Chapter 32
“What do you mean, go find a kidney?”
Professor Kim Sun-woong from Internal Medicine spoke in disbelief.
But his words never reached Kang Hyuk or any of the other residents.
Kang Hyuk had already hung up the phone.
“This guy… Is he seriously insane?”
Professor Kim stared down at his phone as he pushed open the hospital door.
It was already rude enough to ask about a transferred patient’s treatment plan so abruptly.
But now, he was suddenly talking about performing a kidney transplant?
It was absurd, almost nonsensical.
Yet, a part of him couldn’t shake off a nagging doubt.
‘No way he’s actually getting one, right?’
His mind flashed back to a conversation he’d had at a recent kidney transplant conference.
A transplant surgeon from Shanghai had casually mentioned, If you ever have trouble finding a donor in Korea, just send the patient my way.
He’d sounded so confident—like it wouldn’t be an issue at all.
‘This lunatic…?’
Professor Kim had, of course, heard all sorts of rumors about Kang Hyuk circulating around the hospital.
Most of them were exaggerated, some completely baseless, but a few had grains of truth mixed in.
One rumor in particular stood out—claims that Kang Hyuk was connected to gangsters.
The so-called evidence? The gruesome tattoos covering both of his forearms.
After all, how many doctors walked around with tattoos like that?
For someone like Professor Kim, who prided himself on being a straight-laced academic, the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
Tatatata.
His feet carried him toward the operating room faster and faster.
Because he had no idea what that man—Baek Kang Hyuk—was about to do to his patient, Lee Hye-young.
—
“What the hell is going on here?”
At that moment, Jaewon was busy scrubbing down Lee Hye-young’s abdomen while enduring Professor Kang Junsu’s frustration.
“I-I’m sorry. My professor said it was urgent…”
“And yours is the only professor that matters? Am I not a professor too?”
“I’ll try my best not to get in the way.”
Though Jaewon said that, avoiding interference was practically impossible.
Thankfully, the severe injury was on her left leg, while the kidney transplant was to be performed on her lower right abdomen.
Even so, having two surgeries happening simultaneously on the same patient was almost unheard of.
Swish, swish.
But Jaewon had toughened up after working under Kang Hyuk.
So despite Professor Kang Junsu’s constant nagging and irritation, he silently focused on his task.
—
“Are you sure you can handle this alone?”
In the adjacent operating room, Kang Hyuk was removing the kidney by himself.
The anesthesiology professor looked at him with concern, but Kang Hyuk showed no hesitation.
“Surgeons should be able to do an extraction solo.”
“I’ve never met a surgeon who talks like that.”
“That’s because most hospitals have too many people in their ORs.”
“Hah. Everyone knows we’re always short on surgeons.”
The professor’s friendly tone made Kang Hyuk pause and glance up.
She was a woman who looked at least ten years his senior, and from what he could tell, she had incredible skill.
If she didn’t, there was no way she could have kept a patient without a liver and a kidney alive this long.
And on top of that, the patient wasn’t even brain-dead.
It was almost god-like work.
‘It would be amazing to have someone like her dedicated to the trauma team.’
But that was just wishful thinking.
What could he possibly offer someone who was already a professor?
Trauma patients weren’t exactly a profitable research subject, either.
So instead of making an offer, Kang Hyuk just gave a self-deprecating smile.
“Trauma surgery has less staff than most departments.”
“True. I’ve heard you’ve been struggling a lot lately.”
“Yeah, well, that’s life. Hm.”
Even as he spoke, Kang Hyuk’s hands didn’t stop moving.
Snip.
He found the ureter connecting the right kidney to the bladder and clamped it shut.
Next, he tied off the vein, followed by the artery.
It was like watching a simplified diagram from a textbook come to life.
Looking at it this way, it felt like no surgery in the world could be difficult.
Slice.
With all the blood vessels and the ureter severed, Kang Hyuk lifted the kidney out.
“That was fast. The other team took at least forty minutes.”
“Well, unlike them, I have to both remove and transplant it myself.”
“Fair enough.”
The anesthesiology professor nodded, then hesitated before speaking again.
“Professor Baek…”
Kang Hyuk was placing the kidney into a preservation icebox.
Even though the transplant OR was just next door, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
There was always some time lost while opening up the recipient’s abdomen.
“Yes? What is it?”
Kang Hyuk had a deep respect for skilled physicians.
And this professor had just surpassed his personal standard, so he treated her differently from most others.
“I know I’m primarily based here, but if you ever need help, let me know. I can send over some interested fellows.” (T/N: Woow. Why was this not on the drama?)
“That’s a kind offer. I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Alright then.”
The anesthesiology professor nodded and turned to the assisting nurse.
“Contact Cardiothoracic Surgery. Let them know they can proceed with the heart and lung retrieval.”
“Understood, professor.”
The professor gazed down at the now open-bodied donor.
Once they opened the thoracic cavity and removed the heart and lungs, the patient would no longer be brain-dead—just dead.
