "They started attacking each other when they were still in the cradle. They're such a troublesome pair of babies."

At this moment, Yang Ping thought of a wonderful Chinese phrase: "ice-charcoal furnace".

They were like oil and water, two people who were completely incompatible, yet they turned out to be conjoined twins. The world is sometimes truly amazing.

"Are there any differences in their studies? For example, how much they like different subjects?" Yang Ping wanted to ask, because their very different personalities might have anatomical reasons.

For example, certain parts of the brain are connected, and these parts compete for blood supply, so their development may be relatively poor. This situation doesn't exist on the other side, so relatively speaking, the other side of each person develops better. And the better-developed part happens to be the mirror image of the other side. Therefore, this anatomical factor may lead to very different personalities between the two people.

“You’re absolutely right. They’re quite the opposite. One likes literature and art, the other likes math and physics. One is left-handed, the other is right-handed. One likes watching ball games, the other likes watching singing and dancing shows…” the children’s father explained.

That's really true. It may indeed be related to the differences in brain anatomy. They have different areas of development. One has a more developed right hemisphere, while the other has more developed left and right hemispheres. The remaining hemisphere is the area where the two connect, and it may be an underdeveloped area.

In fact, this can also be seen from their cranial CT and MRI images: the sulci in developed areas are deeper, while those in underdeveloped areas are shallower.