Plague Doctor

Chapter 131: Lobotomy

Chen Wenwei’s surgery was arranged first. The operation was set to take place in an I-Grade Super Sterile Surgical Room on the neurology floor of the surgical building. I-Grade had the highest sterility among all the surgical rooms. It had the fewest dust particles and the lowest density of microorganisms. It was most suitable for brain and organ transplant surgeries.

Inside the spacious surgical room, Chen Wenwei in the patient’s garb was already lying flat on the operation table. His eyes were closed due to full body anesthetic. Compared to this morning, the patient’s youthful face appeared even more tired. His cheeks had sunk even further. The anesthetists and nurses were already waiting. Soon, the surgical door opened, and the medical unit in sterile scrubs walked into the room. Gu Jun was among them. Looking at the surgical lights and the surgical tools, he felt a sense of belonging. It reminded him of the last surgery he had performed. Ironically, even though the environment was far more appropriate than a dirty stone path, the imminent operation was going to be far more barbaric than a simple amputation.

“The patient’s vitals are stable,” the anesthetist, Guo Jun, informed them. “The drugs can still keep the patient’s central nervous system under control.”

Gu Jun glanced at the encephalogram on the screen of the patient monitor system. The signal showed that Chen Wenwei was in a deep sleep state. Currently, the graph was no different from a normal person’s, but no one could tell what kind of reaction he would go through during the operation. The standard procedure for a lobotomy came from a rather backward era, so the accuracy could not be guaranteed. It was one of the reasons why it was frowned upon all over the world. However, with a more mature method and more advanced imaging devices like MRIs, the accuracy of the surgery had been highly improved. A lobotomy would be used in some situations to heal a concussion or brain tumor.

However, the patients of Nightmare Illness provided another layer of complication. Their immune system had been weakened by the illness, so the operation had to take into consideration their post-surgery recovery. Therefore, the operation draft would be a combination of old and new technology. It would most effectively destroy the prefrontal cortex while limiting the damage to bare minimum.

The main surgeon, Si Kouxian; the first assistant, Song Yilong; and the rest looked like they were ready for war. Even though the group of middle-aged men was the best neurosurgeon Eastern State’s Medical Department had to offer. Even for the fourth assistant, craniotomies were an everyday affair for them, but they lacked experience in this kind primitive operation procedure. Furthermore, they knew that they could not afford to make any mistakes.

“Just treat this as a normal operation,” Si Kouxian said to encourage the group and himself. The group moved toward the surgical table—the positioning of everyone was different from neurological surgeries. The main surgeon was posted above the patient’s head, the anesthetic machine was placed on his left side, and the mobile system and other devices were on the right. Gu Jun stood behind the nurses and machines as he watched the surgery unfold. At the same time, through the cameras placed above the surgical lights and the cameras around the room, the situation was broadcast live on a big screen inside a conference room one floor above this surgical room, the research center at the psychology building and the headquarters. Countless researchers were studying this operation quietly; Prof Qin and Tang Zhifeng were among them.

Soon, the surgery started on the many screens. Chen Wenwei’s head was fixed in place with a three-point head clamp and was turned ninety degrees for an easier entry for the surgery. His head had been shaved clean. The EEG kit was moved away from the surgical spot. Fresh blood poured out before blood flow was stopped. The surgeon started with an incision on the scalp before moving onto flipping back the skin...

Gu Jun focused his attention as he watched. He had read the material before he came and participated in the pre-surgical meeting, so he knew what was happening. A small hole would be drilled into two sides of the patient’s skull, and then they would conduct the operation on three different spots on each side. Currently, the main surgeon used the electric saw to cut open the temporal fascia, temporal lobe, and periosteal layer. The muscle was peeled back from the periosteum and pinned into place by hooks. The patient’s skull was thus exposed.

“Cranial drill,” the main surgeon ordered. The nurse moved to oblige. Si Kouxian accepted a Midas Rex cranial drill affixed with a small drill bit. He leaned forward and aimed it at the patient’s skull. He prepared to punch open a hole right above the patient’s ear canal. This location had been accurately calculated before. The sound of drilling echoed inside the room. It shattered the silence everywhere the surgery was broadcast live. Anxiety surged around like invisible waves.

