After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The operating room lights were all on. Tian Xiaobao's thin body lay in the center of the large operating table, the area on his chest that had been smeared with iodine showing a glaring yellowish-brown.

The head of the anesthesiology department looked up at the clock on the wall, then turned around and adjusted the various parameters of the ventilator.

"The endotracheal tube is securely in place. The tidal volume is currently set at 8 ml per kilogram of body weight, and the respiratory rate is 24 breaths per minute."

The head of the anesthesiology department turned his gaze back to the monitor screen, looking at the fluctuating data.

"Heart rate 120, blood pressure 88.52, blood oxygen 86 after oxygen therapy, electrolytes can be rechecked and are acceptable."

Ye Zhen stood at the surgeon's position, wearing a dark green sterile surgical gown, with her hands folded in front of her chest.

She turned to look at Old Shen, who was standing next to the extracorporeal circulation machine.

"How is the extracorporeal circulation preparation going?"

Old Shen straightened out a transparent tube in his hand and raised his hand to give her a no-problem gesture.

"The pre-filled fluid has been completely purged, and the heparin dosage has been readjusted according to the child's actual weight. The tubing is now completely unobstructed."

Ye Zhen withdrew her gaze and looked at Tian Xiaobao's slightly heaving chest.

"Ready to begin."

The scrub nurse immediately slapped the scalpel into her palm.

Ye Zhen took the knife handle and steadily sliced ​​down along the midline of her sternum. The subcutaneous tissue and muscles separated to the sides under the blade, and bright red blood seeped out.

The faint hissing sound of the electrosurgical unit echoed in the empty operating room, and a faint smell of burning filled the air.

"Bone saw".

The assistant immediately took the electrosurgical knife and handed over the chest saw.

Ye Zhen gripped the bone saw and advanced along the midline of the sternum. After the sternum was separated, the pericardium was fully exposed in her field of vision.

"Preserve the pericardium; don't cut it into pieces, you'll need it for the patch later."

The scrub nurse handed over the tissue scissors.

"clear."

Ye Zhen carefully cut an arc-shaped opening in the pericardium and peeled off the thin membrane tissue.

She placed the detached pericardium into a sterile saline solution bowl next to her.

"heparin."

Old Shen stared at the markings on the machine.

"The full amount has already been administered."

Ye Zhen did not stop what she was doing.

"Check ACT".

The circulating nurse took the testing device and announced the results.

"ACT indicator met the target."

Ye Zhen reached out her hand to the scrub nurse.

"Prepare for intubation."

The aortic cannula slid smoothly into the blood vessel under her skillful manipulation.

"Aortic cannulation complete."

Ye Zhen looked up at her assistant.

"Inferior and inferior vena cava cannulation."

With the help of her assistant, she secured the pipes one by one into place.

"Cannulation of the superior and inferior vena cava is complete."

Old Shen looked down at the pressure gauge pointer on the extracorporeal circulation machine.

"The circulating pressure is currently stable and can be reversed at any time."

Ye Zhen nodded.

"change."

The rollers of the extracorporeal circulation machine began to turn, and the dark red blood in Tian Xiaobao's body was drawn into the machine through the tubes. After being oxygenated, it turned bright red and was sent back into his small body.

The head of the anesthesiology department watched the temperature readings on the monitor gradually decrease.

"The cooling process has been initiated; the nasopharyngeal temperature is now 32 degrees Celsius."

Ye Zhen looked at the tiny heart beating with unusual difficulty in the chest cavity; the child's faint life force depended entirely on it.

She reached out her hand.

"Block the aorta."

The scrub nurse handed over the occlusion forceps.

"Blocking clamp".

Ye Zhen gripped the clamp and clamped it at the root of the aorta.

"Panic fluid infusion".

High-potassium blood-containing cardioplegic solution was slowly injected into the coronary artery through the tubing. The beating heart slowed down more and more until it finally stopped completely under the bright shadowless lights.

The observation room was filled with more than 30 cardiothoracic surgery experts who had come from all over the country. Everyone was staring at the monitoring screen in front of them, and even the sound of discussion stopped.

Gao Haiping held a hardcover notebook in his hand, his pen hovering over the white paper without writing a single word.

Liu Jianmin took off his reading glasses from the bridge of his nose, wiped them with the corner of his clothes, put them on, glanced at the screen, and then took them off again to wipe them a second time.

Director Wang, who was sitting next to him, turned his head and glanced at him.

"Your lenses are already clean; you don't need to wipe them anymore."

Liu Jianmin put his reading glasses back on his ears.

"My hands just can't stay still; this is a spot that no one, either domestically or internationally, dares to operate on lightly."

