When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

The woman stared at her still-pale nail bed, her right hand hovering beside the ring, not daring to touch it again: "Why is it still so pale?"

Lin Ye held her left hand, first touching the pad of her ring finger, then comparing its temperature with that of the two fingers next to it.

He told her to close her eyes, took out a cotton swab, and gently touched both sides of the last joint of her ring finger.

The woman could always point out where she touched, but when it came to the side closest to the little finger, her reaction was noticeably slower.

"Is it still numb?"

"It's still numb; it feels like there's something between my skin and the surface."

"Bend down slightly, then straighten up. Don't touch the ring."

The woman tried bending and straightening her ring finger.

My fingers can move, but they get swollen and tense when I bend them halfway, and a little blood seeps out from the broken skin at the base of my fingers.

When I straightened my fingers again, the numbness in my fingertips did not lessen.

Lin Ye pressed on the nail bed again.

The color was still slowly returning, and the temperature of the fingertips was lower than that of the adjacent fingers.

"We can't wait for the swelling to go down any longer." He put her left hand back on the cushion. "The ring has to be cut."

The woman's gaze fell on the red ring box: "Does it really have to be cut? Or should we think of another way?"

"With the dental floss wrapped around your finger, it's even more swollen. The tip is the wrong color, it feels cold, and it's still numb. We can't delay any longer." Lin Ye moved her left hand closer to the cushion. "The ring can be cut and repaired, but your finger can't be constricted like this forever."

She pressed the loosely closed lid of the ring case and picked up her phone: "Could I tell him first?"

"Okay. Put your hand here first, and don't turn the ring anymore."

Upon hearing that her circumcision was to be cut, Jiang Wen turned and went to the treatment room.

The woman took a picture of her swollen left hand, deleted it, retaken it, and then sent it to her pinned contact.

The ring is stuck; the doctor said it needs to be cut open.

The other party replied with a voice message.

She turned the volume down, and a man's voice came through the phone.

"Then cut it. Stop messing with your hand. I'll take the ring to be repaired. If it can't be repaired by the day after tomorrow, I'll just get a plain band for now."

After listening, the woman placed her phone next to the ring box: "Go ahead and cut it."

Lin Ye confirmed that she agreed to have her circumcision removed, recorded the time and the information provided in the treatment record, and then put on his gloves.

Jiang Wen pushed the small treatment cart back, with a ring cutter, ring expander forceps, gauze and a transparent resealable bag on the tray.

She pulled out a chair and sat to the woman's left, supporting the woman's forearms with both hands.

"Relax your wrist and don't pull it back. Tell me if it hurts anywhere."

The woman looked at the small round piece on the ring cutter and shrank back slightly. "Won't this cut my hand?"

Lin Ye picked up the ring cutter and showed her the thin metal shield underneath: "Put this shield underneath to protect your skin. Don't suddenly pull your hand away, I'll do it slowly."

There's still a small gap on the side of the ring closest to the palm.

Lin Ye applied a small amount of lubricant and slowly inserted the protective film along the unbroken skin.

The swollen skin clung tightly to the metal edge, and the protective film got stuck after only being pushed in halfway.

He stopped and changed his angle, allowing Jiang Wen to gently press the skin on both sides of his fingers apart.

The protective plate was moved forward a little more, completely separating the ring from the skin.

"Don't move yet."

Lin Ye placed the circular blade onto the ring face, confirmed its position, and then began to turn the handle.

The woman held onto the edge of the cushion with her right hand, her gaze shifting back and forth between the ring cutters.

Halfway through the turn, she suddenly took a breath.

Lin Ye immediately stopped: "Where does it hurt?"

"It just feels swollen inside, not like the cutting pain." She loosened her grip on the cushion with her right hand. "You can continue."

Lin Ye checked the position of the protective plate again, and then touched the temperature of the ring face before continuing to turn the handle.

A thin slit gradually appeared in the middle of the wide cabochon, and the blade loosened noticeably when the last layer of metal broke off.

Although the ring was cut open, the cut edge remained firmly attached to the swollen base of the finger.

