Chapter 50: Risk of Death if Left Unchanged (3)

Drrr…

While Suhyuk was talking on the phone, the MRI scan finished, and the patient emerged from the machine. The intern’s face didn’t look happy after spending more than 20 minutes in the noisy environment.

‘I’m sorry. However, things will become worse.’

[It can’t be helped. Missing the issue during the EKG is our mistake.]

‘That… it is true. But what else can we do?’

[Director Lee Hyunjong agrees with this approach. I am 100% certain.]

‘Okay.’

Encouraged by Baruda’s words, Suhyuk limped towards the intern. To be more precise, he moved to block the path of the bed.

Despite Suhyuk’s limited mobility, he was faster than the intern who was struggling to move the bed alone due to his frantic state. As a result, Suhyuk successfully obstructed their path.

“Eh?”

Naturally, the intern looked at Suhyuk with confusion on his face. The neurology resident, who had just emerged from the filming room, also stared at Suhyuk. Unlike the intern, the resident appeared more angry than flustered.

“You’re still here?”

“Doctor, taking an EKG isn’t that difficult. Please check it once more. There is a change in the patient’s consciousness… Just a stroke caused by blocked blood vessels won’t suffice.”

“What…? This can be easily done upstairs. Right now, we need to administer medication first.”

“You’re saying to use medication instead of intervention… Isn’t it slightly different from a stroke caused by blocked blood vessels?”

“What…”

The neurology resident was about to protest after being hit with Suhyuk’s point when someone rushed towards the patient’s bed and spoke up.

“Intern, get an EKG.”

Unlike Suhyuk’s almost polite tone, this person sounded forceful.

“U-Understood. Yes.”

Of course, as an intern, he couldn’t refuse such an order. It came from Lee Hyunjong himself. As the director of Taehwa Medical Center and one of only two distinguished professors in the entire hospital, who would dare defy him?

Dada-da.

Hence, the intern hastily ran off to fetch the EKG machine.

“Where is the image? Did it transmit?” Lee Hyunjong didn’t even turn towards the neurology resident as he stared at Suhyuk.

Suhyuk briefly blinked before responding, “No, sir. The scan just finished. We need to check in the imaging room.”

“Really? Then we must see the image. Let’s…”

Lee Hyunjong was about to head towards the imaging room when he noticed that Suhyuk had taken over chest compressions from the intern who had sprinted away earlier. Realizing he couldn’t leave yet, he glanced around and spotted the neurology resident nearby.

‘Oh, shit.’

Despite being a neurology resident with prior internship experience at another hospital, they might have heard rumors about Suhyuk.

Initially, he laughed it off as no one believed this could happen. However, seeing Lee Hyunjong with the director, he couldn’t bring himself to laugh anymore.

‘If only I had used the excuse of needing medical advice instead of mentioning the director… Honestly, I was feeling uneasy about it anyway…’

Firstly, he planned to administer medication for stroke prevention and then perform an electrocardiogram (EKG) once they reached the hospital room. After hearing Suhyuk’s words, he realized that the cause of unconsciousness might not be related to the brain. Although he hadn’t encountered such a case before, he vaguely recalled learning about it at a medical conference.

Just as he thought it might be too late and feared making a mistake, Lee Hyunjong opened his mouth:

“Oh, can you take care of this while I’m gone watching the video?”

“Huh?”

“You were just passing by? Sorry about that. Can you still film this for me?”

However, Lee Hyunjong wasn’t as meticulous as the neurology resident thought. Instead, he was somewhat strange, focusing only on treating patients and activities that seemed interesting to him.

Fortunately for the neurology resident, there were no repercussions, allowing them both to enter the filming studio without issue.

“Wow, Dr. Choi. Wait a moment.”

“Huh? Oh, where did your cane go?”

“It’s inside.”

“Inside? You also have…some forgetfulness. How can you leave it behind like this?” Lee Hyunjong shook his head before casually taking a seat.

The radiographer, who had just finished their examination and intended to sit down, hesitated momentarily before stepping aside with a puzzled expression.

“Where is the image?”

“Maybe…this one.”

Meanwhile, Suhyuk received the cane from Lee Hyunjong and reached the monitor. Honestly, it would have been polite to consider someone with leg issues nearby, but Lee Hyunjong was focused solely on his interests without regard for others. Thus, even as he watched Suhyuk typing away next to him, he remained seated without moving an inch.

“Hurry up and play it.”

Instead, he urged Suhyuk along.

Fortunately, Suhyuk didn’t perceive his disability as severe, and his primary concern was whether his hypothesis was correct or not. As a result, he paid no attention to Lee Hyunjong’s attitude and swiftly moved the mouse as instructed by Hyunjong.

[The most distinct areas can be seen from images 48 to 60 in the T2-weighted scan.]

As always, Suhyuk was able to receive Baruda’s assistance, which once again pleased Lee Hyunjong.

