The students' words had somewhat distracted him from his fear.
After putting on the surgical gown, Shi Wenli went to the operating table.
Xu Qinghe withdrew her gaze and focused on circulation management.
In the past, she had often been in the same operating room with him, but back then she was only the second anesthesiologist, sometimes even the third.
Surgery began. In the waiting area outside the operating room, every minute seemed infinitely stretched. It felt like an hour had passed, but when they checked their phones, only ten minutes had gone by.
And so they kept checking their phones.
The phone screen lit up and dimmed, dimmed and lit up again.
Inside the operating room, every second counted.
The patient was awakened. His breathing was stable, without coughing.
Xu Qinghe: "Director Shi, the patient's vital signs are stable. He's ready for questioning."
Shi Wenli and the neurophysiologist began electrical stimulation to map the lesion boundaries. Shi Wenli asked the patient, "What is your surname?"
"Zhang."
"What's your name?"
The patient answered correctly.
Shi Wenli asked the patient to count. "Count from one to ten."
Last night in the ward, Xu Qinghe had rehearsed with him. The patient followed the instruction: "1, 2, 3, 4, wu...1..."
Shi Wenli was mapping the language area. The patient's "5" was on the tip of his tongue, but suddenly he had a language error. After saying "1," he couldn't say anything else, and his face began to twitch.
Xu Qinghe: "Director Shi, pause! The patient is having a seizure!"
Shi Wenli immediately stopped the electrical stimulation.
The circulating nurse quickly handed over ice-cold saline.
However, the effect of rinsing with ice-cold saline was not ideal. The patient continued to convulse, and the convulsions spread.
Xu Qinghe glanced at the monitor, decisively administered medication, and adjusted the depth of anesthesia.
Soon, the patient's seizure was controlled.
Just now, when the patient suddenly couldn't speak, it was because Shi Wenli had blocked the function of the language cortex. The purpose of waking the patient during surgery was to mark the location of the language area and avoid it when removing the lesion, ensuring the patient's speech wouldn't be affected postoperatively.
Before the surgery, the patient had been worried that his lesion was too large and that he wouldn't make it off the operating table, and even more worried about the impact on his speech.
During his hospitalization, the patient recorded many videos every day for his teenage daughter, telling her how lucky he was to be her father in this life.
Last night, he also recorded a long blessing for the students in his class, wishing them success in the college entrance exam a year from now and a bright future.
Once the seizure subsided, the patient fell back asleep.
The language area had not been fully mapped, but since the seizure lasted a while, it wasn't appropriate to wake the patient again immediately. Shi Wenli had to pause mapping and first remove the peripheral lesion.
For nearly an hour and a half, Shi Wenli removed most of the lesion in the safe area. The remaining lesion was adjacent to the language center.
If the language area was damaged during surgery, the patient might be unable to speak in severe cases, resulting in permanent aphasia.
That was why the patient had been under such psychological pressure before surgery.
When the dissection approached the language area, Shi Wenli said, "Dr. Xu, prepare to wake the patient again."
"Okay." Xu Qinghe immediately reduced the propofol flow and adjusted the analgesics.
A few minutes later, the patient woke up again.
Xu Qinghe held up a picture and asked the patient, "What is this?"
After a few seconds, the patient said, "A schoolbag."
"And this?"
"A pen."
As Shi Wenli continued mapping, Xu Qinghe asked the patient again, "What is your surname?"
"Zhang."
"What subject do you teach at school?"
"Math."
Xu Qinghe: "Next, I'll say something, and you repeat it: 'Success in exams, a bright future.'"
The patient's heart rate showed a slight fluctuation. "Success... in exams, a bright future!"
It was clear how much hope he placed in those words.
This time, the electrical stimulation did not induce a seizure. Shi Wenli successfully mapped the boundaries of the language area.
After mapping was complete, Xu Qinghe deepened the anesthesia.
The medication took effect quickly, and the patient fell into a deep sleep again.
The surgery continued. In the quiet operating room, only the soft sounds of the ultrasonic aspirator and electrocautery device could be heard. Shi Wenli concentrated fully, carefully dissecting the lesion tissue.