Surgery Godfather-Chapter 447 - 408 Hope in Despair

Chapter 447: Chapter 408: Hope in Despair

Chapter 447: Chapter 408: Hope in Despair

The news exploded like a nuclear bomb at NASA headquarters in Washington.

What was originally deemed a routine medical incident had now escalated into a potentially lethal emergency. Chief Jim Basa immediately activated the top-level emergency protocol.

There had been no fatal disasters in American space exploration since the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in 2003. If something befell Steven, it would be impossible to explain.

On February 1, 2003, the Columbia Space Shuttle was entering the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, on the verge of completing its 28th mission.

Then disaster struck. The shuttle exploded and disintegrated, killing all seven astronauts on board.

The wreckage from the Columbia explosion scattered from the suburbs of Dallas all the way to Tyler, with some even falling in Louisiana.

Like the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in 1986, the shuttles were grounded for two years following the accident.

Despite this being a medical incident, the public would struggle to accept another fatal accident.

The internet, newspapers, television, all were tracking the news. Everything was under the scrutiny of the public magnifying glass. No one could face the surging public pressure. Even with the collective efforts of the United States, they must do everything possible to prevent an accident.

Chief Jim Basa had a keen sense of the severity of the situation. He immediately set off for Houston with the Chief Medical Officer and several officials, personally directing this emergency medical incident, all the while maintaining video communication via his laptop.

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Dozens of America’s top medical experts had gathered in Houston. The professional tasks were left to the professionals, while Jim Basa’s role was to coordinate, marshalling every resource for this emergency.

Jim Basa was grateful that he had made a decisive decision to commence an early launch of Falcon 9; otherwise, they would have had to wait another ten days. Steven might have been in trouble before they could even make a diagnosis.

Identifying where the problem originated was an issue for future investigation. Their current task was to find a way to help Steven safely return to Earth.

Upon disembarking the plane, the group hastily made their way to the Houston ground control center. Collins handed Chief Basa a cup of instant coffee, but he was too anxious to drink it. He hastily asked, “What should we do?”

Only the doctors present could answer him. They were the most elite medical personnel in the entire United States. Particularly, John Ansen, Eugene, and Massimo, experts in surgery, internal medicine and intervention. Their knowledge in neurosurgery was nothing short of world-class.

“Intracranial aneurysm. The blood vessels could burst at any time. It cuts through the brain stem, the center of life. If left untreated, death is inevitable. There would not be a second outcome,” Massimo explained to Jim Basa.

The simulation results from GG company are in. The computer simulated the event ten thousand times, and in every instance, Steven would die from a burst blood vessel during the return journey.

Jim Basa wiped sweat away, still considering the question, “Can we risk a return to Earth?”

“Can we only treat him in the space station?” Jim Basa asked.

“Yes, we can only intervene. The medical package we sent up contains interventional equipment, but the artery is a very small unnamed artery that cuts through a bundle of nerves. Even our smallest equipment cannot perform the surgery,” Massimo clarified.

If he can’t return and we can’t treat him, does that mean he just waits to die up there?

Jim Basa didn’t understand why these doctors couldn’t find a solution after all their research.

When they asked to advance the rocket launch and send Susan and the equipment, he immediately signed off on it. The rocket was already in space.

“The problem now is that my lab has finer catheters, guide wires, and coil springs. Even if we send them up, no one would be able to perform the surgery. Even if I were sent up, I wouldn’t be able to perform the surgery on the space station. Maneuvering the wire through countless curved blood vessels in the brain, even the slightest mishap could puncture a blood vessel and result in death. On Earth, I’d have a 20% chance of success. In the microgravity environment of the space station, an untrained person couldn’t even complete simple tasks, let alone such a delicate surgery,” a clearly disheartened Massimo confessed.

Jim Basa didn’t understand the complete cerebral angiography picture shown to him.

“Do you have any suggestions? Could the remote medical equipment help?” Jim Basa asked Chief Engineer and Scientist, Richard Franklin.

Richard was not optimistic: “Remote medical equipment feedback is inadequate, and latency is unpredictable. Based on Dr. Massimo’s explanation, success rates could fall below 20%.”

Richard had a great understanding of the problem. Although he wasn’t a medical expert, he quickly grasped the crux of the issue.

“It is impossible to send more doctors to space due to lack of time. Our best hope is to use remote medical equipment to navigate this crisis,” Dr. Richard was clear-headed.

