Slide.
After washing my hands and entering the operating room, I saw that the patient’s abdomen had already been horizontally incised. I quickly dried my hands, put on my surgical gown, and stood next to the professor. By the way, I suppose it’s just expected now that I stand as the second assistant...
Slide.
As soon as I stood in the surgical field, the door opened once more.
“We’re here from the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).”
A doctor and a nurse pushed an incubator into the operating room. It seemed they were planning to take over the newborn the moment it was out of the uterus.
I looked around.
Doctors: two from anesthesiology, two from obstetrics and gynecology, one from pediatrics, and one intern.
Nurses: two from anesthesiology, two scrub nurses, one from obstetrics and gynecology, and one from pediatrics.
A total of twelve doctors and nurses were in this cramped operating room. All for the sake of a single surgery.
‘Right, everyone is giving their all in this moment...’
As I muttered that to myself, a chat message popped up.
[Brooke: Is this your first OBGY surgery?]
[Me: Yeah.]
Though I’d been thrown into a five-minute time-attack surgery for my very first one.
[Brooke: Well, it’s simple! Just make a horizontal, vertical, and horizontal incision, then cut the uterus horizontally, and you’re done!]
What is that supposed to mean? Speak so I can understand.
But I didn’t have the luxury of asking questions.
“Bovie.”
“Yes, Bovie.”
The electric scalpel was placed in the professor’s hand.
Beee—
Pshhh.
The professor began to incise the fat layer at an incredible speed. As I watched, a chat message appeared.
[Lia: From now on, assist well so the lead surgeon doesn’t have to say a single word.]
[Lia: I mean, hand over the surgical instruments before they even open their mouth.]
[Brooke: Haha! Good, good!]
[Brooke: The stage is set! Let’s go save a life!]
Following that message, a flurry of chats scrolled by in succession.
[Lia: Straight.]
[Brooke: Tie.]
[Lia: Army.]
Damn it.
Do I have three hands?
However,
‘Straight to the professor, tie to Senior Kim Yu-i... I grab the Army...’
I began to see exactly where each instrument needed to go and what role it had to play.
‘Ha...! I’ve got some experience under my belt, too. This much is...’
Thinking that, I spoke to the scrub nurse.
“Straight, please. And have a tie ready. Give me the Army now.”
I watched the fat layer being incised while holding the Army retractor.
Beee—
Pshhh.
While the fat layer was being incised,
Pshhh.
Blood spurted out. I immediately handed the straight clamp to the professor, and,
“Tie, now.”
I took the tie and handed it to Senior Kim Yu-i.
Slice. Slice.
The severed vessel was tied off, achieving hemostasis.
Clack.
I used one hand to release the straight clamp and tossed it onto the instrument tray.
[Lia: Scissors.]
[Brooke: One more tie.]
[Lia: Wipe the Bovie tip.]
[Brooke: Wet Gauze.]
Four messages popped up at once again.
Damn it...
“Scissors. And have another tie ready.”
I received the scissors and handed them to the professor. The professor didn’t take their eyes off the surgical site, taking the instruments I provided and proceeding with the surgery immediately.
I wiped the bleeding site so the severed vessels were clearly visible, while using my other hand to scrape the burnt tissue off the Bovie tip.
The fat layer was incised rapidly.
Soon, the muscle layer wrapped in fascia began to appear.
[Brooke: Scissors.]
[Lia: Richardson.]
[Brooke: Keep holding the Bovie.]
[Lia: Adjust the light.]
The chats popped up simultaneously again.
“Richardson and scissors, please.”
I said, holding the Bovie in one hand and adjusting the surgical light with the other.
Slide.
The fascia layer was parted, and the peritoneum appeared.
[Brooke: Kocher.]
[Lia: Detachable.]
[Brooke: Keep holding the scissors. We’ll use them again.]
[Lia: Put up another Richardson.]
[Brooke: Spread the peritoneum with the Army.]
As we got closer to the uterus, the number of simultaneous chat messages increased.
When I handed the scissors to the professor, they began to cut the fascia, and soon after, they hooked a detachable needle suture into the edge of the fascia and tied it to secure the tissue.