The people conducting the surgery were experienced neurosurgeons. This was Gu Jun’s first craniological surgery. Seeing the patient’s skull being operated on, he felt some kind of buzzing feeling in his own skull. He watched as the rapidly spinning drill bit slowly made its way into the patient’s hard skull.

As Song Yilong, the first assistant, used a scrapper to clear away the bone dust under the drilled hole, Si Kouxiang accepted a leucotome from the nurse. This surgical device looked like a huge screwdriver. It had a long body that could extend deep into one’s brain, and the sides of the body were rounded, leaving no sharp edges. The surgical instrument’s end tapered into a metallic ring. With a pull of the handle, the ring would spin from the kinetic force and shear through the nervous fiber.

Si Kouxian had already poked the head of the leucotome into the brain through the drilled hole. When he reached the predesignated location, he stopped. Long Yilong used the surgical probe to access the latest scan. The monitor next to them showcased the brain’s current situation as a 3D image, combining it with the MRI data obtained pre-operation. This would allow Si Kouxian to adjust the location of the ring more accurately.

“This is a surgery that has been awarded a Nobel prize before,” Si Kouxian mumbled as he pulled on the handle. Instantly, there was a resounding snip. The metallic ring that was hidden inside the patient’s brain had scrambled a part of the patient’s prefrontal lobe.

With one part down, there were two more spots to go. It felt like the air in the room had frozen. Gu Jun had no expression on his face; no one could really tell what kind of complication would arise from this kind of primitive procedure. But he also knew that if they did not find a treatment for the Nightmare Illness soon, it would only get worse. The surgical options would get more and more barbaric. Cingulotomy, cerebral hemispherectomy...

Basically, their option was to cut here a little, remove a bit there, to see what would happen. This was inhumane to say the least, but the patients had no choice nor did the doctors. Facing an illness where modern medicine had failed them, they had all gone back to the dark ages. Si Kouxian had not finished adjusting the leucotome when a sharp beeping sound reverberated around the surgical room. The situation that they were worried about had occurred. The anesthetist uttered worriedly, “The patient’s heart rate is increasing! The EEG is also straying. This...”

The data on all those devices was all over the place, but before the group could decide what to do, a strange and hoarse voice interrupted them. It came from the patient’s skull.

“Ah.” The nurse handling the machines was the first to scream. Then, the expressions of the patrolling nurses and the group of doctors all darkened. Chen Wenwei, who literally had a hole still open in his brain, suddenly opened his eyes. His mouth was mumbling something, but there was only chaos and emptiness in his eyes.

“Command, the patient... the patient has woken up.” Si Kouxian was stunned beyond belief. Although they had prepared a contingency plan in preparation of the patient’s active reaction, that was only with regards to mobility changes while still under the effect of anesthetic. Throughout the history of medicine, there were only a handful of patients who had regained consciousness in the middle of their surgery. They could feel pain and could hear the sound of the medical officers around them, but they could not speak or move. Some anesthetics came with muscle relaxants, so some patients’ muscles would flinch during surgery, but that was perfectly normal.

However, what was happening to Chen Wenwei was definitely not normal. The man was opening his eyes and speaking.

“Wenwei?” Si Kouxian tried to calm himself down. He immediately asked, “Wenwei, can you hear me?”

Gu Jun watched this exchange from the side, and suddenly, a strong warning gripped his heart...

“Ph...” Chen Wenwei’s body did not move. His head remained fixed in place, but his face was startlingly white. His eyes were so red, it looked like the capillaries in the eyes were about to pop. The strange, throaty noise continued to echo out from his mouth.

“Nglui... nafh... Cthulhu...”

Gu Jun’s eyes widened as the discovery descended upon him. It was that sentence!

“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”

At almost the same time, he could feel a giant mental wave ravaging the room like a palpable wave. It erupted from where Chen Wenwei was lying.

“Ah!” Si Kouxian and Song Yilong, who were closest to the patient, screamed helplessly. Their hands reached instinctively to their splitting heads. Their faces that were hidden behind the masks were blanched, and their bodies were shaking like leaves in a storm.

Then the second assistant, third assistant, the anesthetist, and the nurses were consumed by extreme pain! All except... Gu Jun.