"I'm already doing that," Xu Qinghe patiently explained the risks. "It's not just because the patient is nervous. Their blood pressure has never been well controlled. They also have a history of cerebral infarction, and their cardiopulmonary function is..."
She didn't elaborate further. The other party was the attending physician; he had arranged all the tests. How could he not know the patient's basic condition?
"Forcing anesthesia with this blood pressure could trigger cerebral hemorrhage or even acute myocardial infarction at any moment."
The attending physician had heard this kind of risk disclosure from anesthesiology too many times—every day, in fact—and had become numb to it.
So no matter what Xu Qinghe said, he insisted, "Dr. Xu, this patient is emotionally broken from the illness. He urges us to do the surgery quickly. Can't you make an exception?"
Xu Qinghe said, "This isn't about making exceptions. Not all hypertension is the same. There's no way I can anesthetize this patient."
The other party was silent for a few seconds. "Other anesthesia teams encounter hypertension and find ways to cooperate with the surgery."
Implying that either she was incompetent or unwilling to cooperate.
Xu Qinghe was momentarily speechless.
This patient didn't just have high blood pressure; he had severe underlying cardiopulmonary diseases, so blood pressure had to be controlled.
If blood pressure wasn't controlled, even if the surgery succeeded, postoperative complications could be fatal.
The other party said, "Dr. Xu, I have other matters to attend to."
Before Xu Qinghe could respond, the line went dead.
Without hesitation, she immediately reported to her supervising physician and applied to halt the surgery.
As soon as Zhao Mingde heard about the patient's condition, he agreed to halt it. "This surgery can't proceed. I'll talk to Director Yin."
However, two minutes later, Xu Qinghe's phone rang. The caller was Director Yin himself.
"Hello, Director Yin."
Suppressing his anger, Director Yin hadn't wanted to make this call, but he had to vent. "I had someone explain the situation to you clearly, but you still stopped the surgery just like that. Dr. Xu, you're something!"
Xu Qinghe thought to herself, it's not just about explaining the situation.
If explaining meant it should be done, then she had also written out why she halted the surgery.
But she couldn't respond so bluntly.
Once she spoke, she couldn't guarantee that both sides would remain calm in the end.
Director Yin was widely recognized as the top surgeon, having saved countless lives. She had always respected him.
"Director Yin, go ahead. I'm listening."
"How did you report to your director? And Old Zhao actually lets you stop surgeries at will! Always harping on high blood pressure. Xu Qinghe, I've been doing surgery for over thirty years. I know whether a patient can tolerate a surgery!"
Xu Qinghe had no words to explain.
In her eyes, a patient successfully coming off the table wasn't a successful anesthesia.
Only when they recovered without any sequelae was it considered a success.
She didn't argue because she understood that Director Yin's sole focus on surgery was also for the patient's benefit. It was just that surgeons and anesthesiologists always considered different risks.
Each had their own principles.
Performing surgery was to save lives.
Stopping surgery was also to save lives.
She didn't have time to listen any longer.
"Director Yin, the patient is waiting for me. I need to go."
With that, she hung up.
On the other end of the line, Director Yin's anger hadn't subsided. "You can hear me out even if you're busy. This patient's condition can't wait..."
Xu Qinghe had already hung up and didn't know he continued after.
Even if she had heard him out, it wouldn't change her decision to halt the surgery.
Just as Director Yin knew why she stopped the surgery but still held his ground.
Neither could convince the other.
After calming herself for a moment, Xu Qinghe went to talk to the patient. "Uncle, your surgery can't proceed today. Your blood pressure is too high. You need to bring it down first. Also, you've had a cerebral infarction before."
She repeated the risks she had explained last night.
The patient was silent for a long time. Every day he had this disease, he lived in fear.
After hesitating for a long time, he still insisted on surgery. "Doctor, can you think of a way? If not, can I switch to another anesthesiologist? I don't want to wait any longer."
Xu Qinghe wasn't angry. After all, the patient wasn't a medical professional.
Even many surgeons questioned whether she halted surgeries because of her anesthesia skills, let alone a patient who knew nothing about anesthesia.
She nodded and reassured him, "Okay, I'll call our department director. He's the top anesthesia expert. Let's see what he says."
The patient felt apologetic and a bit guilty. "Doctor, sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Xu Qinghe understood his feelings. "It's fine."
She understood everyone's feelings—Director Yin's, the patient's—but that didn't mean she could disregard anesthesia risks and gamble with the patient's life.