Chapter 293 Heartbreak
"Abella, come to the hospital quickly! No time to explain, hurry!!!" It was Dr. Smith on the line.
Dr. Smith had always been a calm person, so if he was this urgent, there was no need to think about it - something major must have happened to Grandma!
The sound of a speeding car could be heard, as it immediately left the villa across the river. Mrs. Medici happened to be awake, getting a drink of water. Upon hearing the sound, she glanced outside the window and caught a glimpse of a red Ferrari fading away.
Why was Abella out this late? What happened?
Abella floored the gas pedal, speeding and drifting on the streets in the late night. What would usually take half an hour, she arrived in just ten minutes and shocked the nurses waiting at the hospital entrance.
She let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly approached, "Abella, you finally came! Dr. Smith told me to wait for you here. He said your grandmother's condition is critical, and we've missed the best time for rescue!"
Abella's eyes widened, and she quickened her pace towards ward 301.
"Abella, wait for me..." the nurse couldn't catch up with her.
Abella raced, like a gust of wind, but when she pushed open the door, there was no one inside.
"Abella, the operating room! Please change into scrubs quickly." another nurse rushed to inform her.
Abella changed into sterile attire as quickly as possible and entered the operating room. All the instruments were telling her that her grandmother was fading fast.
"Heart rupture caused by a heart attack! Hurry!" Dr. Smith's voice brought her back to reality in an instant.
Heart rupture caused by a heart attack is arguably the most severe complication of myocardial infarction. The condition is extremely dangerous, with a short-term mortality rate that can reach 100%. Many people die on the spot without even having the chance to be taken to the hospital.
Fortunately, Grandma was in the ward at the time and was discovered by the nurse doing her rounds, who immediately sent her to the operating room.
Before Abella arrived, Dr. Smith had already performed a median sternotomy on Grandma, performed a rapid femoral artery catheterization, and opened the pericardium. However, there was some bad news: a large blood clot was present in the pericardial sac. Suddenly, it took, yet another, sinister turn.
"Oh no, sudden ventricular fibrillation!" a doctor exclaimed anxiously.
Abella made a quick decision, "Defibrillation."
After a while, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief, "Defibrillation successful. The heart has regained its rhythm, and the blood pressure has risen to 70mmHg."
"I'll handle the blood clot in the heart!" Abella taking the initiative. The doctor had previously witnessed her expertise in dealing with adhesions and blood clots, so he entrusted everything to her.
After Abella finished her work, she instructed someone to establish extracorporeal circulation through venous drainage, but before long, more bad news arrived.
"Oh no, blood pressure dropping again!" a doctor reported.
Abella remained calm in the face of danger, "Block the ascending aorta and infuse aortic arrest solution to induce cardiac standstill!"
"Block successful, aortic arrest solution infused."
"Externally examine the ascending aorta."
Upon hearing Abella's instructions, a doctor immediately examined the ascending aorta, "Examination complete, no apparent dilatation or intramural hematoma."
Ruling out the possibility of ascending aortic rupture. Abella glanced at the mildly dilated aortic arch, "No aortic dissection observed, ruling out aortic rupture. Administer cerebral hypotherAurora protection."
She did this to prevent brain ischeAurora and potential brain damage to her grandmother.
"The rupture is getting larger."
"The bleeding is increasing."
"The circulation is failing."
Doctors kept updating Abella on the latest situation.
After painstakingly handling all the conditions, Abella was faced with another challenge. Due to the heart rupture caused by the heart attack, the surrounding myocardium was no longer functioning properly.
Frequently fragile, the heart laceration had reached 3 centimeters, demanding an extremely skillful suturing technique for any chance of success.
"Perhaps we should let Dr. Smith handle it..." one of the doctors, who didn't know Abella, believed that Dr. Smith's medical skills were more impressive.
But Dr. Smith spoke up, breaking his preconceptions. "No one is more suitable than her!"
Abella remained calm as she sutured the laceration, using a double-layered pericardial patch, to gradually stitch up the damaged area. She reinforced it externally with felt strips, ensuring the solidity of the heart repair.
Everyone who hadn't witnessed her perform surgery was astounded, never expecting her suturing technique to be so remarkable. Even those who had observed her surgery were equally amazed because her suturing technique was unparalleled.
Some doctors hadn't worked with Abella before, but she coordinated perfectly with them, exhibiting a high level of synergy. The entire procedure flowed effortlessly and was completed in just over four hours.
Just as they were approaching the end, one doctor suddenly exclaimed, "We can't wean off the bypass machine; once we do, the blood pressure drops!"
Another doctor also noticed, "The blood isn't returning to the left atrium!"
"Cardiac resuscitation failed; blood pressure is dropping!" another doctor said, shocked.
Everyone was dumbfounded. How could this be happening? They were so close to ending the surgery, all they had to do was take Barbara off the bypass machine. But now this unforeseen situation arose.
Dr. Smith quickly recalled the entire surgery. "There were no issues during the procedure. Abella's separation and suturing were both executed excellently. The best possible solutions were provided for all temporary situations."
"Where could the problem lie?" other doctors inquired one after another.
Having been standing for over four hours, each of their faces displayed tension.
Abella didn't answer their questions but commanded, "Continue with assistance, bring the ultrasound machine over."
"Abella..."
"Bring it over," Abella suddenly snapped.
Dr. Smith looked at her and softly, sympathetically said, "You know better than anyone that Grandma's physical condition couldn't keep up..."
In other words, Grandma's body simply couldn't handle the strain of the entire surgery. This surgery was completely different from the one scheduled for tomorrow. This operation involved a heart rupture caused by myocardial infarction. It was highly lethal.
Not to mention Grandma's other underlying conditions, it wasn’t that Abella was incompetent; it's that Grandma's time had come. Her time was today.
"Doesn't anyone understand me?" Abella's stubborn face carried a hint of anger.
Immediately, a doctor procured an ultrasound machine from outside the operating room. Upon observation, Abella noticed that the ultrasound showed minimal blood flow in the left atrium, not completely absent. She could do it; she could save her grandmother again.
The sun gradually rose, and the outside sky was fully illuminated. Mrs. Medici spent the night in nervous anticipation. She didn't receive any calls, or replies, to her messages from Abella. Unable to sit still any longer, at 10 o'clock in the morning, she finally made a call.
"Phillipe, Abella left last night around two in a hurry and still hasn't returned. I'm afraid something happened to her."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