‘Hey… Look at this guy analyzing the scans meticulously. Anyone would think he is from Radiology.’

Honestly, even among second-year residents, many struggled with properly interpreting MRI images. Yet here was Suhyuk, barely a few months into his residency, pinpointing the crucial scans accurately.

‘It’s truly remarkable.’

Lee Hyunjong admired the scans displayed by Suhyuk while thinking these words.

“Hmm.”

“It seems unusual for this pattern to result from a single blocked blood vessel.”

“Yes. The affected area is quite large. However…”

“The range of cell damage occurring when completely blocked is very narrow.”

“That suggests there may be issues with cerebral blood flow or oxygen supply itself.”

“I think it’s most likely due to heart problems.”

“Good.”

Lee Hyunjong nodded cheerfully and glanced outside. Since he hadn’t closed the door upon entering, he could clearly see the patient and neurology resident nearby.

“Hey, you here?”

“Oh… Yes, Dr. Lee!” The neurology resident responded somewhat flustered by his sudden call. They couldn’t help but confirm that Lee Hyunjong was indeed eccentric as rumored.

“Hey, Suhyuk. Let’s go out there. We need to check his heart. Otherwise, quickly transfer him to neurology and have them perform more tests. If they find anything, I’ll personally handle it.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Lee Hyunjong sprang up from his chair, almost unbecoming of his age, and grabbed Suhyuk. Due to this sudden movement, Suhyuk nearly stumbled but managed to maintain balance with the help of his cane.

“What did you get?”

As they approached, the intern respectfully held out the freshly printed EKG results with both hands. Lee Hyunjong glanced at it before pushing it towards Suhyuk without hesitation. It wasn’t because he didn’t know; rather, he enjoyed testing others.

This man really loves putting people to the test…

He wanted to see how well Suhyuk could interpret the findings.

“No issues. The EKG can detect even minor problems.”

‘I trust Baruda.’

In reality, interpreting EKGs was one of the most challenging tasks for Internal Medicine residents. Unlike other organs, the heart moved through electrical signals, resulting in unfamiliar patterns on the EKG readings. However, artificial intelligence had been capable of analyzing EKGs effectively for over ten years now. For Baruda, it was as simple as chewing gum.

“Firstly, there’s an elevation in the ST segment on lead 1.”

“And?”

“Additionally, the elevation in the ST segment is greater on lead 3 compared to lead 2.”

“So what could this indicate?”

“It suggests a blockage at the lower part of the heart.”

“What specific area do you mean by ‘lower’?” Lee Hyunjong asked while checking his wristwatch.

The patient’s bed was slowly being pushed along as well. Noticing this, the neurology resident started moving the patient’s bed towards the cardiovascular catheterization laboratory. Having made one mistake already, they wanted to make amends somehow.

In any case, Suhyuk answered without much hesitation.

“It could be either the left or right ventricle.”

“Then how would you differentiate?”

However, Suhyuk didn’t immediately respond to this question. It wasn’t because he didn’t know.

“We need to change the lead placement to the right side.”

This meant shifting some of the EKG leads from the left side of the patient’s chest to the right. Naturally, when Lee Hyunjong observed this action, his face lit up with admiration, and perhaps even a hint of astonishment. He had never seen a resident perform such adjustments before.

‘Is he crazy?’

A first-year resident was performing a task usually reserved for cardiology fellows. It bordered on absurdity.

“Um…”

However, Suhyuk had already completed setting up the leads while pushing the bed almost to the elevator.

“Could you stop for a moment? We need to wait for the elevator anyway. There might be interference.”

“Yes. Please pause briefly.”

“Okay.”

With both Suhyuk and Lee Hyunjong requesting him to halt, Dr. Shin had no choice but to comply. Within this hospital, Lee Hyunjong’s authority rivaled that of the president.

Wiiiing.

The EKG machine started printing out another trace. Previously, at least there seemed to be some attempt at interpretation, but now it appeared completely confused. This was expected, as the current settings were nearly opposite from what is typically used.

Naturally, this setting was not needed for someone using the EKG machine, making it somewhat useless.

“What do you think?”

As soon as the paper fully emerged from the machine, Lee Hyunjong started walking again and posed the question to Suhyuk.

“It seems straightforward.”

Baruda snorted after glancing at the paper, allowing Suhyuk to promptly provide his opinion.

“The ST segments here are elevated once again. Particularly leads 3, 4, 5, and 6 show this pattern. In contrast, lead 1 is less pronounced, and lead 2 actually shows a decrease.”

“Then what should we suspect?”

“RVMI. Right ventricular infarction.”

“Good. What’s the treatment?”

“Within the golden hour, a stent must be inserted. Otherwise, it could lead to heart failure or death.”

“Perfect. You will assist in today’s procedure.”

“Huh? The fellow… Not you?”

“Did he make the diagnosis? No, it was you. So you assist.”