Chapter 666: Chapter 597: Top Student Chapter 666: Chapter 597: Top Student PS: Still editing, please do not read for now.

After the meeting, Dean Xia had a personal favor to ask of Yang Ping.

A classmate of his had immigrated to Canada and had been suffering from back pain lately. The family doctor at the clinic always prescribed analgesics. Unable to bear it, the classmate wanted to see a specialist. After waiting for three months, he finally saw one. The specialist was very thorough in the examination, and then recommended bed rest and prescribed more painkillers.

The classmate wished to book an appointment with an expert similar to those back in his home country. The family doctor said a letter of referral was necessary, and it would take at least a month to get a response, followed by a waiting time of at least half a year.

The classmate decided it would be easier to simply fly back to their home country to see a doctor.

Medical treatment in Europe and America is far more expensive than in China. This is not merely in terms of costs, but encompasses various aspects.

For example, in China, you could see a specialist of your choice by waiting and paying a small amount.

In Europe and America, if you want to save money, you’ll have to wait. The wait involves getting a referral letter from your personal doctor to the specialist hospital. Upon receiving the letter, the hospital will prioritize patients based on the number of people at the time and then reply in writing.

These letters are physically written on paper, and then delivered by mail.

Back-and-forth mailing, plus the wait time in line, may take as little as a few months and as long as a year.

Just as an example, our healthcare system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is similar to those in Europe and America. In the public healthcare system, if you want to get a knee MRI, waiting two to three years is normal.

Impatient individuals can resort to private healthcare providers, but consultation and examination fees are extremely high.

For patients who are not particularly wealthy and have high-end health insurance, this procedure is considered a luxury.

Therefore, many Hong Kong residents needing an MRI prefer to go to Pengcheng because it’s cheaper and saves time.

They can drive there and back in one day instead of waiting two to three years.

Dean Xia met with his old classmate as scheduled, then led him to see Yang Ping in the Comprehensive Surgery Department’s ward, introducing him to the young professor.

The old classmate was moved to tears. Back in Canada, he had never had the chance to seek direct medical attention from a doctor in a ward.

Getting an appointment involved writing letters and waiting for months. Moreover, the doctor he finally met was often not the one he wished to see.

After examining him, Yang Ping suggested a lumbar MRI. Under the guidance of Dean Xia, the old classmate had the MRI and returned to the ward. Even before the report was out, Yang Ping started reading the scans.

The final lumbar disc had already herniated, hanging loose in the spinal canal, compressing the left nerve root. Conservative treatment would be of little significance; microsurgery was recommended. After a few days post-surgery, the patient would be able to walk.

Even without Dean Xia leading him, if the old classmate had tried on his own, it would have taken a few days, but it would have eventually been arranged.

The old classmate agreed on the spot to stay at Sanbo Hospital for surgery, even if he had to pay out of pocket.

After solving the old classmate’s problem, Dean Xia took Yang Ping to his office and chatted for another half hour.

He asked about his well-being, what help he needed at work, whether he had bumps and bruises from playing basketball, and whether he needed anything else.

Such a talented individual, whom he had gone through great lengths to recruit and had just started to produce results, and now 301 was trying to poach him.

Regardless, Dean Xia was not pleased.

—
Harald Hospital, Munich, Germany.

August had been missing for almost two weeks. Now he suddenly sent a message instructing Markus to conduct a comprehensive preoperative assessment for the young duke.

In the whole department, only Markus knew that August had gone to China. This was the department’s top secret, which Markus had not divulged to anyone.

The young PhD from the University of Gottingen – the young duke, was a regular patient at the hospital. He visited the Gottingen Hospital almost every month for a comprehensive medical check-up to evaluate how much longer his precarious heart could endure.

Every six months, he visited Harald Orthopedics Hospital for an assessment of his spine. But it was just an assessment, no one dared to take on his spinal issues.

The young duke didn’t only have spinal problems; he had heart issues too.

The spinal issue was the triggering factor. His heart, limited by the narrow, constricted space, was under constant pressure, which, over time, resulted in chronic heart failure.

So, besides the spiraled spine being an obstacle to surgery, the precarious heart was also an obstacle.

No one dared to plan an operation on his spine!

If the spinal problem is not solved, the heart problem will never be solved. Even a heart transplant wouldn’t work, so it was a problem with no solution.