And when I handed the Kocher forceps and Richardson to Senior Kim Yu-i, she grabbed the upper skin of the incision with the forceps and then hooked two Richardsons to pull the incision site upward.
What is this? This is exhausting.
I’d need three hands and it still wouldn’t be enough.
But.
‘The professor and the senior aren’t taking their eyes off the surgical site for even a second...’
That meant not a single second was wasted in requesting and handing over instruments.
Perhaps...
‘Perhaps a 5-minute finish is possible?’
If it’s possible, it’s all thanks to me.
Heh heh.
But that self-congratulation didn’t last long.
[Brooke: Packing gauze.]
[Lia: If you’re using packing gauze, you’ll need long forceps too, my little doctor.]
[Brooke: Haha! You’re in GS, but you know quite a bit about OBGY surgery!]
[Lia: Well... it’s the same abdomen anyway.]
Save the pleasantries for the two of you later.
[Brooke: Bladder retractor.]
[Lia: Ask for fresh wet gauze.]
[Brooke: Adjust the light when you put in the packing gauze.]
[Lia: Put away the Bovie. We don’t need it anymore.]
[Brooke: It would be good to have one more straight clamp!]
The chats were coming in frantically.
[Finch_Novel: This is the part where you shout that the vitals are unstable to get that dopamine rush!!!]
[Finch_Novel has been temporarily blocked by the administrator.]
After blocking the troll, while I was frantically handing over instruments, receiving them, and adjusting the lights.
“Whew...”
The professor took a deep breath while looking at the incision. Inside, there was a pink, soccer-ball-like object.
‘So this is the uterus...’
I thought that, and briefly glanced at the clock on the operating room wall.
Surgery time: 00:03:14
Three minutes had passed since the surgery began.
What the? That was incredibly fast. I was slightly impressed, and then the professor slowly opened their mouth.
“Scalpel.”
***
Department Head Kim Seok-hyeong felt a momentary sense of incongruity.
‘Why does it feel so awkward to open my mouth in the operating room?’
Surgery was something he had done his entire life. As someone who still held the scalpel in the OR even at an age nearing retirement, this awkward feeling was a first.
He received the scalpel and looked at the uterus. Then, a marking pen suddenly entered his field of vision.
‘Hmm...?’
Professor Kim Seok-hyeong found himself grabbing the marking pen without even realizing it. He then habitually marked the incision site on the uterus.
This, too, was something he had done his entire life and was accustomed to. He performed cesarean sections several times a day. However,
‘So this is why it felt so awkward today...’
As soon as Professor Kim Seok-hyeong pulled the marking pen away from the uterus, he noticed someone taking the pen, and he realized the source of that incongruity.
‘The tools I need come in and the tools I don’t need go out without me having to say a word.’
Without taking his eyes off the surgical site, the thing he needed was always placed in his hand. It was as if the assistant knew the entire surgical process and was supporting the lead surgeon.
‘Next is...’
As he applied the scalpel to the marked area, a suction tip entered his field of vision.
Slide.
As he made an incision in the upper part of the uterus, the suction tip pressed between them to create space.
Slide.
While the suction made the inside clearly visible,
Slice.
The light from the surgical lamp was placed right on the incision site. It was a light that seemed to say, ‘You’re going to cut here, right? I know everything, so cut quickly.’
‘Haha... I’ve seen all sorts of things in my life...’
Obstetric surgery is dangerous and doesn’t pay well. Because of that, not even residents, let alone professors, have much interest in it. That meant he had rarely seen an assistant in his life who took this much interest in and supported obstetric surgery. Most of all, what was amazing was,
‘It doesn’t look like they just came in with textbook knowledge...’
Going beyond simply knowing the surgical procedure, they knew the sections where the lead surgeon struggled and where hands were prone to getting tangled, and assisted accordingly. This was something that could only be done with quite a bit of experience.
‘What on earth is this? Senior Kim Yu-i...? No. That senior has been in surgeries dozens of times, but she’s never shown a performance like this.’
Professor Kim Seok-hyeong glanced to the side, curious about the assistant’s identity. And then he realized.
