This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Jin Zan was not surprised by Du Heng’s reaction and reached out again to pull Du Heng. ”Just take a look first, alright?”

”Are you crazy? What is there to look at?” Du Heng flared up. ”Spinal curvature means the bone is growing crooked. No matter how powerful Chinese herbal medicine is, it can’t straighten a crooked bone. If surgery is needed, do surgery. If an orthosis is necessary, use an orthosis. Don’t mess around with unreliable methods. Dammit, what I prescribe is Chinese herbal medicine, Decoction medicine, not some Foundation Establishment Pill! It can’t reshape bones; can you get that straight? What’s the point of dragging me there to embarrass myself?”

Seeing Du Heng was genuinely angry, Jin Zan hurriedly placated him with a smile, ”It’s just that your skills are so remarkable.”

”No matter how skilled I am, you can’t humiliate me like this,” Du Heng retorted, rolling his eyes.

”Du, you’re overthinking things. This Patient is afraid of pain and terrified of surgery. Whenever surgery is mentioned, his blood pressure skyrockets to two hundred and won’t come down. It’s frightening! What else can I do but ask for your help?”

Jin Zan spread his hands, looking equally helpless.

”Do whatever you want. I’m a doctor, not a faith healer,” Du Heng rolled his eyes again, clearly stating he couldn’t help.

Jin Zan sighed. ”Alright then, help me with another Patient. She’s 18 weeks pregnant. After lunch today, she fell while out for a walk, resulting in a fracture of her left radius bone and ulna. After a consultation, and seeking the opinion of our Hospital’s bone-setting physician, we determined her current condition is completely unsuitable for conservative treatment. However, she’s pregnant, which means she’s not a candidate for surgery. If she needs surgery, she must first have an Abortion. But the pregnant woman is unwilling to have an Abortion, so we’re out of options. I know your bone-setting skills are excellent, so I’m asking you to see if you can come up with a solution.”

Jin Zan spoke very seriously, but Du Heng remained wary. This wary look made Jin Zan pause. ”Hey, what’s with that expression? I’m seriously discussing the Patient’s condition with you.”

”I suspect you’re trying to set me up.”

”Don’t accuse me falsely. I would never joke about a Patient’s well-being.”

”Alright, then explain this. You said the Patient suffered a left forearm fracture from a fall. The issue is, this is the Spinal Trauma Department. A forearm fracture isn’t something your Department would typically admit, is it?”

Du Heng eyed Jin Zan skeptically.

Jin Zan shook his head helplessly. ”Big brother, we’re Spinal Trauma, but that doesn’t mean we can’t treat fracture Patients. Besides, I performed surgery on her father last year, and she specifically requested me as her attending Physician. I couldn’t refuse.”

Du Heng looked Jin Zan up and down, while Jin Zan put on an expression of utmost sincerity.

”Fine, I’ll trust you for now.” Du Heng leaned back. ”Since the arm is broken, treating the arm must be the priority. Otherwise, it could heal crooked and potentially affect its normal use. If surgery is needed now, the Anesthetic will definitely affect the Fetus; that’s certain. And the Child is only eighteen weeks, just four months old. An Abortion at this stage wouldn’t significantly impact the pregnant woman’s health, and she could still have children in the future. It seems like there isn’t much of a choice, is there?”

Du Heng stared fixedly at Jin Zan and asked doubtfully, ”You must have misspoken earlier. It’s the pregnant woman’s family who disagrees, right?”

Jin Zan shook his head immediately. ”I didn’t misspeak. It’s the pregnant woman herself who is unwilling. Her husband, on the other hand, supports the surgery.”

Du Heng was a bit confused. ”What do you mean?”

”Sigh.” Jin Zan heaved a deep sigh. ”This pregnant woman is of advanced age and has had difficulty conceiving. This Child was conceived via a test tube, and it was only successful on the third attempt.”

Jin Zan looked at Du Heng with a helpless expression. ”If this Child is aborted, whether she can successfully conceive next time becomes a complete unknown. So, the pregnant woman is vehemently against surgery. She has stated that she will accept conservative treatment to whatever extent possible and will not hold our Hospital responsible. She’s willing to sign a Responsibility Determination Letter; she’s absolutely determined to save this Child. Now tell me, in this situation, can we really persuade her to give up her Child?”

Du Heng fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Du Heng spoke. ”Let’s not see the Patient yet. Let me look at her x-rays first. Honestly, if the doctors in your Hospital say conservative treatment won’t work, I don’t have much confidence either.”

Unexpectedly, Jin Zan chuckled, sat back down, and said softly to Du Heng, ”Let me put it this way: our Hospital currently has no doctors skilled in bone setting. The Hospital and all Departments have requirements. Given the uncertainty of conservative treatment, to avoid causing secondary harm to Patients, and to prevent unnecessary disputes, we are urged to use surgery whenever possible. You know, ’use surgery whenever possible’ essentially means we *must* use surgery. As for bone setting as a specialty, few people know it to begin with, and even fewer are proficient. With the current environment, the number is even smaller. Even if there are some, frankly, I don’t think much of their skill level.”

While speaking softly to Du Heng, he logged back into the system and pulled up the Patient’s records.

Du Heng leaned forward, carefully examining the computer imaging data. Although some parts were unclear, he could generally understand the situation.

”Complete fractures of the radius bone and ulna... and... this dislocation is extremely severe, isn’t it?” Du Heng glanced back at Jin Zan. ”How did this happen?”