The young duke had already resigned to his fate, for this highly-intelligent scholar had a clear understanding of life and death.

The sudden notice took Markus a bit off guard. The notice from August was for a comprehensive examination, and Markus knew that these tests were for evaluating suitability for a surgery. Were they planning to operate?

Could it be that August’s trip was to prepare for a surgery?

Did he go to China? That young doctor from a Chinese city, as August’s assistant, Markus naturally knew what was going on. He even helped August set up WeChat. As the closest assistant, he knew why August had gone and promised to keep it a secret.

The young duke was flown to Munich by helicopter, curled up in a wheelchair, being pushed around, his highly intelligent mind…

Harald is a specialized orthopedics hospital, and Munich also has a professional imaging center which is better for the Duke to get a thorough checkup. Germany has some of the world’s best medical equipment, because the movements of the heartbeat and lungs during respiration cause many artifacts in MRI images.

When the first X-ray machine in the world made its appearance, the miraculous machine that could peer into the human body was hailed as a divine instrument.

People would meet up at the hospital to take an X-ray picture as if it had no side effects.

During his visit to Germany, Li Hongzhang of the Great Qing Empire had a bullet in his body. When the Chancellor Bismarck found out, he invited Li Hongzhang to experience the miraculous X-ray at a Berlin hospital. The bullet lodged below his left eye was clearly visible in the X-ray image.

It is said that Li Hongzhang was the first person in China to have an X-ray taken.

The young duke was wheeled into the CT room. Although he was used to this state, it did not mean he did not want to change.

With a deteriorating heart, even an elderly person who was eight or nine years old would be in better condition than him.

Sitting in his wheelchair, he would often feel short of breath, and taking big breaths didn’t help.

His heart was crushed, trapped between rocks, leaving no room for maneuver. The myocardium was already fatigued and even fibrotic in this diseased environment.

The duke had over forty children, with twenty-six sons. He was the son the duke cherished the most, but their relationship as father and son was not good.

“Mr. August has found a new treatment method for you; he has already gone to invite the doctor.”

“Even August is at a loss, I have seen all the doctors in Europe and North America. Is there any new technology?”

The doctor always liked to use some encouraging words.

“No, this time it’s true. Professor August has never been away this long, almost two weeks, and he hasn’t returned yet. His letter says that there have been more than forty successful cases. The new technology is very mature.”

Markus spoke excitedly; this was exactly what August had said in his letter.

The young duke had heard such proclamations since he was a child. Each time new information came, he found that the new technology was still in the experimental stage, far from application, and it was not as miraculous as claimed.

But he still accepted the arrangements of August’s team. From his childhood, August had been his doctor.

“The purpose of the professor’s trip this time is to observe and learn new technologies.”

The young duke was moved on the CT scanner’s moving bed. He was only able to curl up and not lie flat.

Image after image was taken sequentially to create a 3D image of the spine surrounded by neighboring organs, one that slowly appeared on the screen.

All kinds of fasciae and adhesions were clearly displayed. The heart and some parts of the lungs were already in a sunken state.

—
The image was transmitted to Sanbo Hospital.

Yang Ping had officially started to intervene in this case, with the 3D image displayed on the screen.

The spiral 3D space of the spine, grade 4 heart function, and deformed heart; in the process of orthopedics, whether it could withstand, especially if the heart would suddenly stop, the precarious grade 4 heart function was like a ticking time bomb.

For a conventional operation, they would have to give up.

But gradual orthopedic surgery with external fixation frames could maximize safety, and they could try.

“Before orthopedics, use thoracoscopy and abdomenoscopy to loosen the thoracoabdominal organs. Look, these are scar-like adhesions. They don’t have a certain extension. During orthopedics, they will create a hanging phenomenon. The pulling effect causes the organ displacement, forming a hernia. The heart is prone to arrhythmia under this effect.” Yang Ping pointed to the image of the heart area with a pen and said.

August nodded. He had not yet considered this step, as the difficulty of spinal orthopedics was already challenging. Heart failure, the second hurdle, had not yet been analyzed, let alone what was behind.

Takahashi was listening on the side. Robert’s main purpose this time was to further study sports medicine; the spine was just a sidetrack.

So, for the spine, among the three of them, August was the star student.

PS: