21st Century Necromancer

Chen Yu's surgeries had almost settled into a fixed team pattern, with him as the chief surgeon, Jounouchi Hiromi as his dedicated anesthesiologist, and the second assistant role alternated between Doctor Higashiyama and the Glasses Doctor. As for the third assistant, that role was almost invariably filled by the lucky trainee doctor, Nakagawa Susumu.

As for the first assistant in surgery, Chen Yu didn't mind having Jounouchi Hiromi assist him, but most of the time Jounouchi Hiromi was just his dedicated anesthesiologist. In most cases, it would be Doctor Higashiyama and the Glasses Doctor, the pair serving as second assistants, who would step in as the first assistant.

After all, if the surgery wasn't too difficult, it wasn't necessary to have all three assistants present.

Of course, for major surgeries like the one today, Chen Yu would also invite Daimon Michiko to be his first assistant.

The surgeries that Chen Yu personally invited Daimon Michiko to assist with were naturally not easy. For Daimon Michiko, who had interests and specialties in certain surgeries, these were naturally very tempting, and Chen Yu's invitations were always smoothly successful, securing Daimon Michiko as his first assistant.

However, even so, this time the surgery for Higashiyama Keika was still understaffed.

Major surgeries like this one typically require more personnel. Under normal circumstances, two chief surgeons would rotate, with numerous assistants aiding them to avoid fatigue.

Of course, for surgeons of the caliber of Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko, they were capable of supporting the entire surgery and did not require replacements. It was based on their surgical capabilities that Chen Yu proposed simultaneous reconstruction of the spinal cord and cauda equina nerves. He and Daimon Michiko would operate at the same time to save surgical time.

Although this surgical plan was good, it was not easy to implement.

An operating table is only so big, and after a patient is laid upon it, at most five or six people can stand around the edges. Apart from the chief surgeons, Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko, there was the surgical nurse responsible for passing the instruments, leaving room for at most two more assistants.

If squeezed, the third assistant responsible for suction could also find enough space to get their hands in. One assistant for each chief surgeon, the four people working together on the surgery could still just about cope. Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire

But that wasn't the main problem—the key issue was that the nerve reconstruction surgery for Higashiyama Keika inevitably required the use of a surgical microscope.

Many people might not have seen a surgical microscope before, which differs from those in laboratories. The surgical microscope is suspended over the operating table with a long support arm and has two eyepieces for observation, allowing two doctors to use it conveniently and collaboratively to complete the surgery.

And the problem lay here— one surgical microscope could be used by two doctors, but now there were four doctors in front of the operating table, necessitating a second surgical microscope. A microscope suitable for nerve surgery was not a small piece of equipment; two long and thick support arms hung above the operating table, almost blocking the surgical lights.

The operating room nurses went through a lot of effort to arrange these two surgical microscopes properly without interfering with the surgery.

In fact, if there hadn't been enough space between Higashiyama Keika's injured spine and the cauda equina nerves, Chen Yu couldn't have proposed such a surgical plan and would have had to proceed step by step in a conventional manner.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and all the arrangements were made, with only the issue of surgical assistants proving to be somewhat troublesome.

Doctor Higashiyama is the brother of Higashiyama Keika. Following the principle that surgeons should not operate on their own family members, he couldn't participate in this surgery. Glasses Doctor is indeed a surgeon, but he is not a neurosurgeon and has no experience with nerve reconstruction surgery.

As for the long-term third assistant, Nakagawa Susumu—still only a trainee doctor—he continued to perform his role as the third assistant. At most, he could carry out the final skin suturing; an operation of this level was not within his reach.

In the absence of suitable candidates, Chen Yu eventually called on Ayajichi Shoubu from neurosurgery, whom he had met before. She had been involved in the previous surgery of Ichinose Miyako and was familiar with the surgical plan proposed by Chen Yu. Being a neurosurgeon herself, she had extensive experience with nerve operations and was a qualified tool... I mean, surgical assistant.

As for the other assistant needed for the surgery, with Ayajichi Shoubu's thorough knowledge of neurosurgery, it naturally was not an issue. A neurosurgeon with decent surgical skills was temporarily seconded. After rehearsing with Chen Yu for almost half a day, they had established a rapport and were ready to cooperate during the operation.

Under these conditions, the now-cleaned Higashiyama Keika was wheeled into the operating room, and after Jounouchi Hiromi had put her under anesthesia, the surgery began.

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"Tsk tsk, who performed the original surgery? The skill level is truly appalling. If the surgery had been performed with a bit more care, this abnormal vertebral fusion would not have occurred." As Higashiyama Keika's back was opened up to reveal her spine, Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko could tell at a glance where the problem lay.

Higashiyama Keika's spinal deformity was due to poor postoperative repositioning leading to abnormal vertebral fusion. However, there were many factors contributing to the poor repositioning. Keika's own decision to lie on her side was among them, but the failure of the original surgeon to place enough fixation screws was also a contributing factor to her poor repositioning.

Although the fixation screws had already been removed, the scars from the surgery still revealed clues to the trained eye.

This was why, upon opening up the site, Daimon Michiko could assert that a little more attention during surgery would have prevented such a severe outcome. After all, the internal fixation screws had been placed with subpar skill, which even made Chen Yu think that the surgeon might have been performing this type of surgery for the first time.

"Stop the chatter and move faster," urged Jounouchi Hiromi, observing Daimon Michiko and Chen Yu chatting while looking at Keika's spine, "Aren't we supposed to finish this surgery within ten hours?

I have a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro tonight, and I do not want to be late." As an anesthesiologist, she had to control the duration of the patient's anesthesia, as needing to administer it a second time due to a prolonged surgery would be quite the trouble.

"Understood, Anesthesiologist," responded Daimon Michiko before looking over at Chen Yu, "Lead Surgeon, what's the plan?"

"Let's do what we discussed. First, we'll cut the spine, then implant the 3D printed support to replace the original vertebrae, followed by support fixation, and finally, we'll reconstruct the spinal cord and cauda equina nerves," said Chen Yu. He then turned to the instrument nurse and ordered, "Bring the wire saw."