Surgery Godfather

Chapter 167: Chapter 0161: Mother’s Worry

He actually performed this surgery. Su Nanchen knew of Yang Ping’s skills, but still found it hard to believe.

This was not a simple meniscus suture, rebuilding of four or more points is the most difficult operation in arthroscopy, even the top three imperial hospitals would find it challenging upon encountering such a case. There are only a few doctors nationwide who can manage it, yet he managed to handle it effortlessly. Objectively speaking, at this level of surgical expertise, he is more than qualified to be my mentor.

While Su Nanchen was not a narrow-minded person, he felt a sense of disappointment. As the saying goes, there are always higher skies and superior individuals. Now, he had encountered one of those superior individuals.

He took a deep breath. Since the individual was superior to him, if he wanted to reach that ‘higher sky’, he would have to learn from him. Yes, learn from him.

To become a formidable person, he had to learn from those stronger than him; this had always been his principle since he was young.

“Nanchen? What’s wrong?”

Professor Su and Mrs. Su saw their son’s expression change as he glanced at his phone while eating. He seemed deep in thought.

“A friend sent me a case. I’m thinking about it,” Su Nanchen continued to eat his meal.

“You clearly inherited this trait from your father, even considering cases during meals,” Mrs.Su complained to Professor Su.

Mrs.Su was an excellent cook, even simple dishes were exquisitely prepared. Her sweet and sour ribs, with a crystalline appearance, were sour, sweet, fresh and crispy upon consumption – a professional chef’s standard.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Despite her busy schedule, she still managed to keep the house immaculately clean. Their family had the means to afford a housemaid, but both Professor Su and Mrs.Su preferred hands on care, believing that their family was happiest when everyone helped with the chores.

The Su family was an esteemed family. Their ancestors had been scholars who achieved top examination scores, and began practicing medicine in the Republican era, spanning until today with Su Nanchen, the fourth generation still practicing medicine.

Su Nanchen’s great grandfather, a Western doctor from the early Republican era, studied medicine in Germany and once worked in the Nanjing Central Hospital. He was a flamboyant character with many children who were spread across mainland China, overseas, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After the mainland was-liberated, instead of migrating to Taiwan, he stayed and devoted himself to fostering new Western medical talent for New China. His unreserved contributions to medicine saved countless lives and cultivated the love of many students. He earned government recognition and was later stationed at Nandu Affiliated Hospital One in southern China, where he settled down.

His grandfather also studied in the Soviet Union and became the founder of the Neurosurgery department at Nandu Affiliated Hospital One, and was one of the few renowned professors in domestic neurosurgery.

Up to Su Qingyun’s generation, the family has never fallen behind. Not to mention the success of his cousins, even Su Qingyun and his siblings had all graduated as doctors and were the leading figures in their respective fields.

Su Qingyun’s appointment as an academician was nearly certain. He had authored several high-profile papers published in journals like The New England Journal of Medicine, AGAM, JBJS etc. His research achievement on bone cement won the national first prize for progress in science and technology, and the National Key Laboratory he had established for the study of biomaterials in Nandu Medical University was revered among the nation’s medical circles.

Up until Su Nanchen, the Su family had never given birth to a prodigal son. They had all been diligent and studious people. Su Nanchen, who was admitted into Xiehe Hospital as the top science student in Nandu Province, was deemed a normal representation of the Su family’s offspring.

After dinner, while Mrs. Su was cleaning up the dishes with Professor Su’s help, Su Nanchen wiped down the table.

‘I am serious, Old Su! Our precious daughter has been behaving strangely recently. She rarely chats on her phone, but these recent weekends, she holds her phone all night, continuously chatting and secretly laughing.”

“The chatting seems rather normal, you should relax. She is quite decisive.” Professor Su was evidently more open-minded than his wife.

“Our darling daughter is indeed too decisive, that’s why I am worried. She makes her own decisions in everything she does. You, as her father, simply go along with whatever she wants. When it was time for the college entrance examinations, there were so many schools and so many majors to choose from. If she had listened to me and studied dentistry at Nandu Medical University, she could have furthered her studies and become a Master or a Doctor, which is definitely better than being a nurse. But she wasn’t willing, she was determined to study for a nursing major and you simply agreed with her.”

“You shouldn’t say that, being a nurse is quite good as long as she enjoys it! Aren’t you a nurse too? I think it’s quite good,” Professor Su said without getting angry, and smiled.

Mrs. Su was momentarily speechless. She was the director of the nursing department at Nandu Affiliated Hospital One, had started her career as an operation room nurse, and was once heralded as “one of the gems” of the hospital.

“She doesn’t like being a doctor, you can’t force her. As long as she is happy, that’s what matters. Our home can’t just have doctors, it needs nurses too. It’s a medical family, after all.” Professor Su smiled at Mrs. Su and wanted to help wash the dishes in the kitchen, but she stopped him and started cleaning herself. Professor Su stayed by the kitchen door to keep her company.

Mrs. Su then uttered in defeat: “Being a nurse can indeed be good, and it would have been nice if she had stayed in Nandu Affiliated Hospital One. But she was insistent on leaving and eventually got a job at Sanbo Hospital. I initially wanted to call and ask someone to look after her, but she threatened me that if I did, she would no longer go to Sanbo and instead, go to a remote province. That frightened me and I dared not call after that. As her mother, I really don’t understand her.”