She had seen this scene nearly a hundred times, yet it still felt surreal.
And it always made her feel grateful.
Because one person’s sacrifice meant multiple others would get a new lease on life.
Click.
While the anesthesiology professor was lost in thought, Kang Hyuk had already grabbed the icebox and stormed into Operating Room 19.
Professor Kang Junsu was still wrestling with the fractured femur.
Jaewon had just finished cleaning the abdomen and was now applying a sterile drape before making the incision.
Meanwhile, Professor Kim Sun-woong from Nephrology was busy setting up the temporary dialysis machine.
The first person to speak up was, unsurprisingly, Kim Sun-woong.
“Wh-where the hell did you get that?”
He pointed at the icebox in Kang Hyuk’s hands, his face filled with disbelief.
Kang Hyuk handed the icebox over to the surgical nurse as if it was nothing.
“Where else? Took it from the next room.”
“The next room? That patient wasn’t even registered for organ donation! You just took it? Do you even realize—”
All organ donations and transplants were strictly managed by the government.
Otherwise, it would be all too easy for the wealthy and powerful to hoard organs for themselves.
Sun-woong’s eyes widened. Did this lunatic of a doctor really go that far?
“Oh, the patient in the next room is Lee Hye-young’s father. You do know that family-to-family kidney transplants are exempt from the usual procedures, right?”
“Her… father?”
“Yeah. He was on his way here after being declared brain-dead when he got into an accident. You can look into the details later. For now, just focus on dialysis. That creatinine level looked pretty bad.”
“This is… unbelievable.”
A brain-dead father, and his daughter receiving his kidney after an accident?
Sun-woong was still trying to process Kang Hyuk’s words.
But there was no time to argue. The patient’s condition was worsening.
As Kang Hyuk had pointed out, her creatinine levels were dangerously high and had been that way for too long.
“Hook up the dialysis machine.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Professor Kim Sun-woong and his resident quickly focused on getting dialysis started.
“How far have you opened?”
With Kim’s attention successfully diverted, Kang Hyuk turned to face Jaewon.
Jaewon had already made a long incision in the lower right abdomen, where the new kidney would be placed.
“I’ve opened up to the peritoneum… I was just locating the blood vessels.”
“Blood vessels? Since when do you search for those?”
“Uh… Aren’t [femoral arteries] pretty deep?”
(T/N: Major blood vessels supplying blood to the lower body)
“Depth doesn’t matter. You either know where they are, or you don’t.”
Kang Hyuk scanned the open abdominal cavity at a glance.
Then, pressing his fingers against a spot, he looked at Jaewon.
“Right here.”
“I… I don’t see it.”
“What do you mean you don’t see it? Are you blind?”
Kang Hyuk pointed to his right hand.
His fingertips pulsed rhythmically, rising and falling with the heartbeat.
It was undeniable proof that he had located a large artery.
“Oh…”
“Now we just need to clear some space around it. Easy, right?”
“Uh, well… If you put it that way, I guess…”
“‘I guess?’ It is easy. Open it up.” (T/N: Of course its easy for you, you monster!)
“Yes, sir.”
As Jaewon spread the incision further, the femoral artery emerged, as if it had been hidden by an illusion.
Right next to it was the femoral vein, slightly thicker than the artery.
It had taken less than two minutes to locate both major blood vessels.
“Now that we’ve got these, the surgery is practically over. Hand me the kidney.”
“Yes, Professor.”
The surgical nurse took the preserved kidney from the icebox and passed it to Kang Hyuk.
Taking a syringe, he flushed the renal artery with saline solution.
Residual waste inside the blood vessels was pushed out through the renal vein.
“Alright. Which part do we connect first?”
Jaewon didn’t even need to think.
For someone who had topped the specialist certification exam, this was an easy question.
Even a sharp intern could answer it.
“The artery.”
“Correct. And how do we do it?”
But that part wasn’t as simple to answer.
While Jaewon hesitated, Kang Hyuk casually picked up a vessel clamp and clamped a small section of the femoral artery.
The clamp restricted only a small portion, ensuring that blood flow was maintained elsewhere.
“This is how you do it.”
“Oh, I see… On the side.”
“Exactly. Pass me the scissors.”
“Yes, sir.”
Taking the scissors, Kang Hyuk carefully made an incision in the femoral artery.
It looked like a casual cut, but in reality, it was a precisely calculated move.
Jaewon watched in awe.
The size of the opening in the artery matched perfectly with the renal artery.
‘How does he do that? Does his hand just move however he wants it to?’
Of course, for Kang Hyuk, this was second nature.
Without a hint of excitement, he simply picked up the suturing instruments.
“Alright, let’s attach it. What time is it?”
“Just about seven.”
“Then we better finish fast. We’ve still got outpatient rounds after this, you and me both.”
“Outpatient… Right.”
Jaewon sighed, realizing that this wasn’t the end of the day.
Kang Hyuk chuckled.
“I’ll finish in thirty minutes. Take an hour to rest before rounds.”
