What the old man had was indeed esophageal cancer, but it was more than that.
As the name suggests, esophageal cancer is naturally a tumor that grows in the esophagus.
When it reaches an advanced stage, the cancer will gradually erode and destroy the esophageal wall, creating a hole in it.
After that, if the cancer continues to invade outwards, it will damage the trachea and cause the tracheal wall to break.
The human trachea is located just in front of the esophagus, and the two are tightly together, like a pair of good brothers.
Since they are good brothers and have opened a fistula tract next to each other, they can share resources - this is the esophageal and tracheal fistula that is a headache for endoscopists.
Think about it, food, water, or digestive juices in the esophagus can leak into the trachea or chest cavity, and secretions from the trachea can leak into the chest or block the esophagus, causing aspiration pneumonia and other infections.
Not to mention, the occurrence of esophagotracheal fistula itself indicates that the patient's esophageal cancer must be in the advanced stage. Even if he can barely survive surgery, his life has already entered a countdown.
Tao Le looked at the old man who was still rejoicing. The clothes he was wearing had been worn for who knows how many years and were somewhat faded. The same was true for the sneakers on his feet, which were so old that their original appearance could not be seen at all.
The boy's condition is better than him. The clothes and pants are still 80% new, but they are obviously a bit too big for him. They may have been discarded by others.
Tao Le couldn't help but sighed again.
It's not that she suddenly values her clothes and family status. The main reason is that the uncle's disease requires at least two surgeries, which are not cheap.
First, a membrane-covered stent must be placed under endoscopy to isolate the trachea and esophagus and improve the quality of life.
This kind of bronchial fistula-blocking stent is very expensive, at least 50,000 yuan.
Surgery for advanced esophageal cancer is even more expensive, starting at 100,000 yuan, not counting the cost of hospitalization and chemotherapy.
The key point is that even if the operation is successfully completed, it cannot regain much time in the face of death.
She thought for a while, then asked the guiding nurse for paper and pen. She first wrote down her mobile phone number and handed it over, and then asked for the old man's contact information.
She was wearing a white coat, which naturally gave her a sense of persuasion, and it was said that she was here to facilitate a return visit, so the old man had no doubts about her presence.
The surgery in the afternoon was actually not complicated. Tao Le and Ai Yuan worked together and completed it quickly and well, and they both benefited from each other.
After leaving the operating room, Tao Le returned to Corey specifically.
When she passed the waiting area, she did not see the grandparents and grandson again.
She checked the information of the patients who came for gastroscopy in the afternoon and quickly found the old man.
The esophagotracheal fistula detected this afternoon was just one case, and it was natural that it could be found out with just a quick check.
The patient's name is Wu Jun. He is 61 years old. Under gastroscopy, it can be seen that the esophagus is 15 cm to 26 cm away from the incisor. There are plaque-like protrusions growing into the cavity. The boundaries of the lesion are clear, the surface is rough and uneven, and there are small areas. fester.
At the same time, an esophagotracheal fistula occurred from the seventh cervical vertebra to the first thoracic vertebra.
The doctor who performed the examination was resident doctor Wang Fushan. He had already extracted multiple pieces of tissue from the esophagus for biopsy, but the specific conclusion would not be drawn until the pathology results came out.
Tao Le found Wang Fushan and went in to talk while he was using a gastroscope.
"Doctor Tao? Why are you here free?" Wang Fushan was a little surprised.
Naturally, he recognized Tao Le. The demonstration surgery a few days ago was so amazing that it was hard for him not to remember it.
The attending physician from Haishi Third Hospital humbly asked for advice in front of Tao Le. As a resident doctor, he didn't dare to put on any airs.
"I just saw an old man outside, choking on rice grains." Tao Le briefly told the story, and then asked: "Did you do the gastroscopy for him?"
"I did it." Wang Fushan also still has fresh memories of this old man.
"There is an esophagotracheal fistula, and it is such a large cancer. Whether it can be operated on depends on the later pathology." He shook his head:
"I immediately sent the picture to Dr. Miao who was treating the patient. She told the patient to come to her immediately and arrange hospitalization immediately to patch up the trachea."
When Wang Fushan said this, he pushed up his glasses, with a look of doubt on his face: "What do you think you ask these things?"
Tao Le quickly explained: "It's nothing, I just feel that I have a close affinity with these two grandsons."
She also talked about the situation of the old man carrying the child alone, which made Dr. Wang sigh with regret - because he also knew very well that the patient's time was running out.
We can only hope that besides grandpa, there are other relatives who can help take care of the child, right?
Tao Le stood up and said, "I'll go to the Department of General Internal Medicine to ask Dr. Miao about the situation. Dr. Wang, please do your work first."
"Okay, if you need me if you need anything, just tell me!" Doctor Wang sent her out of the endoscopy room.
The general internal medicine department was on the third floor, and Tao Le found Dr. Miao Yanmiao smoothly.
"Wu Jun? He hasn't come down yet." Dr. Miao frowned: "As soon as I saw the endoscopy results, I knew something was wrong, so I have been waiting here for him."
She tapped a list on the table with her hand: "Look, the hospitalization notification form has been filled out, but after waiting for half an hour, I don't know where the person is!"
"He is not young at this age, and he doesn't know the importance of it at all. He is simply joking with his own life!"
Tao Le understood that Dr. Miao was talking angrily, but he was actually worried about the patient, just like herself.
"I think he may have other concerns." Tao Le told what he had learned before, as well as his own speculation: "Maybe it's because of money on the one hand, and he's worried about having no one to take care of his children on the other. "
Dr. Miao was silent for a long time.
"Xiao Tao." She asked, "You are still young. There are some things that no matter how much we are willing, it is difficult to help every patient."
"I know." Tao Le said. This was not the first time someone had said this to her.
"But, I still want to give it a try. I can help everyone."
She stood up: "Thank you, Dr. Miao. I just got Wu Jun's contact information, so I'm going to call and ask. Maybe he is delayed for something!"
Doctor Miao raised his head, looked at the closed door, and was lost in thought for a while.
She suddenly remembered the Deputy Director Lin who came from Corey when she was young.
She is a postdoctoral fellow at a prestigious overseas university. She comes from a good family and her face is filled with the glory of humanitarianism.
At that time, Deputy Director Lin strongly advocated the establishment of a philanthropy fund in Corey and took the lead in donating 100,000 yuan.
She herself was young and enthusiastic at the time, so she donated five thousand yuan, and everyone else in the core also donated money to a greater or lesser extent.
The philanthropy fund did play a role and helped many people, but it quickly became unable to make ends meet, and later, it was all used up.
After all, how much iron can they beat with just these dozen nails?
After that, Deputy Director Lin left the First Hospital and went to Haishi, and the foundation was never mentioned again in the First Hospital.
Just now, she actually saw the shadow of Deputy Director Lin when he was young in Dr. Tao.
This passion and energy is really good, but sooner or later it will be cooled by reality.
Dr. Miao shook his head and called in the next patient.
(End of chapter)
