Blinded By The Lights | Sungjoy

Act 1 - Chapter 13: The Patient's Wish

Irene strode into the observation deck, pleased to see that she was the first one there. Evidently, Doctor Park's first surgery as a professor hadn't caused much buzz in the hospital. It was normal, Irene thought. There wasn't anything that had really made Joy stand out, unlike the members of the so-called five-year club.

Yet, Changsub had chosen to mentor her. Changsub hadn't taken on a mentee in the longest time, not after Chorong had left, but she remembered when Changsub had almost possessively volunteered to mentor Doctor Park. She had asked Changsub about it, but he had never really given her a satisfactory answer.

Irene looked down at the operating theatre below her and saw that the nurse had just wheeled in the patient. She checked the roster sheet that she had printed off from the hospital's database and saw that there were a bunch of familiar names working on today's operation. It was a team that she had seen many times before in the past.

Had it been deliberate?

Irene's train of thought was broken as the door behind her slid open. The room was instantly filled with the quiet chatter of a group of residents being led by their professor.

"Irene!" Changsub exclaimed as he saw her standing near the railing. "I didn't know that you would be here today."

Irene nodded her greeting at the students before she answered Changsub. "I wasn't able to watch any of her surgeries during her trial, so I thought I would watch her first one."

"Of course, of course," Changsub said as he joined her. He turned around and addressed the group of residents. "Can anyone tell me what we are watching today?"

"A laser microlaryngoscopy," one of them answered promptly.

"Correct," Changsub indicated several monitors that had been connected to the live feed of the laryngoscope.

"Professor?" one of the residents raised her hand. "Why is Professor Park using a laser rather than cold instruments? Isn't it more dangerous?"

"A very good question," Changsub looked around. "A laser allows for precise cuts in the hands of a skilled surgeon. There will certainly be complications when deciding to use a laser. For example, Joy has to think about how her patient will react to the laser when it touches the tissue. It might leave scarring if she's not careful."

Irene was confused. "Joy?"

"It's her nickname," Changsub said, almost exasperatedly. "She got it from her patients at the Busan campus."

"If there are so many risks, why would she use the laser? Wouldn't it be safer and more precise to use laryngeal instruments?" the resident looked confused.

Changsub leaned back against the railing and looked at his students. "You are all thinking about the surgery," he admonished them. "What about the patient?

"Have you thought about the patient's wishes?"

--

Joy carefully monitored the screen as she deftly maneuvered the laryngoscope inside Yoori's throat, passing by the many folds before she finally reached the larynx. Just as Joy had told Yoori, there were an unusual number of polyps that had grown on the edges of Yoori's vocal cords.

"Prepare the laser," Joy told Ilhoon who passed it over to Minhyuk along with a set of laryngeal forceps.

Joy nodded at Minhyuk to take hold of the laryngoscope while Namjoo continued to monitor Yoori's vitals alongside Sohyun.

Namjoo watched as Joy fed the laser and the forceps through Yoori's mouth, taking care not to press up against the thin metal tube.

"Start the laser," Joy said as Minhyuk held the feed steady. Ilhoon flicked a button, allowing Joy to activate the laser. A strong red beam of light shone on the polyps, instantly searing through the tissue.