Chapter 390 - 247: National Cardiac Surgery Rankings
Chapter 390: Chapter 247: National Cardiac Surgery Rankings
With help from Shen Siyuan and Director Shao, many of the nation’s top cardiac surgery experts were invited to observe and provide guidance for Lou Musaang’s operation.
The conference room of the Cardiac Surgery Department at Jinggang University Affiliated First Hospital was filled with expert professors. Those unable to attend in person joined the discussion remotely.
The ability to gather so many cardiac surgery experts was, for one, due to the reputation and personal connections of Director Shao and Director Shen.
Another reason was Wu Ting’s surgery itself—the nation’s first-ever implantation of a fourth-generation bioresorbable polymer vascular stent.
Most of the experts in attendance were from Jin Province and Xianglin City.
Experts from Jiuhua Hospital in Qinghe City and the Jin Country Medical Science Academy Fuwai Hospital—renowned for having the nation’s top cardiac surgery department—joined via remote video link.
The lineup of observers for Wu Ting’s surgery was nothing short of star-studded!
Before the operation, the surgical team—composed of Wu Ting, Director Shao, Shen Siyuan, and Huang Dian—conferred once more with the various experts about Lou Musaang’s condition and the proposed first-stage surgical plan.
Among the experts present, the most distinguished were undoubtedly the two from the Cardiac Surgery Department of Xianglin City Xuanshang University Affiliated Hospital.
They were Ren Anyi, the Director of Cardiac Surgery, and his trusted subordinate, Vice Director Li Xun.
Shao Yuqiao was deeply respectful and full of admiration in Ren Anyi’s presence.
After all, according to the previous year’s comprehensive rankings for cardiac surgery departments in Jin Country, Saint An Hospital’s department was ranked third!
The cardiac surgery department at Saint An Hospital was one of the pioneering centers for cardiovascular surgery in the country and one of the first to be accredited to grant master’s and doctoral degrees.
It was the number one heart surgery center in the Jindong Region and one of the top in all of Jin Country.
The cardiac surgery department at Jinggang University Affiliated First Hospital was considered the best in Jin Province, but on a national scale, it ranked outside the top ten—a far cry from Saint An Hospital.
That Director Ren and Vice Director Li were able to participate today was an honor for Wu Ting’s surgical team and a blessing for Lou Musaang.
As for the top ten national rankings for cardiac surgery:
Number one: Jin Country Medical Science Academy Fuwai Hospital.
Fuwai’s cardiovascular surgery department is divided into an adult surgical center (for patients over six years old) and a pediatric surgical center (for patients under six). The adult surgical center is the largest diagnostic and treatment center within Fuwai Hospital’s surgical division and is currently one of the largest adult cardiac surgery centers in the world.
Fuwai’s pediatric cardiac surgery center is one of the largest centers for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease not only in the country but in the entire world. Its standard of care is number one nationally and among the world’s leaders.
Number two: The Medical University’s Affiliated Anzhen Hospital in Qinghe City.
Number four: Jiuhua Hospital, affiliated with the Medical College of the University of Science and Technology.
Number five: Guan Province People’s Hospital.
The Department of Cardiothoracic and Great Vessel Surgery (Cardiac Surgery) at Guan Province People’s Hospital is one of the pioneers of the cardiac surgery field in Jin Country and the largest center for treating cardiovascular disease in the southern part of the country. It enjoys a prestigious reputation and high standing in the domestic field of vascular disease treatment and is the World Health Organization’s sole cooperative center for cardiovascular training and research in Jin Country.
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Number seven: Lin Province Pinfan Hospital.
It serves as the center for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of cardiothoracic and great vessel diseases in the country’s western region.
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Number ten: Wu City Heart Disease Hospital.
It had been gaining significant prominence in recent years, especially after two of its experts consecutively won the "Golden Blade Award," the highest honor in Jin Country’s cardiovascular surgery field!
This time, aside from the two top-tier experts from Saint An Hospital, the other specialists, while not from top-ten hospitals, were still considered the best in Jin Province.
Director Shao distributed Lou Musaang’s case file and various imaging scans to the assembled experts.
As they reviewed Lou Musaang’s test results, the experts all furrowed their brows.
"Coarctation of the descending aorta... malformed aortic valve, a bicuspid aortic valve?"
"And it’s accompanied by moderate aortic calcification with stenosis... severe aortic regurgitation... a ventricular septal defect... enlarged left atrium, enlarged left ventricle, left ventricular hypertrophy..."
Looking at Lou Musaang’s condition, the experts hadn’t expected such a complex case of aortic coarctation combined with other complex cardiovascular malformations.
Coarctation of the aorta is a congenital heart disease caused by abnormal development of the aorta, accounting for 6% of all congenital heart diseases. Lou Musaang’s case, however, was complicated by a bicuspid aortic valve, a ventricular septal defect, aortic arch hypoplasia, and other peripheral vascular malformations.
This made Lou Musaang’s condition incredibly complex, requiring both treatment for her descending aorta and surgery for the complex cardiac malformations. The procedure would be extremely difficult and high-risk. Furthermore, Lou Musaang had long dedicated herself to scientific research, and overwork had left her with a very weak constitution and poor immunity. Therefore, given her condition, the surgery could only be performed in stages.
Theoretically, an endovascular stent could resolve the aortic stenosis, and an aortic valve replacement could treat the malformed valve.
However, combining the two procedures was problematic. Given Lou Musaang’s poor physical condition, her existing aortic calcification, and regurgitation, implanting a standard metal stent posed a high risk of postoperative in-stent thrombosis and other complications. This was precisely why surgery had not been attempted before.
After some discussion, the experts present agreed that conventional methods and classic surgical techniques could not provide a complete cure.
Finally, Director Ren from Saint An Hospital summarized his thoughts:
"For now, our only option is to perform the first-stage surgery on Lou Musaang. We can use an endovascular stent procedure to minimize trauma and effectively reduce the intravascular pressure gradient post-operatively. This will create favorable conditions for a second-stage cardiac surgery."