Chapter 104 Campus
As a self-proclaimed genius, Li Ang was quite fond of teaching himself medicine. Robert Liston, a British doctor from the early 19th century, was the one who inspired Li Ang to walk this path.
In 19th-century Europe, anesthesia hadn’t been invented yet, so to minimize a patient’s struggling, surgeons had to complete operations as quickly as possible.
Dr. Liston was highly skilled and swift, averaging just two and a half minutes to amputate a leg, with his fastest amputation taking only 28 seconds, earning him the title "The Fastest Knife in the West End of London."
However, while Dr. Liston was fast, his precision left something to be desired.
In one infamous surgery, Dr. Liston skillfully amputated a patient’s leg in just two and a half minutes. He also, as an unintended "bonus," severed the patient’s testicles, castrating him on the spot.
A young boy had a red swelling on his neck. Dr. Liston’s intern asked if it was a skin abscess or a dangerous carotid aneurysm.
Dr. Liston, believing such a young child couldn’t possibly have an aneurysm, roughly dismissed the intern. With one swift cut of his knife, arterial blood spurted out, and the patient died instantly.
In a third infamous case, Dr. Liston perfectly amputated a patient’s leg. However, he used too much force, simultaneously cutting off his assistant’s fingers and slashing a spectator’s tailcoat.
As a result, the patient later died from gangrene (very common at the time). The assistant whose fingers were severed also died from gangrene. And the unfortunate gentleman whose tailcoat was merely slashed was, out of sheer terror, literally scared to death.
One swift cut, three lives lost. This was probably the only "successful" surgery in history with a 300% fatality rate.
Dr. Liston’s "illustrious achievements" constantly inspired Li Ang on his path to medicine.
(In reality, Dr. Liston’s reputation was actually quite positive. He was a pioneer in Scottish surgery and made significant contributions to the development of modern medicine.)