‘Ah, as I thought... this assistant was the intern...’
But at the same time, he couldn’t understand it.
‘How could an intern? Obstetric surgery is rarely something one can easily know...’
Occasionally, in cases like trauma surgery, there are fools who watch strange medical dramas and study on their own. But he had never seen anyone who studied cesarean sections beforehand. If there were, they would truly be someone who loves obstetrics.
‘No, do they love obstetrics...?’
He realized it in an instant.
‘Ah, do they like obstetrics? Is that why they prepared in advance...?’
That was the only thing that made sense. Professor Kim Seok-hyeong opened his mouth without stopping his hands as he incised the uterus.
“Intern... you’re quite accustomed to obstetric surgery.”
“Ah, yes, Professor. After all, doesn’t every disease in obstetrics get cured through delivery? That’s why I studied cesarean sections as hard as I could!”
At the intern’s words, Professor Kim Seok-hyeong’s heart felt like it was dropping.
‘They... they studied obstetrics and came here?’
His heart pounded, and his vision flashed.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll adjust the surgical lamp again.”
“Hmm...”
The flashing disappeared quickly, but the pounding did not.
This pounding... it was that.
‘Is it finally time to pass on the position of OBGY professor? Yes, I suppose it is time...’
While indulging in such delusions, Professor Kim Seok-hyeong fully incised the uterus and spread it open with his hands.
Pop.
An amniotic sac, looking like a water balloon, bulged out from within the uterus.
Setting the delusions aside, this had to be dealt with first.
As Professor Kim Seok-hyeong stared at the amniotic sac, a pair of forceps appeared before his eyes.
The professor naturally took the forceps and opened his mouth.
“Now, I’m pulling it out.”
With those words, he pierced the amniotic sac with the forceps.
With a *bang*, the fluid inside the sac spilled onto the operating table.
Gush.
Soon after, blood began to pour out from the ruptured placenta within the uterus.
Beep-beep— Bee—
The alarm signaling a drop in blood pressure blared, and the people at the operating table grew busy.
“Damn it... the shoulder is stuck!”
Following the professor’s words, Dr. Kim Yu-i immediately placed her elbows on the mother’s abdomen and began to press down firmly, putting her weight into it.
Squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze.
Each time she pressed on the abdomen, the baby began to emerge little by little.
“Almost... almost... it’s coming out...!”
Just as the baby was nearly out, Professor Kim Seok-hyeong grabbed the baby’s shoulders and pulled firmly.
The baby emerged from the uterus, and,
“7:43 PM. It’s a boy.”
After clamping the umbilical cord with a Kelly clamp and cutting it with scissors, the OBGY nurse announced.
Immediately, the pediatrician took the baby.
“Suction!”
As the pediatrician shouted, the scrub nurse handed over a rubber suction bulb.
“Damn it... there’s no respiration at all...”
The pediatrician said urgently while using the suction bulb to clear the baby’s mouth.
“For now... for now, we’re heading to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). I’ll start with intubation!”
The pediatrician said this as he pushed the incubator and left the operating room.
Beep-beep— Bee—
Beside them, the anesthesia machine was flashing a bright red light, sounding an alarm.
“Blood pressure is dropping. We’re continuing the transfusion, but... VF (Ventricular Fibrillation) might return. If that happens...”
*Then there won’t be another chance to defibrillate...* Professor Han Seung-hyeon of Anesthesiology left the thought unfinished.
In any case, everyone present already knew that fact.
Gush.
Bright red blood was spurting from inside the uterus.
‘From here on out, it’s a time for the OBGY department alone...’
Just as Professor Kim Seok-hyeong thought this, the intern moved first.
Pop.
Slurp.
The sound of the suction tip being pulled out echoed, and in an instant, the pool of blood that had collected in the uterus vanished.
Then, the bladder appeared before his eyes.
It was a signal to use the bladder retractor to apply pressure and achieve hemostasis on the uterus.
‘Who is the lead surgeon here...?’
Professor Kim Seok-hyeong chuckled as he took the bladder retractor.
The End.
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