The changes at Sanbo Hospital over the past few years have been seen by everyone in the medical circle.

But what truly unsettled their peers was this year.

The top doctors cultivated by Sanbo Research Institute have each taken the lead in the emergency center, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and spinal surgery departments.

At the same time, the first batch of doctors sent abroad have gradually returned. This group, totaling twenty-three, was hand-picked from Sanbo’s most outstanding young doctors. Three years ago, they were sent to the most prestigious medical institutions in Europe and America—Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital—for three years of targeted training. When they left, some privately said snide remarks: It’s easy to send them abroad, but hard to bring them back. The conditions abroad are so good, the benefits so high, the research platforms so advanced; who would be willing to return?

But they all came back.

Not only did they come back, each brought back a "stomach full" of things—someone brought back the world’s most cutting-edge surgical techniques, someone brought back advanced department management concepts, someone brought back a network for multinational multi-center cooperation resources, and someone brought back a completely new understanding of medicine. They are like twenty-three seeds, re-rooting in the land from where they originated.

All of this has been noted by Dean Xia.

His habit for more than ten years is steady as a rock: every Friday morning, unannounced and without prior notice, he walks alone from the inpatient department to the outpatient building, from the emergency department to the operating room. Sometimes he stands in the corridor, observing the interaction details between doctors and patients; sometimes he listens at the office door to the discussions during morning meetings; sometimes he randomly sits somewhere, chatting a bit with waiting patients. He calls this "management by walking around."

The weather is nice today, and Dean Xia steps out of the administration building, through the corridor, with his first stop at neurosurgery. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Neurosurgery is one of Sanbo Hospital’s flagship departments. The corridor remains busy as usual: a doctor rushes by pushing a medical record cart, the hem of a white gown fluttering in the breeze; a nurse jogs toward the ward clutching a freshly prepared infusion bag; a family member helps a post-operative patient shuffle slowly, the drainage bottle gently swaying by the bed.

Seeing Dean Xia, everyone nods in greeting. Dean Xia also nods back, occasionally stopping to ask a couple of questions.

"How is the recovery of the patient in bed three after the acoustic neuroma surgery?"

"Quite well, the drainage tube was removed yesterday, and today he can walk a few steps; the facial nerve preservation is especially good."

"Is the family of the patient in bed five emotionally stable?"

"Stable now. Director Xu personally spoke to them, explaining the surgical plan and possible risks thoroughly, which actually reassured them."

Dean Xia nods and continues walking forward.

He stops at the entrance of the doctors’ office.

The morning meeting is ongoing inside. A dozen people sit around the long table, the film reading lights are on, and several sets of scans are lined up sequentially on the light box.

Xu Zhiliang is pointing at the scans, explaining to everyone.

"This case, a craniopharyngioma, located very deep, adjacent to the optic chiasm and hypothalamus." His tone is calm and assured, his finger circling key areas on the images, "The traditional open craniotomy causes significant trauma, postoperative complications are numerous, and the visual field is poor. I plan to use the transnasal endoscopic approach, going through the sphenoid sinus, utilizing natural pathways, to scoop out the tumor."

Someone below asks, "Director, is the risk high?"

Xu Zhiliang says, "Intracranial tumors always have high risks." He pauses, his gaze sweeping across the young doctors present, "But the patient has been to three hospitals, all top neurological centers domestically, and none dared to admit him. If we don’t admit him, he truly has no hope left. The family says the patient is only forty-two years old, and his child just started middle school."

The office remains silent for a few seconds.

Xu Zhiliang continues to speak, "Although this location is deep, it’s not as threatening as a brainstem tumor."

Dean Xia stands at the door, listening to these words, and the corner of his mouth lifts slightly.

Today, Xu Zhiliang surprisingly didn’t stutter; perhaps the sun has risen from the West. What he doesn’t know is that now Xu Zhiliang’s stutter has shifted from persistent to occasional.

Last week, Xu Zhiliang just completed a high-difficulty skull base meningioma surgery. The patient was a woman in her fifties, a teacher, with a tumor pressing on the optic nerve, her left eye vision already reduced to light perception. Xu Zhiliang was the chief surgeon, operating for three and a half hours, excising the tumor cleanly, with the optic nerve and major blood vessels intact. On the second day post-operation, the patient’s left eye started recovering light perception, and on the third day, she could see fingers moving. Upon discharge, the patient clutched his hand, crying inconsolably; he stood beside her, his face flushed, unable to utter a single word.

Actually, for Xu Zhiliang, who often "dances on the edge" in brainstem region surgeries, this type of surgery is indeed no big deal.

Dean Xia did not enter to interrupt, instead turning to continue walking forward.

The next stop is the Spinal Surgery Department.

The Spinal Surgery Department is located on the sixth floor of the inpatient department. Director Dr. Jin and Deputy Director Wen Zhong both joined the Sanbo Research Institute later; they haven’t been here as long as Xu Zhiliang and others, but they have gained a lot through direct guidance from Professor Yang Ping. During their time at the institute, their skills have progressed rapidly.

Dean Xia reaches the office door and glances inside.

Dr. Jin is seated at the computer reviewing imaging data, simultaneously jotting something down in a notebook. His desk is organized in a messy manner, with the most recent issue of Spine Magazine and several thumbed-through anatomical atlases stacked on the left, a pile of unsigned case files on the right, and a half-empty cup of coffee in the center.