The speed had increased compared to the previous surgery, to the point that this peculiarity no longer felt awkward.
*Thud, squish. Swish.*
Popping the inflammation, wiping it away with gauze, and even rinsing it with saline solution.
It almost looked like simple work.
But that wasn't all.
This time, he popped the abscess forming a yellow semicircle as well.
*Prod.*
Yellowish fluid splattered lightly in all directions.
He wiped it away with gauze as the first pass.
Unlike inflammation, an abscess doesn't end with mere wiping.
abscess.
An abscess, in other words, is called a pus pocket.
He had to excavate even the root holding the pus completely.
"In a situation like this? ...Yes, you."
*Click.*
Jeong Minsu nimbly switched to one of the surgical tools hanging from the stand.
Unexpectedly, it was a hook.
A type of retractor used to grasp and pull tissue.
It was a surgical tool requiring caution due to its sharp tip.
However, Jeong Minsu flipped his thinking 180 degrees and elevated the disadvantage into an advantage.
*Squish, twist.*
He stabbed the tissue around the abscess with the sharp hook and twisted it directly, scooping out a hollow.
The muscle transformed to look as if ice cream had been scooped out.
"......."
The moment he saw that, Jeong Minsu's eyes filled with compassion.
But it was only for a moment.
The compassion he felt now was but a fleeting instant compared to life.
He moved his hands even more coldly for Bak Huinam and the family members.
"The best? More than that."
*Scrape, scrape.*
Under Jeong Minsu's unhesitating hands, the inflammation and abscess were ruthlessly gouged out.
Small wounds were gradually increasing on the muscle.
The locations and sizes of the inflammations and abscesses varied.
Even so, the continuing handiwork maintained a similar speed.
It was no easy task.
To the point that it was hard to believe this was the Jeong Minsu they had seen until now.
At least for this surgery.
At least for this moment.
He was leading himself forward with cruel, cold determination.
That appearance was clearly one who had grown a level.
Beneath that, Taesu's surgical tools came into view.
It was the knee area, the most difficult to operate on.
The joint connecting the thigh and the calf.
There was little muscle.
Instead, it was filled with special parts like complicatedly intertwined ligaments and cartilage.
The first thing to do was drain the fluid filling the swollen knee.
*Gurgle.*
Because the inflammation and abscess had mixed and melted, it was an opaque, yellowish color.
Taesu, having drained the fluid, glared at the inflammation within with a sharp gaze.
'The ligament side too, the cartilage side too....'
All of it had been infiltrated by inflammation, and here too abscesses had taken root.
Seeing the distributed state, it was definitely a pyogenic abscess.
Its origin was the lower part of the thigh.
The wound itself was not large.
The problem was that it had been neglected for a long time.
Honestly, if abscesses of this degree had taken hold, it wouldn't have been strange for sepsis to set in either.
It was fortunate that he had resolved the questions regarding that while speaking with Jo Jeongmin beforehand.
'Hemostatic herbs, tea that purifies the blood....'
Of course, they were folk remedies.
But he did not look down on them.
The very fact that sepsis had not set in was proof of their effect.
His thoughts filled only his head.
His eyes held the state of the affected area with thorough concentration.
Then, Taesu's expression hardened slightly.
"As expected, it's not easy."
Even so, he had not the slightest thought of taking the easy path.
Even if it was a difficult path, it wasn't blocked.
Then breaking through was the answer.
The moment he reached his conclusion, Taesu's two hands moved immediately.
The surgical method was, as expected, simple.
It was the method of firmly holding the surroundings of the inflammation with a Mixter and scraping it out mercilessly with a curette.
*Scrape, scrape, scrape.*
The sound produced as the curette moved was chilling enough to send shivers.
But Taesu's expression was even more so.
"......."
It was ice-cold.
A solemn gaze that had resolved to fight to the death.
You die, I live.
It was Taesu's sincere resolve in dealing with the inflammation and abscesses.
After Taesu, Gim Hyeokgwon was in position.
Gim Hyeokgwon's handiwork was no ordinary matter either.
Until just a moment ago, he had been playing a supporting role.
But now, he was truly performing surgery.
It wasn't merely a matter of participation.
He was proactive to the point that one could call him a doctor rather than a nurse.
*Click, clack.*
"I'll dig this one out up to here....... Damn, that's not it."
For a moment, something seemed to displease him.
He quickly reached out and switched the Ellis to a Metzenbaum baby.
*Press. Twist.*
Digging into the abscess with the sharp end and twirling it was nimble as well.
That wasn't all.
He actively utilized auxiliary surgical tools.
"This is suction."
*Slurp, slurp.*
"And this is....... cautery."
*Sizzle.*
His handling of the suction and Bovie was familiar.
His utilization of the surgical tools was flexible as well.
Debakey and Ellis were his base, with suction, forceps, and retractors included as well.
In the midst of that, he even proceeded with rinsing and disinfection.
He was utilizing an even greater variety of surgical tools than Taesu and Jeong Minsu.
To be precise, the two of them had yielded them to him.
However, it was true that he wielded them naturally.
It wasn't the skill of someone who had tried it only once or twice.
Even so, a decisive difference clearly existed.
Because he had never studied professionally, the surgical progress was interrupted from time to time.
"Damn it. Where did this muscle hide. Bloody hell."
*Swish, swish.*
Even while muttering complaints to himself, both hands continued searching.
With that tenacity, he eventually found it and continued the procedure.
But.
The truth was, that was all.
Because it was simple surgery, Gim Hyeokgwon could participate this proactively.
