Chapter 1342: Styloid Process Syndrome

Chapter 1342: Chapter 1342: Styloid Process Syndrome

"Director Liu, we can already make a positive diagnosis. Look at this styloid process, it appears slightly deviated outward."

Du Fancheng pointed to the X-ray displayed on the screen and said.

"It must be pressing on the external carotid artery, but the angle of deviation is not very large, so the pressure is not that intense, and the symptoms aren’t very sensitive."

Liu Banxia stared at the screen for a while; it was a learning experience for him today as well.

He had only vaguely heard of this disease, and since it was not a condition of his department, he hadn’t paid much attention.

Reflecting now, the symptoms of this young man’s illness could be difficult to diagnose without a degree of experience.

The styloid process is in a rather special location; it’s hard to notice whether it’s a cranial CT or cervical CT.

This is where Du Fancheng’s rich experience comes in. If he had been the one receiving this patient, he might have just sent him away.

There’s no evident symptom; it’s entirely based on the patient’s possible symptoms recounted orally.

"Is surgery the only treatment for this condition?" Liu Banxia asked.

Du Fancheng nodded, "You can cut off the slightly extended styloid process via the oral pharyngeal tonsil route. It doesn’t do much harm to the patient and won’t leave an external incision."

"That’s good. I was just thinking, if approached from outside, the surgery difficulty level would be quite high," Liu Banxia said.

"Ah...diagnosing the patient has cooled my heart a lot," mentioned Du Fancheng.

"The overlap of symptoms with glossopharyngeal neuralgia is high; without caution, it could be wrongly treated as glossopharyngeal neuralgia. The patient isn’t yet in severe condition, but still suffers a lot."

"Had I not witnessed this here today, it wouldn’t exist in my database," Liu Banxia said with a bitter smile.

"Just feels like I’ve heard about it, but that’s unknown to which year it was. Really good to diagnose it. Otherwise, it would be real suffering, and it’s quite baffling suffering."

"Doctor, the radiology doctor told me, I have a disease."

At this moment, the patient returned, his face full of excitement, and his hoarse voice vibrantly enthusiastic.

Nevertheless, both Liu Banxia and Du Fancheng understood his joy at "having a disease."

Probably, in his life, people might think he’s feigning illness. After numerous examinations at several hospitals without confirmation and no throat abnormalities, it was hard to explain.

"Have a seat, we’ve also seen it on the computer. Indeed, you have a condition, but we can treat it. However, a small surgery is needed; medications won’t help," Du Fancheng said with a smile.

"See, this small part on your skull, it’s actually slightly longer than normal and deviated a little."

"This little extra part causes your current symptoms. Medically, this is called styloid process syndrome. Our treatment method involves entering the tonsil area within the throat and removing the excess bone."

"Once it’s not there to create trouble, your throat will naturally return to normal. The small piece removed also won’t impact your health; it’s just excessively long and somewhat redundant."

"Doctor, is this surgery risky? Why did it grow crooked?" The patient asked.

"This involves our body development; some individuals have primary cases, just like some bone development anomalies," explained Du Fancheng.

"Others have secondary cases, mostly caused by scar pulling from tonsillitis or post-tonsil surgery. In your situation, the likelihood is more primary."

"Certainly, there is some risk in surgery. After all, it’s surgery, especially in the tonsil area where nerves and blood vessels in the neck are relatively abundant, so we need to be very cautious during surgery."

"Yet, this illness has already started affecting you. If it continues pressing harder on the blood vessels, the pain might radiate to the head, neck, or face in the future."

"Surgery is the radical cure, and from our perspective, it’s a minor surgery. We will conduct very thorough examinations before the surgery."

"Moreover, it doesn’t mean you need to decide immediately, but this is the only treatment method for the condition. After the images come out, you might want to discuss with your family or consult other doctors."

Listening to his words, the patient shook his head, "Surgery must be done, but I’m a bit busy right now. It’s a surgery, and there could be a lengthy hospital stay."

Du Fancheng nodded, "These details you can control yourself. Hand over the medical records, and I’ll write them down now. Then, once the images are ready, you can go home."

"Thank you, doctor," the patient expressed with gratitude.

For him, there’s genuine appreciation, as he’s finally diagnosed.

The patient cheerfully went outside to wait for the images, and Liu Banxia didn’t linger either; he also went outside.

With the end of work approaching, he was eager to go home, feeling a bit restless inside.