Gao Haiping pushed the notebook towards the center of the table.

"Everyone, please be quiet for now and pay close attention to how she treats the right ventricular incision."

The image on the screen was magnified, and Ye Zhen had switched to a smaller scalpel.

"A two-centimeter oblique incision is made in the anterior wall of the right ventricle, and the suction tube is immediately attached."

The scrub nurse handed her the fine blade.

Ye Zhen gripped the scalpel handle and, following the area marked with a sterile pen before the operation, made a two-centimeter oblique incision on the anterior wall of the right ventricle.

The internal structure of the right ventricular outflow tract was quickly revealed in the surgical field.

Ye Zhen's hand holding the knife paused in mid-air for a moment.

The air in the observation room became somewhat stuffy. Liu Jianmin's pen rolled off the cement floor, but he didn't even bother to bend down and pick it up.

The screen clearly shows that there is more than one abnormal muscle bundle.

Three abnormally thick muscle bundles intersect across the narrow exit, with the deepest one clinging tightly to the edge of the ventricular septum, right next to the area where the cardiac conduction bundles might travel.

Gao Haiping's face turned extremely ugly.

"The actual situation is much more complicated than what ultrasound can show."

Director Wang felt his throat was a little dry.

"The location of the third muscle bundle is too dangerous; it absolutely cannot be cut using conventional methods."

Liu Jianmin lowered his head and cursed.

"This is a really tough hurdle."

The air pressure in the operating room was also very low. Ye Zhen raised her hand and pointed to the operating light above her head.

"Adjust the light to the upper left by thirty degrees."

The circulating nurse immediately brought over a footstool, climbed up, and adjusted the light fixture.

"Turn the suction of the suction device down a bit, and be careful not to press it against the ventricular wall."

The assistant carefully controlled the angle of the suction tube.

"Yes."

Ye Zhen reached out to the scrub nurse again.

"Give me the finest, sharpest blade."

The scrub nurse's fingers were very tense when she handed over the scalpel.

Ye Zhen glanced at her.

"Don't let your hands shake, hold the equipment firmly."

The scrub nurse took a deep breath of air from her oxygen mask.

"I'm not shaking."

Ye Zhen held toothless tweezers in her left hand and gently pulled away the first muscle bundle that was blocking the outside.

"The base of the first muscle bundle is relatively clear, and we are ready to remove it."

The tiny blade cut into the root of the abnormal muscle bundle, the cut edge was made very thin, and the bleeding points were controlled to be minimal.

"Don't rush during electrocoagulation; first, absorb all the blood."

The assistant placed the suction tube close to the bleeding point.

"You're done inhaling."

Ye Zhen moved the tweezers toward the second muscle bundle.

"Pulling the second muscle bundle."

The assistant held her breath and coordinated with her movements.

The second muscle bundle was much thicker than the first. Ye Zhen did not rush, but peeled it thinner layer by layer until she finally cut off the part blocking the exit completely.

In the observation room, Gao Haiping finally wrote the first line in his notebook.

"Slice thinly in layers, being careful not to cut too deep."

Liu Jianmin bent down and picked up the pen that had fallen to the ground.

"She dared to cut so boldly because she knew exactly which parts were absolutely off-limits."

Director Wang's eyes never left the screen.

"The third muscle bundle is the real life-or-death moment."

In the operating room, Ye Zhen did not immediately operate on the third muscle bundle.

She turned to look at her assistant.

"Change the angle of the traction, and move the suction tube back about half a finger's width."

Sweat trickled down the edge of the assistant's mask from his forehead.

"You absolutely cannot pull too hard here, the ventricular septum is very thin."

The assistant quickly loosened his grip on the equipment.

"clear."

Ye Zhen glanced at Liu Xiaolan, who was standing beside her taking notes.

"Liu Xiaolan, please tell me the current time."

Liu Xiaolan glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Thirty-seven minutes have passed since the aortic blockade."

Ye Zhen turned to the extracorporeal circulation machine.

"Old Shen, how's the infusion pressure now?"

Old Shen looked at the dial.

"The pressure is stable."

Ye Zhen then looked at the head of the anesthesiology department.

"Is there any change in the circulating blood pressure during anesthesia?"

The head of the anesthesiology department was checking the data on the monitor.

"Circulating blood pressure remained stable."

Ye Zhen extended her left index finger and gently placed the pad of her finger on the interventricular wall, feeling the thickness and elasticity beneath the extremely thin tissue.

She held a thin blade in her right hand, the tip of the blade slowly advancing along the edge of her fingertips.

There are no instruments available to help her determine the safety boundaries of this layer; she can only rely on the tactile sensation from her fingertips.