21st Century Necromancer

"Doctor Chen, did you call me here for something?" With hands tucked into pockets and leaning sideways on the sofa, Daimon Michiko wore her white coat unbuttoned, looking more like a fashionista than a rigorous surgeon.

Chen Yu gestured toward the CT images in front of him with a nod, indicating for Daimon Michiko to take a closer look, "These are Higashiyama Keika's CT scan results. Take a look before we discuss further."

"This is…" Daimon Michiko stood up and walked to the light box, examining the CT images hanging there. As she looked, she immediately furrowed her brows, "Doctor Higashiyama is a surgeon himself, isn't he? How could he let his sister end up like this?"

"It is likely related to his sister's personality. During the examination that day, she never straightened her back; I thought she was just frightened, but to my surprise, it was actually spinal deformation," Chen Yu shook his head, recalling Higashiyama Keika's obstinate and bizarre temper, finding such an occurrence not all that strange.

"This seems to be caused by lying on the side. Although the issue is not severe, the surgery will be much more complicated than we previously anticipated," Daimon Michiko said as she examined the deformed spine of Higashiyama Keika on the CT images, her brow furrowing as well.

She and Chen Yu had initially expected the surgery to involve partial resection of Higashiyama Keika's previously damaged spine, with a reconstruction of the injured spinal cord areas, deciding based on the actual situation whether a full spinal resection was necessary.

But now with the condition of scoliosis in Higashiyama Keika, they would need to correct the spinal deformation while treating her, undeniably increasing the surgical burden and complexity.

As for Higashiyama Keika's spinal deformation, it wasn't something particularly uncommon. Poor alignment after spinal fracture surgery can cause spinal deformation, even leading to malunion, further vertebral overgrowth, and in severe cases, it may compress nerves and the spinal cord, causing lower limb functional impairment, with the worst cases resulting in lower limb paralysis.

"Could her lower limb paralysis be related to this spinal deformation?" Although Higashiyama Keika's deformation wasn't severe and the CT scan didn't seem to show any vertebral overgrowth, Chen Yu still considered the possibility while looking at the curved spine.

After thinking for a moment, Daimon Michiko nodded affirmatively, "We cannot rule out that possibility. Let's get her an additional examination! And while at it, assess her nerve damage as well; this will help us determine the extent of the surgery."

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"Why do I need to undergo another examination?" Higashiyama Keika was clearly reluctant to be tested again, but Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko were not going to indulge her whims on such a matter, and with the assistance of two junior nurses, she was sent into the examination room.

As Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko watched the examination results on the screen, an out-of-breath Doctor Higashiyama who had hurried over, entered the room and anxiously asked, "Professor, is there a problem with my sister's condition?"

Chen Yu glanced at Doctor Higashiyama, whose hair was somewhat disheveled, and shook his head slightly as he said, "It's a spinal deformation caused by poor alignment. We'll get a lumbar MRI to check for any vertebral overgrowth compressing nerves and the spinal cord, as well as examine the damaged nerves to determine the surgical range."

"Spinal deformation? How is that possible? I personally managed Keika's postoperative care, and I've explained all the precautions to their mother. She kept telling me that Keika's recovery was going very well with no problems at all!" Doctor Higashiyama was somewhat incredulous upon hearing what Chen Yu said.

Chen Yu did not say much more but took a medical tablet from within the hospital, brought up Higashiyama Keika's CT images, and handed them to Doctor Higashiyama, gesturing for him to take a look himself.

Looking at the tablet's CT images, which clearly showed a spinal curvature and deformation, Doctor Higashiyama could not possibly misunderstand what had happened. Although not an orthopedic surgeon, he had extensively researched the relevant information when Higashiyama Keika was initially injured, so he naturally understood the cause. Find more chapters on empire

"Why didn't she listen! Didn't I tell her not to lie on her side?" Doctor Higashiyama's face changed colors several times, turning red then pale with anger, obviously very upset with his sister's willfulness.

"The spinal deformation has already occurred; getting angry about it now is pointless!" Daimon Michiko, listening to Doctor Higashiyama's complaints, interrupted him bluntly, but then she turned around, looked at Doctor Higashiyama, and said, "It's just lateral curvature, the issue isn't very significant.

According to the current examination results, it hasn't caused any compression on the nerves or the spinal cord, but she will still need surgical correction."

"But in doing so, wouldn't operating to correct the spinal curvature while also performing a laminectomy and cauda equina reconstruction be too much?" Chen Yu frowned as he estimated the extent of the surgery, hesitating slightly: "Performing a laminectomy and neural reconstruction is already major surgery, and now to also include spinal correction...

Considering the lengthy duration of the surgery, the question isn't just whether the patient can withstand it, but Daimon-san, can you handle the physical demands?"

Laminectomy involves the total or partial removal of the affected spinal vertebrae, which are then replaced with either bone cement or a titanium mesh for reinforcement—a highly intensive surgery in itself.

With Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko also needing to perform neurosurgical repair under a microscope on Higashiyama Keika's spinal cord and nerves, the surgery's complexity would dramatically increase. Adding spinal deformation correction would not be an easy task.

Spinal correction is an immensely complicated procedure, requiring the insertion of screws into each vertebra and the use of a steel rod to correct the positioning of the deformed spine. A steel rod would also be installed on the opposite side of the spine so that both rods could secure and straighten the entire spine, thereby correcting the posture.

The human spine has thirty-three segments, and even though they may not all need to be affixed, looking at Higashiyama Keika's deformed and curved spine, it would be at least a dozen segments that would require work. This level of surgery would typically be considered a major procedure in itself.

Furthermore, adding this to the previously planned surgery exceeded the limits of what a normal surgeon could handle. Typically, such an operation would be completed by alternating teams from orthopedics and neurosurgery.

Chen Yu was certainly capable of enduring the demands of such a major surgery. His concern was for Daimon Michiko, questioning whether her ordinary human body could withstand it.

"I perform surgeries quickly, no problem!" Daimon Michiko estimated the surgical workload and still felt confident: "Don't worry, I won't fail."