Chapter 1187: [1187] Initial Display of Ability

The moment to test the young intern’s observational skills had arrived.

Not wasting a second, Xie Wanying meticulously examined both of the patient’s nostrils, going back and forth in a comprehensive observation.

As the seconds ticked by, she made no moves.

The people standing around her, watching and waiting, began to grow anxious.

Could it be that this intern couldn’t even tell which nostril was larger? If both were about the same size, she could just pick one. The nurse thought impatiently.

Xin Yanjun remained calm. A clinical mentor needed to understand patience, nurturing students like blossoming flowers, waiting until they naturally bloom and bear fruit.

Finally, Xie Wanying acted: steady in her movements, her right hand carefully dripped lidocaine into the patient’s left nostril.

The bronchoscope insertion commenced.

Standing at the patient’s bedside, Xin Yanjun held the bronchoscope controls with his left hand, while his right hand supported the sheath as the scope was slowly inserted into the patient’s left nostril. At the same time, the angles of rotation were adjusted left and right.

No matter how gentle the doctor’s movements, the foreign body sensation of the invasive procedure lingered. As expected, the moment the patient’s body sensed the foreign intrusion, she reacted instinctively with resistance, writhing and twisting uncontrollably, bypassing all conscious thought.

Seeing this, the nurse wanted to hold down the patient’s head.

Xie Wanying was a step ahead, gently tilting the patient’s head slightly to the left.

The nurse glanced at her: What are you doing?

Tilting the patient’s head might facilitate a smoother passage of the scope, but the angle needed to be precise—just enough to match the scope’s anatomical entry path into the nasal cavity. A mistake in the angle could make things worse.

This adjustment wasn’t a simple two-dimensional turn but required consideration of three-dimensional orientation—up, down, left, right, in all directions. The perfect operational path was something that only existed in theory. The nurse had watched countless experienced doctors attempt this and knew even seasoned practitioners failed to achieve such perfection.

An intern, acting without a mentor’s specific instruction, was she just creating trouble here?

Facing the nurse’s skeptical gaze, Xie Wanying understood and chose not to respond. The mentor was performing a critical procedure that required silence. Right or wrong, the results would soon reveal her decision’s merit.

As the nurse turned her focus back, she suddenly noticed the patient’s head had stopped twisting. More than that, the bronchoscope was advancing into the nasal cavity much faster and smoother than before.

What?

The nurse blinked and looked back again. This time, she noticed that the angle at which Xie Wanying stabilized the patient’s head was anything but ordinary.

Xie Wanying didn’t just tilt the patient’s head; at the same time, she had also adjusted the angle of the patient’s chin upward.

The nurse inhaled sharply: This intern—did she just tackle the problem of the ideal theoretical angle?

It seemed so. After the initial resistance when the bronchoscope first entered the nasal cavity, Xie Wanying’s angular adjustment appeared to align seamlessly with Xin Yanjun’s manipulation of the bronchoscope, guiding the scope smoothly into the most accommodating passageway. Indeed, the monitor now displayed an image showing the scope had entered the patient’s inferior nasal meatus.

From the outside, the nasal cavity appears as just one hole, and laypeople assume there’s only one passage. In reality, each nostril contains three channels: the superior meatus, the middle meatus, and the inferior meatus. The inferior meatus is generally the largest and most suitable pathway for the bronchoscope.

Having passed this first hurdle, the procedure was quickly approaching the second. At this juncture, the bronchoscope would encounter an anatomically complex region akin to a fortress surrounded on all sides: the pharyngeal area.

This area was narrow and structurally intricate, harboring two anatomical features particularly troublesome for doctors. The first was the epiglottis, located in the patient’s hypopharynx.