Krafft's Anomaly Notes

Chapter 378 Saving a Life-Saving Blood Clot

Despite appearing remarkably confident in persuading Benny, Kraft still simulated the process for several days before actually beginning the treatment.

The five sheep were fortunate to make a necessary contribution to the development of paranormal medicine, and passed away peacefully without pain in a manner consistent with animal experimentation ethics.

The patients who benefited will never know the story behind it, but the monks who enjoyed the extra meal and Kup, who used the advanced head-suturing technique, will remember them fondly.

If conditions allowed, Kraft would like to practice a few more times, but time may not permit any further delays.

Almost all surgeries follow a set pattern: to achieve the same therapeutic goal, the less harm caused, the higher the requirements for skill level and the surgeon's control.

If Dominic's pituitary resection is like carving a greatsword, then Lucian's vascular blockage plan is more like making tofu.

The operating principles are similar; both involve creating small-scale layer disruptions and fractures to cause the desired damage in areas that cannot be handled by conventional methods.

Intracranial blood vessels are small to begin with, and at the level of pituitary tumors, they are generally less than a millimeter in diameter, about three-tenths of a millimeter, roughly the thickness of three to six hairs or two mosquito legs. They are a size that the brain can grasp but the eyes cannot quite follow.

This scale is roughly on the same order of magnitude as the minimum width of the crack torn open by the "Sword in the Stone," which is considered a challenging operation.

Besides giving it his all, he also needs to keep the patient's head completely still during the surgery. If the patient sneezes or twists their neck even slightly, the consequences could be disastrous.

Therefore, even though the pain may be very mild and brief, so mild that it is barely noticeable, the surgery must be performed under general anesthesia.

In addition, the monastery's best carpenters specially crafted a set of wooden pillows and neck braces that fit the head shape as closely as possible to ensure reliable fixation.

That's about all you can do externally, but to be on the safe side, some internal adjustments are also needed, such as making the blood thicker and easier to clot through dietary control in the absence of procoagulant drugs.

During the days that Kraft was preparing, the kitchen was also busy.

Lucian's meals were adjusted to a special version as requested. This included increased consumption of eggs, dairy products, meat fats, and animal liver, while water intake was restricted, and strong tea was required.

The overall principle is to consume a diet high in calcium, protein, and fat, promote diuresis and dehydration, and supplement with vitamin K. Appropriately high blood calcium levels are beneficial for platelet activation and aggregation, vitamin K promotes the production of clotting factors, while other components can increase blood viscosity.

Its actual effect is certainly far inferior to that of coagulants, highlighting only its negligible effect and psychological comfort.

Embolism is theoretically easier to form, which reassures the surgeon; the patient also feels comforted by the good food and drink. It's a win-win situation.

Of course, when it comes to psychological comfort, core equipment is indispensable.

Kraft turned the chest upside down and found the holy emblem he had received from the Basilica of Our Lady when he treated patients in Dunling, and hung it above Lucien's bedside. Raymond had assured him that it was absolutely the most authoritative holy emblem in the entire monastery, and even in the surrounding Priyère region.

With everything in place, the first treatment officially began after the morning prayers on the fifth day.

Since there were no external wounds, there was no need to prepare a sterile environment. The procedure was carried out directly in the ward, saving the trouble and risks of transporting patients.

After the head was secured and anesthesia was complete, Kraft sat down by the bedside, his hands loosely placed on either side of the patient's head—nothing particularly significant, just a habitual gesture formed when dealing with sheep by grabbing their horns and ears, making it seem like he had a more precise grasp of the position. He occasionally recalled the spellcasting gestures and incantations described in literature and silently apologized for the settings he had once ridiculed.

Even if it has nothing to do with the implementation mechanism, he and those he encountered who wielded special powers were somewhat similar in their preparatory actions, as if the ordinary parts of their bodies and minds were trying to understand the new functions that were forcibly embedded later in their lives.

While these subtle actions reveal one's intentions, they do, to some extent, assist in the "casting of the spell," making it more psychologically acceptable.

He cleared his mind of distractions and located the target blood vessel. The original pituitary artery originated from the internal carotid artery, but its branches had been hijacked by the tumor, becoming an integral part of its malfunction.

The blood vessels seem to be wider than they were a few days ago, indicating that the tumor's metabolism and secretion are quite vigorous, inducing blood vessel proliferation and dilation.

In conventional treatment, this is bad news, meaning rapid growth and a greater probability of bleeding during resection. However, in Kraft's case, it's good news, meaning that intravascular manipulation will be slightly easier.

He began to empathize with that deep spiritual pain, releasing its constraints, like opening the floodgates in a palace of memories, a clear, bitter, and salty torrent gushing forth, the omnipresent wounds wailing in pain.

It cannot be familiarized or adapted to; there is no difference between more and less, only between existence and non-existence. It is like a qualitative change from a simple neural signal, transforming into something that truly exists.

Kraft inexplicably felt that it was actually very similar to the parasite that was attached to Dominic, both being a kind of information that had a real "existence" and could be controlled by thought or, in turn, controlled by thought.

Only such things can be transformed into real power, using subjective will to tear open the cracks in the present world.

A tiny crack forms inside, following the course of the blood vessel. If visible, it would probably resemble a thin harp string, firmly anchored in the bloodstream like a rock.

Then, based on the results of the practice, slightly relax the control, and it will vibrate with a very small amplitude, like a real string, simulating the inserted guide wire scraping and damaging the vascular endothelium.

Controlling the length of the ruptured segment requires precise control. It cannot be too short, as a short thrombus will be unstable and easily washed away; it cannot be too long, as a long thrombus may inadvertently damage other normal tissues or embolize unrelated blood vessels.

The difference between sheep and humans is still significant. Based on limited experience, I selected a blood vessel segment about the length of a grain of rice, scraped off the endothelium, and stopped as quickly as possible.

The coagulation system has been activated. Perhaps due to slow blood flow at the extremities, coupled with the slight effectiveness of dietary control over the past few days, the mental senses have already observed the formation of visible thrombi along the endothelial destruction segment within three hundred heartbeats.

The tough, cord-like coagulated substance, mainly composed of platelets, gradually blocked the small arteries.

About 30% of the pituitary tumor's supply lines are cut off here, with a few small branches still supplying the remaining portion.

Kraft observed for a while longer before disconnecting his mental senses. That concluded today's treatment; the price of such precise control was a rapid decline in his condition.

Even if he is in better condition, he does not intend to achieve everything in one battle. He should first observe the results and plan carefully.

The doctor gave Benny a reassuring nod, wiped away the cold sweat from his tension and discomfort, and silently left the room, leaving the tranquility of the morning to the patient and his family.

(End of this chapter)