Participation in deep surgery directly connected to life was impossible.
And so the time each spent operating continued.
*Clack, slurp, click.*
In the silence, only the sounds of surgical tools were heard unceasingly.
No one knew how much time had passed.
They had never looked at the clock. To that extent, they poured all their nerves into the body parts they were in charge of and continued the surgery.
As much effort as they put in, beads of sweat formed on each of their foreheads one by one.
They were well aware of the ticklish sensation themselves.
The problem was that no one had a hand free to wipe it away.
They had no choice but to pick up the surgical towels beside them and resolve it themselves.
*Pat, swipe.*
Taesu and Jeong Minsu rubbed their faces with the surgical towels to resolve it for a moment when the flow needed to change.
On the other hand, Gim Hyeokgwon had a constitution that sweated more, so that much was insufficient.
"Ugh."
Perhaps his temper flared; he picked up the surgical towel and wrapped it tightly around his forehead. It was a method to absorb the streaming sweat directly into the surgical towel.
The sweat flowing from his head was resolved that way, and the facial area was blotted with another surgical towel.
Only then, seeming satisfied, did he urge his hands to move again.
And then, how much more time had passed?
Their sense of time had grown so hazy that it was on the verge of losing meaning entirely.
The three of them stood like stone statues, not moving a single step, continuing the surgery.
They were at the point of being sick of the very existence of inflammation and abscesses.
"Hoo, hoo."
"Hnnn. Hmm."
The stuffiness felt in their exhalations felt as clinging as the taste of abscess.
The operating room floor was a mess unlike any other mess.
Gauze and cotton pads that had wiped away inflammation and abscesses were strewn about haphazardly.
They were stacked upon each other as well.
Even at this very moment, more were falling to the floor.
*Thud, thud.*
They were not merely gauze that had wiped inflammation and abscesses with saline solution.
Minor bleeding was a given.
Disinfectant, not to mention hydrogen peroxide and liquid hemostatic agents, and various other medications were mixed in.
However, these scattered gauzes and cotton pads were precisely the traces of effort.
Most of the inflammation and abscesses visible on the surface of the affected area had disappeared.
It was to the point of looking refreshed.
Then, the medical staff's hands stopped one by one.
It was the first time since they had restarted the surgery.
"Phew."
"Huff, huff."
*Shake, shake.*
Each person calmed their rough breathing and loosened their stiff hands.
That time was brief, and they each raised their voices to quickly report the situation.
"Thigh, I excavated most of what's visible."
"The knee side too."
"The calf is more or less done as well."
However, perhaps feeling that oral reports were insufficient, they checked with their own eyes.
As reported, it had become considerably clean.
Even this change alone would have been a considerable result.
But none of them were thinking that way.
Their tense gazes did not waver for even a moment.
"If it's to this point......."
"We might shout hooray."
The short exchange between Taesu and Jeong Minsu was the correct answer.
If this were a surgery that could end here, they might have jumped for joy.
But as expected, it was not.
The inflammation and abscesses excavated now were superficial symptoms.
It meant that only the foundation had been laid.
Now was the time to enter the advanced phase.
Taesu checked the ECG.
*Beep, beep.*
He only heard that sound after becoming conscious of it.
That was how focused he had been.
Since it was not emergency surgery with massive bleeding, he had been somewhat inattentive to the ECG.
For that reason, after a long while, he quickly took in the ECG graph and numbers with his eyes.
A slightly fast heart rate and blood pressure, and body temperature was a little high as well.
It was within the normal range as a reaction to the inflammation.
The moment he confirmed it, Taesu immediately gave a sharp order.
"Minsu, together from the thigh. And Mr. Hyeokgwon, as support."
"Okay."
Jeong Minsu opened his eyes wide and showed fighting spirit.
But then, Gim Hyeokgwon blocked him.
"Doctor Choe, wait."
"......Speak."
"The tips of the toes are quite cold."
"Cold?"
"......."
*Swish.*
Gim Hyeokgwon pointed to the foot with his eyes.
Taesu reached out without delay and spread the toes widely.
A considerable chill was felt from the palm.
"Hm?"
Taesu's brow furrowed sharply.
Considering that the patient's current body temperature was high, this was definitely abnormal.
*Click.*
Right away, he grasped the other foot with his left hand to compare the temperature.
It was definitely different.
The right foot being operated on was much colder.
Taesu's gaze turned sharply to the IV.
A considerably thinned blood pack was visible.
It was still the first transfusion pack.
That was how little bleeding there had been as the surgery progressed.
His head began to spin.
Then Gim Hyeokgwon spoke to Taesu.
"I mentioned the artery here earlier."
"Yes. The peroneal artery."
"I suspect the circulation on that side is sluggish."
"Starting with the surgical gloves."
*Snap.*
Taesu roughly peeled off his surgical gloves.
Gim Hyeokgwon immediately unfolded new ones and helped him put them on.
Having donned new surgical gloves in an instant, Taesu immediately turned his gaze toward the blood vessels.
Since it was difficult to confirm with the naked eye alone, he used a Mixter as well.
*Swish, swish.*
He carefully moved the Mixter and soon stopped at one point.
However, it was not the peroneal artery mentioned earlier.
Since it wasn't Gim Hyeokgwon's fault for not knowing, Taesu calmly informed him.
"This is called the anterior tibial artery."
"When this surgery is over, I'll study blood vessels and muscles too."
"You must, starting now."
Taesu agreed as well.
And he concentrated on the blood vessel problem.