Chapter 157 - Flashy! (1/2)
Zhang Fan didn't really want to go to the nurses' resting area, as he would feel too awkward, but the nurse was being really passionate and friendly, so he wouldn't be giving face to her if he refused. Zhang Fan thus forced himself to enter the nurses' resting area which was usually for women only. The nurses' resting area was cleaner than the doctors' resting area, and also had a nice faint fragrance. Zhang Fan decided to make do and rest for a while here. However, he then discovered that even the pillows here were scented. Zhang Fan really couldn't take this, and was unable to sleep a single wink all morning.
For the neurosurgery department's daily morning meeting, Liu Zhaoyun was having a difficult time with his fatigue as he had barely gotten any sleep all night. He only sat there listlessly. Zhang Fan and Xia Huadong were in slightly better condition despite the all-nighter since they were much younger. After Liu Zhaoyun arranged the department's work for the day, he needed to first talk to the rich people waiting outside the department for news about Dai Wengang before starting the patient checkups. This was all because of the power of money.
Zhang Fan had only been in Chasu City for a year. He had no idea who any of the rich people were, and didn't really care. After the patient checkups ended, Zhang Fan went over to the intensive care unit department. Although there were ICU doctors and nurses on duty 24 hours a day there, Zhang Fan still couldn't rest assured. He had to see the patient Dai Wengang for himself. Dai Wengang was doing pretty good. His vitals were all stable, and he didn't have a fever. Luckiest of all, he didn't suffer from epilepsy, which was one of the most common side effects of brain injuries.
Zhang Fan returned to his apartment and texted Shao Hua that he was going to sleep. However, he didn't dare to turn off his cell phone as he slept, because Dai Wengang was still at risk. A phone call might come for him at any moment. Regardless, Zhang Fan slept! It really felt nice to finally sleep in his own bed after such a tense night. This was bliss to him, comfortably sleeping in his bed with the curtains closed after an all-nighter of hard work!
Li Liang resigned from Kuake City Hospital. He had to because he saw no hope there at all. His family also supported him. It wasn't like his family needed Li Liang to financially support them. They said he only needed to find a job that he liked.
Ma Wentao was paying extra attention to surgery ever since he saw how much profit surgery could bring him. Money could always make people go crazy!
Why did it seem like many surgeries at hospitals didn't make money? That was because the hospital would have lots of expenses with medical equipment, medicine, rent, construction, and so on. The Chinese government had paid for all of this in public hospitals, so the hospital would need to pay the government some money back every month. There were also many surgeries that didn't use much medicine or medical equipment, which meant that the doctors wouldn't be able to receive much in kickbacks, so the doctors would be unwilling to perform such surgeries.
For instance, limb replantation surgery. Reattaching a single severed finger would cost the patient approximately 7000-8000 yuan for the surgery fee. However, the doctor would only be paid a base amount of 20 yuan for performing one surgery along with bonuses. This meant that the doctor would only earn about 100 yuan for performing a limb replantation surgery, because this type of surgery used almost no medical equipment. Not only that, limb replantation surgeries were really long—it was common for such a surgery to take a minimum of three to four hours. And most importantly of all, more than 90% of limb replantation surgery patients would come in for emergency treatment. The doctor would also need to worry for quite a long while after the surgery about the patient's condition. This was why few doctors would be willing to perform limb replantation surgery.
This was why the market for limb replantation surgery was left to private hospitals instead of public hospitals. Ma Wentao's way of improving business for his hospital was rather flashy, but his methods were indeed effective.
Chen Qifa brought Li Liang over to meet Ma Wentao, who offered to hire Li Liang for 5,000 yuan per month as salary. Li Liang instantly turned around to leave, but Ma Wentao stopped him. Ma Wentao now knew that those who were connected to Zhang Fan would at least be alright in skill level. In the end, he and Li Liang agreed upon a base salary of 5,000 yuan per month, but Li Liang would also earn 3% of the surgery fee, and Chen Qifa would earn 5% of the surgery fee. Li Liang was also given an apartment to live in for free while he worked for Ma Wentao.
Ma Wentao had to plan for how to improve his hospital's market share. Although the mine owners and government were willing to give face to Ma Wentao, the city hospitals and their doctors would never give him any face. Not only was he just a second-generation rich kid, it wouldn't be of any use even if he was the first generation. There were far too many shady dealings involved in all of this. What could be done about things that power couldn't affect? Open the path by using money!
Ma Wentao's employees began searching all throughout city hospitals, smaller village hospitals, and even private clinics. They searched every type of facility that had medical treatment. Ma Wentao's employees told the doctors at these facilities that they could receive 30% of the total surgery fee for sending any limb replantation surgery patient to Ma Wentao's hospital. Ma Wentao promised to pay in full the moment that the patient was discharged.
This was crazy! The surgeons all over Chasu City went crazy with this opportunity from Ma Wentao. The great majority of hospitals really disliked having to take limb replantation surgeries. Now that a new hospital was even willing to pay them to give their limb replantation surgery patients away, every single doctor paid especially close attention to see if they could find any limb replantation surgery patients.
The first limb replantation surgery patient soon arrived at Ma Wentao's hospital! He was a young man who was about 20 years old. This afternoon, he had been cutting grass to feed the livestock that his family owned when he accidentally cut off three fingers on his left hand. He was brought to a local city hospital. The doctor who received him at that hospital immediately transferred the patient to Ma Wentao's hospital due to the 30% total surgery fee promise.
A bit more than two hours had passed since the accident by the time that the patient was brought to Ma Wentao's hospital. Limb replantation surgeries could be considered somewhat difficult. Not only would limb replantation surgeries take several hours to perform, if the surgeon's techniques weren't good enough, it would be unlikely for the fingers to be successfully reattached, and even if the surgeon could reattach the fingers, the fingers might no longer be movable if the surgeon wasn't skilled enough at reattachment.
Human fingers weren't like plants. They wouldn't regrow after being cut off. Limb replantation surgery was a type of microsurgery. There would be tools and medical equipment necessary for performing this type of microsurgery. First, a microscope that could change from anywhere between 6x to 30x magnification would be required. The microscope would also need to be able to maintain clear vision when changing magnification without needing to adjust the focal vision. Two sets of mirrors would also be required, one each for the surgeon and surgical assistant, in addition to a cold light source.
Zhang Fan had a good sleep, then went over to Shao Hua's home and had dinner there. Shao Hua's father no longer forced Zhang Fan to play Chinese chess with him, which really relieved Zhang Fan. More relatives such as Shao Hua's aunts would also come over whenever Zhang Fan was present to say hi to him.
Zhang Fan and Shao Hua were just about to go out for a walk together after dinner when Zhang Fan received a phone call from Ma Wentao. ”Doctor Zhang, where are you? Hurry over as fast as you can! A major surgery has arrived. You'll need to personally take this surgery.”
”I'm currently at my girlfriend's home. What surgery is it?”
”The patient accidentally cut off three of his own fingers! He's already in our operating room. Give me your current address. I'll come pick you up.” Zhang Fan told Ma Wentao the address and then smiled apologetically at Shao Hua.
”How about I walk with you to the entrance of our neighborhood, then? You need to pay more attention to yourself. Don't overwork yourself. You just had an all-nighter yesterday, and now you're being called in for another major emergency surgery. There's no need to work so hard. Our salaries combined are more than enough already to support us well!” Shao Hua felt bad for Zhang Fan as she straightened his shirt for him.
”It's fine, I'm still young! I also love to perform surgeries. Rest assured, I'll definitely rest when I'm tired. It's just that I'm sorry that I don't have time to spend with you. I've been so busy recently that I barely get to accompany you!”