Chapter 464: Chapter 463: Breakthrough

Exhausted! Exhausted! Exhausted!

Important things must be said three times. After seven hours of continuous work, Yan Feifan felt like he was about to collapse. He was running on fumes alone.

This surgery was the most mentally and physically draining one Yan Feifan had ever performed.

If a single small blood vessel wasn’t sutured correctly, it could lead to ischemia and hypoxia in a specific area, causing necrosis and forming a black patch.

If a tiny nerve wasn’t handled properly, it would result in a small patch of dead flesh, causing localized facial paralysis.

If a single muscle wasn’t properly reattached to the tendon reserved on the facial bone, that muscle wouldn’t be able to contract and relax normally, leading to distorted facial expressions in that area.

There were so many blood vessels, nerves, and muscle tissues of varying sizes that Yan Feifan had to anastomose, piece together, and suture.

From the moment the surgery began, he had been in a state of total concentration, and it had continued until now.

The toll on his stamina and focus was immense.

Suddenly, the microscopic surgical field Yan Feifan was viewing through the eyepieces blurred.

He knew he had to stop and take a break.

Yan Feifan put down the microsurgical suturing instruments in his hands and took a small step back from the operating table.

Just then, someone approached him from behind and to the side, first gently dabbing the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with a piece of gauze.

Then, they gently pulled down the surgical mask covering Yan Feifan’s mouth and nose, and a straw was placed in his mouth.

Yan Feifan took several large, forceful gulps.

It was a mixture of saline and glucose solution. Anyone who’s tasted it knows the flavor—it’s indescribably awful.

But it could quickly replenish the body’s depleted sugar, salt, and water. No matter how bad it tasted, Yan Feifan had to force himself to take a few more sips.

After rehydrating, just as Yan Feifan was about to stretch his stiff and aching body, he felt another pair of hands press down on his shoulders and begin to knead them firmly.

The familiar touch immediately told Yan Feifan that it was Yu Suye giving him a massage.

He turned his head and was surprised to see that Professor Qin Ying, Chen Yu, and the others, who had already finished the hand and foot transplant surgeries, hadn’t left the operating room.

"Professor, Mr. Chen, why haven’t you all gone back to rest?"

Chen Yu chuckled. "Once we enter the operating room, we’re a team. We come in together, we should leave together."

"Feifan, take your time. We’ll wait for you!"

Yan Feifan was deeply moved by his words.

’It feels so good to have this kind of support.’

He immediately felt re-energized, his body filled with renewed strength.

"Thank you, Professor! Thank you, Mr. Chen!"

After expressing his gratitude, Yan Feifan stretched his legs and back, then turned his head slightly and said softly, "Su Ye, thank you, too."

"I’m good now."

With that, Yan Feifan took a step forward and stood before the operating table once more.

He held out his hand again, and the scrub nurse, Meng Yao, placed the surgical instrument securely in it.

Yan Feifan visually estimated the remaining workload. It would probably take another hour and a half.

He prepared to finish it all in one go.

Yan Feifan knew one thing: when it came to surgical skill, his only opponent was himself.

His task was to continuously surpass himself while on the verge of his limits, to become a better version of himself.

Yan Feifan took a deep breath, brought his eyes to the eyepieces of the surgical microscope, and once again immersed himself completely in the operation...

Yu Suye returned to Qin Ying and Chen Yu’s side. Together, they watched the live feed of the surgical procedure on the large screen on the wall.

To trace liability in case of a surgical accident, to create instructional surgical videos, and to allow the lead surgeon to analyze the operation, the Affiliated Hospital required every surgery to be recorded in its entirety.

Now that Yuanyuan’s hand and foot transplant surgeries were complete, the large screen was dedicated to a full-screen display of Yan Feifan’s surgical procedure.

Another ten or twenty minutes passed. As Yu Suye watched the various suturing scenes, she gradually noticed that something about the image had changed.

On the screen, the soft, thin blood vessel, which had previously been like a mischievous little worm that would bend and retract at the slightest touch, had required Yan Feifan to put in considerable effort to anastomose and place the first suture. Only then could the rest of the suturing proceed smoothly.

But now, this mischievous little vessel had become obedient and was no longer causing trouble.

With a simple pull and tug from Yan Feifan, the ends of the vessel obediently came together, touching head-to-head.

Watching Yan Feifan’s subsequent suturing motions, they too seemed to have become effortless and elegant. Amidst the apparent casualness of his movements, Yu Suye perceived a fluid, graceful beauty, like flowing clouds and running water.

"Professor, is it my imagination, or do I feel like Feifan..."

As Yu Suye said this, she turned to look at Qin Ying on her right and saw that her eyes were crinkled with a smile.

"Su Ye, your feeling is correct."

Qin Ying said joyfully, "Feifan is having an intraoperative breakthrough. He’s finally developed his own style of operating and suturing."

"From now on, Feifan can legitimately be called a master surgeon in his own right."

Hearing this, Yu Suye was overjoyed. "This is truly something worth celebrating."

"I really didn’t expect Feifan to break through so quickly."

Seeing Yu Suye’s unconcealed delight, Qin Ying couldn’t help but chide her, "I’m telling you, Su Ye, when it came to developing your own surgical style, you were initially stronger than Feifan."

"Look at him now. Feifan has crossed the threshold in a single step, while you’re still halfway there. Aren’t you ashamed?"

Yu Suye chuckled, not looking the least bit ashamed.

"Professor, you’ve said more than once that Feifan can’t be judged by normal standards. He’s a prodigy."

"I’m just a normal person. How can I compare myself to a prodigy?"

"Right, Professor?"

Qin Ying huffed heavily and decided not to engage with her thick-skinned student anymore.

Chen Yu, standing on the other side, said slowly, "Besides his monstrous medical talent, don’t forget something even more important: his diligence."

"Su Ye, think about it. How much does Feifan study in a week? How many surgeries does he perform?"

"We’re all worried he’s going to work himself to exhaustion."

"Su Ye, now reflect on how much work you do in a week."

Yu Suye muttered a complaint under her breath, "Can you really blame me for that?"

"Feifan has to deliberately take on as few surgeries as possible, while I can’t even get a surgery if I want one."

She looked at Yan Feifan at the operating table and continued, "If it weren’t for Feifan’s charity project, sometimes I wouldn’t even get to perform one proper surgery a week."

Hearing this, Qin Ying felt a pang of self-blame.

She was considered an outsider at the Affiliated Hospital, and given her personality, it wasn’t easy for her to arrange surgeries for her students.

To put it bluntly, she now had less pull at the Affiliated Hospital than Yan Feifan did.

Qin Ying couldn’t help but steal a glance at Chen Yu.

But that one glance happened to meet Chen Yu’s gaze.

Their eyes met for an instant before they both looked away, turning their attention back to the large screen to continue watching Yan Feifan’s procedure.

A minute or two later, Chen Yu spoke up. "Ahem, Su Ye, given that Feifan has a boundless future, and you are his official girlfriend..."

"How about this... I’ll have you officially transferred to the trauma surgery department on loan. From then on, you can take on any surgery you want in trauma surgery..."

At 5:40 in the evening, Yan Feifan placed the final stitch. The moment he set down his surgical instruments, his body began to sway.

Wang Chuan, who was assisting nearby, immediately reached out and supported him.

"This kid... he’s still the same as before. He doesn’t have a gradual decline mode, he just goes straight into power-off mode..."

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