“Isn’t she currently doing well? She is happy, and I can tell that she is quite satisfied with her job. People should do what they enjoy in life. There’s no need to force her. Look at the college sports competition; she brought home two silver medals for us. Our Su family has produced many doctors, but those national sports competition medals are the first of their kind for us. Our daughter has brought honor to our family.” Professor Su proudly exclaimed.

“Let’s not talk about the past. As long as she is happy, that’s all that matters. But about her personal love life, you cannot let your guard down. Marrying the wrong man can cause lifelong regret. She is so naive, and the young men nowadays, they sweet-talk girls with honeyed words. At the very least, we cannot let her be deceived by some guy.” While speaking, Mrs. Su quickly tidied up the kitchen.

Su Nanchen spoke up in defense of his sister: “Mom, what are you saying? Don’t you know her? She won’t be easily deceived. Lin Hao chased after her so aggressively, but she never gave him the time of day. You can feel uncertain about other things, but about this, you can rest assured.”

“Hmm, I agree with my son. Regarding our daughter, the last thing I worry about is her personal relationships. I’ve seen her scrutinizing people as if under a microscope,” backed Professor Su.

“You all, especially you, get so disoriented by a word of praise. Let’s get this straight: I have a veto in this matter,” Mrs.Su hummed as she untied her apron. Busy time was over.

People were still chatting in the group. Su Nanchen didn’t want to bother explaining the surgical video anymore. It didn’t matter who performed the surgery, what mattered was that it was truly world-class.

“Dad!” Su Nanchen sat down on the sofa while Professor Su was reading a newspaper.

Professor Su could tell he wanted something: “Speak up, what is it?”

“The video just now wasn’t from the Tokyo University Hospital, was it Yang Ping’s surgery?”

“Yang Ping?” Professor Su also paused, his gaze shifting from the paper.

A young doctor performed such excellent surgery?

Professor Su shook his head, “As for surgery, unlike other things, no matter how high one’s talent is, experience through numerous cases is necessary. What differs is that some people accumulate experience quickly while others slowly. Regarding the quintuple reconstruction portrayed in the video, even our Nandu Affiliated Hospital One or the top three hospitals in the Empire do not get many cases in a year, how could Sanbo possibly have such a high number of cases for him to operate on?”

“I have a patient who needs a quadruple reconstruction. Could I invite Yang Ping to perform with me? I want to learn from him”, Su Nanchen expressed his true feelings.

Professor Su put down his newspaper, “This matter must be given careful consideration. Consultation is theoretical, surgery is practical. One cannot rush to invite someone to perform surgery based on a short video. Thorough investigation is necessary.”

Su Nanchen agreed. However, he trusted Yang Ping. Su Nanchen said, “How about I go to Sanbo to see if his surgical skills are really as good as in the video? Could we invite him then? I want to learn from him.”

Professor Su asked, “Is this your true desire?”

“Yes!” Su Nanchen nodded.

Professor Su slightly nodded, “I’m very pleased to see you think this way. It’s commendable that you want to learn from someone who is better than you, rather than being jealous. Regardless of the field, to achieve greatness one must have a generous heart.”

“If that’s the case, when he has similar surgeries, ask him to notify you in advance. You can observe and evaluate. If his skills truly match the level of the video, of course, he can be invited to perform surgery. That would be of a world-class standard!” Professor Su shared his opinion.

Su Qingyun had met countless gifted individuals. The idea of a recently promoted young doctor performing surgery at the level of a world-renowned master seemed unbelievable no matter how he looked at it. But, he wasn’t rushing to draw conclusions.

Asking for consultation was already an exception made by Professor Su due to his love for talent. Asking someone to perform surgery was a much more serious matter. To invite a guest surgeon, Nandu Affiliated Hospital One would usually call in big shots from the industry. There’s a degree to everything; overstepping the mark could ruin even a good thing.

To conclude someone’s surgical skills based on a video clip was rather crude. Even if everything was true, Professor Su would not readily use it as the basis of his judgment.

If he saw Yang Ping perform the surgery with his own eyes and confirmed that it was as impressive, Professor Su might be impelled by his love for talent to invite him over to perform the surgery.

“How’s your patient doing?” Professor Su referred to the patient with a quadruple knee injury.

“They’re currently in rehabilitation training for muscle strength”, Su Nanchen replied.

“What about Chen Ge’s patient?”

“Also in rehabilitation. Professor Ye is abroad. They can only have the surgery once he’s back.”

“Director Guan’s thinking is correct. You and Professor Ye should raise the standard of multi-structure reconstruction for shoulder and knee joints to the top national level, and then perform surgery for professional athletes. The requirements for ordinary people and professional athletes are completely different. Ordinary people only need to pass the standard, but professional athletes strive for high scores, even full marks. For this patient, I suggest that it’s best to let Professor Ye operate,” Professor Su kindly advised. He never talked to his son in a commanding tone.

“I understand!” Su Nanchen knew that his father wanted him to improve further and approach these top-notch surgeries with reverence.

“I know you young people have a sympathy for your peers, but surgery is a serious matter and must be handled with utmost caution. Do you understand me?” Professor Su said earnestly.

Su Nanchen nodded, “I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t act rashly.”