But today, the weather wasn’t allowing him to feel comfortable. The visibility outside was already very low, and there was a layer of thin fog hovering.

"Sigh... This guy, I honestly can’t tell what time I’ll get home today," Liu Banxia sighed.

"Just listening to the car horns outside, you already know. It’s really unnecessary. No matter how much you honk, the car in front won’t move. Then there’s always someone trying to cut in line, and if there’s a fender bender, it’s over."

"Teacher Liu, if you ask me, you should have dinner before going home today. The road’s jammed anyway. Eating first might not make you get home much later." Xu Yino suggested.

"We’ll see. There’s still more than half an hour. What if a strong wind comes and blows all the fog away?" Liu Banxia said.

"Teacher Liu, do you think that’s possible? Su Wenhao is the lucky one. He left this morning, so nothing’s affected. Otherwise, even going to the train station would be a hassle." Li Hao said.

"He should be home by now, right?" Liu Banxia asked.

"He’s been home a while and even sent us photos. Looks like he’s really happy to be home this time; otherwise, he rarely shares any," Huang Bo said.

"Life is indeed a bit tough for him. But the hardest days are over. If he works well here at our emergency center, his future won’t be bad," Liu Banxia said.

"The same goes for all of you, but we should give extra praise to Liu Yiqing. Today’s performance was really eye-opening, far exceeding my expectations."

"Hehe, Teacher Liu, do you feel heartache?" Xu Yino asked with a mischievous smile.

"You underestimate her, don’t you? Since I dared to give her the meal card, I was prepared to take a few hits. What dishes did you all order? Didn’t just order the expensive ones, did you?"

Initially, Liu Banxia sounded justified and unaffected, but towards the end he seemed a bit guilty.

Because by herself Liu Yiqing wasn’t much of a concern. The real issue was Xu Yino, who dares to do anything.

"Teacher Liu, we’re not like that! We just ordered cumin chicken cartilage, slippery fish fillet, and spicy chicken dice. Just these three dishes, we just added a bit more volume." Xu Yino said.

Liu Banxia gave a thumbs-up, "That’s quite fierce."

"Of course, since Qingqing shone so much today. Even the director knew about it and praised her for a full five minutes," Xu Yino said.

"The director knows too? Tsk tsk, Liu Yiqing is really going to the top. When will you all reach the top?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Teacher Liu, if we exceed expectations, will you give us a meal card too?" Miao Rui asked eagerly.

Liu Banxia nodded seriously, "That must be given. We may not be able to host a grand celebration, but a small celebration like this is no problem."

"Actually, after observing you all for some time, I have high expectations for you too. Both Xu Yino and Liu Yiqing performed really well."

"The others of you, while you haven’t made waves yet, I think you just lack an opportunity. Don’t rush; when the opportunity comes, your time will come."

"Fame is really just for personal satisfaction, and doesn’t really help much in our work."

"Like my liver transplant yesterday, it was something quite impressive, but so what? At most, I secretly enjoyed it for a moment. To other patients, I’m just a junior doctor."

"Stay humble, avoid arrogance, and keep a normal mindset. That’s how you create a good environment for learning and working."

The five people nodded in agreement, understanding the underlying message in Liu Banxia’s words.

He didn’t want their individual performances to disrupt their mental balance, as that would be counterproductive.

"Alright, it’s about time to get off work. You all should go eat and celebrate, you’ve surely already told President Qi." Liu Banxia continued.

"Sigh... no matter what we do, we can’t escape Teacher Liu’s eyes. He knows everything," Xu Yino sighed.

"What’s so remarkable about that? Given your usual habits, isn’t this what you always do?" Liu Banxia shook his head.

It was indeed the end of the workday. There’s nothing more to say, time to hurry home. Today will be a long journey, who knows when I’ll get home.

He also took a moment to message Qiaoqiao, asking her to save some food for him. With today’s weather, who really knows.

Just as he expected, traffic jam started soon after leaving the second hospital. Almost no progress was made in over half an hour.

After enduring for an hour or so, the road ahead finally cleared up a little.

At that moment, his phone rang, "Xu Yino, what’s up?"

"Teacher Liu, there’s been a chain collision on the national highway, and we need to go for rescue," Xu Yino said.

"Send me the location. Gather the equipment. I’ll turn off at the next intersection," Liu Banxia said.

Going home? Looks like that’s not happening today.