Lin Ye removed the ring cutter and replaced it with ring expander pliers.

Jiang Wen used two layers of gauze to protect both sides of the broken edge to prevent the metal edge from scratching her skin.

"If it hurts, just say so."

The woman nodded.

As the ring expander slowly opened, the cut ring created a sufficiently wide opening.

Lin Ye lifted it along the side of the base of the finger, avoiding the abrasion, and the ring slipped off his ring finger.

As soon as the ring was removed, the woman reached out her right hand to catch it.

Jiang Wen first placed the ring inside the gauze: "The edges are sharp, don't handle it with your hands yet."

There was a deep red ring mark pressed under the ring, and a small patch was worn away near the gap between the fingers.

Without the metal barrier, the swollen skin remained protruding, but the dark color on the fingertips gradually faded.

Lin Ye rinsed the abrasion with saline solution, covered it with a small piece of sterile dressing, and then had her elevate her left hand.

The woman picked up her phone, about to put the ring box into her bag.

Lin Ye raised his hand to stop him: "Don't leave yet, sit for another ten minutes. We need to see if the color in your fingertips has returned to normal, and if your fingers are still numb."

She put her phone back on her lap, her left hand still resting on the cushion: "Can I touch this finger now?"

"Give it a gentle touch and see if it's still numb."

The woman lightly tapped the pad of her ring finger with her right hand: "It's still a little numb, but much better than before."

"Don't pinch back and forth yet, wait a few more minutes."

Jiang Wen put the cut-open ring into a transparent resealable bag.

The woman looked through the bag and saw that the two names engraved on the inner ring were still there, but there was an open slit on the side of the ring.

She took a picture and sent it to them.

The other party quickly replied: "As long as the writing is still there, focus on healing your hand first."

Ten minutes later, Lin Ye examined the patient's fingers again.

The color of my fingertips is now similar to that of the fingers next to them, and the temperature has also risen.

He pressed down on the nail bed and then released it, and the color quickly returned.

He then had her close her eyes and touched the sides of the tip of her ring finger with a cotton swab.

This time, the woman did not hesitate and could immediately distinguish between the two sides.

No new bloodstains were seen showing through the dressing at the base of the finger.

"Try bending it again."

The woman slowly flexed and extended her ring finger.

Although the swelling still hindered my movements, I was able to complete the entire procedure, and the sensation in my fingertips was clearer than when I had just taken off the ring.

Lin Ye added the examination results before and after IUD removal to the medical record and wrote the discharge record.

"When you get back, try to keep your hand elevated. If you need to apply a cold compress, wrap the ice pack in a towel and leave it on for about ten minutes at a time. Don't apply it directly to the wound."

Lin Ye handed over the discharge form: "Don't get the wound wet yet, and don't wear rings until the swelling in your hand goes down. If your fingertips turn white or purple again, feel colder to the touch, or are more numb or painful than they are now, don't wait, come back immediately."

The woman took the form with her right hand, her left hand still resting on the cushion: "You can't force yourself to wear it the day after tomorrow, right?"

"If it's still swollen the day after tomorrow, don't wear any rings on this finger. Wait until the swelling goes down, then take your size again."

She glanced down at her still swollen ring finger: "Okay. This time, take the correct measurements first before making any changes."

Jiang Wen put the treatment form and discharge form into her bag, and then pointed to her left hand: "Carry the bag with your right hand, don't use your left hand too much today."

The woman responded, picked up her bag with her right hand, and left the clinic area.

Lin Ye returned to the workstation, changed the patient's status to "discharged," and signed his name at the end of the record.

Ma Hao had just finished handing over his patients when he came over and knocked on the edge of the table: "Are you leaving or not?"

"Wait a minute, there's still one bed to be handed over."

"Then you pay first, I'll wait for you at the door."

Lin Ye picked up the handover log and explained the inspection details for the bed that hadn't been returned to yet.

When he came out of the nurses' station, Ma Hao was standing at the door.

"I'm off, time to go home."

Lin Ye responded and followed.