“Massimo, I’ve trained with this remote device, developed in collaboration between Direct Intuition Company and NASA. Even with the most superior surgical robot operational experience, you couldn’t surpass your current success rate.” John Ansen didn’t feel this would be of much help.

Massimo was aware of the shortcomings of the equipment: “The uncertain delay, the lack of tactile feedback, these are lethal weaknesses that would drastically reduce the success rate of the surgery.”

“Perhaps there’s a person who can do it?” John Ansen suddenly recalled.

“Who?” Jim Basa stood up and leaned forward.

He had just been baffled by these doctors and was trapped in desolation – now someone suggested there was a hope, an unexpected light in the darkness.

John Ansen hesitated: “A Chinese doctor. If anyone in the world could do it, only he comes to mind. I’ve seen him perform a brainstem tumor removal, a surgery that has less than five percent success rate in our hands. He can achieve eighty percent.”

“A Chinese man?”

Jim Basa hesitated. This incident would definitely be exposed to the public eye. The final resolution by a Chinese person would be quite embarrassing.

But as a pragmatist, Jim Basa didn’t care about appearances; the man’s life at stake was of greater concern.

“Professor John Ansen, you will be held accountable for your statements. Johns Hopkins possesses the most advanced interventional medicine in the world. If anyone could surpass us, it would be the top Chinese interventional specialists, many of whom we have trained ourselves,” Massimo cautioned John Ansen.

“I stand by my words, please do record them. However, I am not certain if he specializes in intervention. What I am certain of, is that no one in the world understands this disease better than him. Perhaps he has a solution.”

“There was a case I was invited to consult on. We believed the success rate wouldn’t be more than five percent until I met him. His calm and composed demeanor left a lasting impression on me. He told me that the success rate of the case could reach eighty percent.”

“Do you know him? I watched the entire operation. He used a 0.1 mm laser scalpel and precisely removed the tumor from the nerve cluster controlling heart and respiration. His heart stopped four times during the surgery. He went through twenty-one electric shocks one of those times. He fought with the grim reaper, operating during heart failure and resuscitating afterwards. He had foreseen all of this.”

“After watching the whole surgery, I was almost wasted. He is god of surgery in my heart, Massimo. To put it bluntly, if he is proficient in intervention, you would be outshined,” John Ansen spoke seriously, nothing like bragging.

Massimo shook his head: “John Ansen, you are a serious neurosurgeon. I have no idea what you are talking about. If there were such a person in this world, wouldn’t I know?”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. I didn’t expect you to. All I’m saying is, invite him! He’s our best hope. Steven is waiting up in the sky, any second now, a blood vessel could burst…” John Ansen realized he was helpless in convincing the others.

“If we want to save Steven, we should invite him to Houston immediately. If he can’t do it, that means God has given up on Steven.” John Ansen was firm.

“Professor Griffin from Anderson Cancer Center, and Professor Woodhead from Twin Cities Spine Center experienced this along with me. You can immediately invite them to join the meeting. Trust me, even if he does not perform interventional surgery, he can guide you on how to handle this emergency. I, John Ansen, plead in God’s name, invite him!” John Ansen stood up and spoke fervently.

“Everyone here is among the top doctors in America, and we’re inviting a Chinese man to handle our national emergency? Don’t you find this funny? Captain America saved the whole of the US, only for it to turn out that he’s a Chinese man in the end.” Massimo was a conservative American.

“Is there a problem? I think it’s great, Doctor Massimo, do you have a better solution? After being diluted by a distance of 400 kilometers, how much of the twenty percent success rate is left?” John Ansen, out of arguments, could only deal definite blows to them.

For a moment, Massimo was at a loss for words. He had never experienced such humiliation. But he was a man who respected facts.

“Are you certain this man can do it?” Massimo conceded. John Ansen wasn’t one to make empty promises.

“I can’t say for sure. But if he can’t do it, I doubt anyone can. This is the limit of my knowledge.” John Ansen responded.

“Contact him immediately!” Jim Basa didn’t care who it was, as long as they could resolve the issue at hand.

“I’ll try, he’s been in New York recently. I’m not sure if he’s left.” John Ansen took out his phone.

After a little more than ten minutes: “He’s already on a flight, it’s been five hours since takeoff.”

Jim Basa lowered his head: “Are you sure he’s our best hope?”

“In God’s name!” John Ansen reiterated.

Desperate for hope, no matter how slim, Jim Basa made the most important decision.