Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 433 429. The Price of Happiness

This operation, which seemed full of twists and turns but was actually a great success in the eyes of others, was not affected by Flint's early departure. Instead, it made three American students studying in Paris tremble all over.

For them, apart from the unfortunate encounter with Flint, director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School and also chief of internal medicine at Ai Xin Hospital, the unexpected learning process turned out to be better than expected and will be remembered by them for the rest of their lives.

After the operation, the three asked a few questions and then left reluctantly.

As they walked along the flat, open central boulevard, their conversation kept switching between Shirina and her son.

Holmes was very concerned about several explanations after the surgery: "I can hardly imagine what Dr. Carvey's surgery will be like the day after tomorrow, reconnecting the rectum to the anus when it is connected to the urethra or bladder. Just thinking about it makes my brain confused."

Next to him, standing in the middle of the three people was James and Wade, who had a full beard. He had been focusing on internal medicine and didn't know much about surgery. Whether it was the midwifery class or watching the surgery together, it was all to make up for the shortcomings in internal medicine.

His knowledge of anatomy was worse than that of the other two, and it was not enough to establish an understanding of this operation: "It shouldn't be that easy to reopen a closed anus and then sew it up."

"of course!"

Delafield, standing on the far left, looked the shortest and a little fat. He was holding a burrito he had just bought at the hospital entrance and said while eating, "It's not just difficult, I don't even know where to start."

James and Wade were a little unbelievable: "But why does he look so relaxed?"

“That’s the gap between us and him.”

"It is indeed more difficult to enter directly from the abdomen. We have to avoid many intestinal tubes. Besides, it is a child. To be honest, I dare not even think about the operation." Holmes is the most familiar with surgery among the three people. Now he can't explain it clearly. "I think we should not guess randomly. We will know everything when the operation starts the day after tomorrow."

"Too."

"Luckily we stayed to ask questions, and Dr. Kavi agreed to let us in. Otherwise, there would definitely not be a place for us in the theater on the day of the surgery."

The topic gradually shifted away from surgery and began to focus on people they were familiar with. The first to speak was James and Wade, a young man who had just arrived in Paris and dreamed of living here forever: "By the way, did you see it? The way he and Dr. Niemeyer quarreled was interesting to think about."

Delafield threw away the wrapper and wiped his hands with a handkerchief. “These two are really amazing. From thesis to off-court, they have never stopped over the years.”

"One is a pulmonologist who is over 50 years old, and the other is a rising star in internal medicine. It's interesting to think about it."

They were talking about Flint, who left early. Although he was only thirty years old, he was at the pinnacle of the New York medical community because he discovered the relationship between heart murmurs and heart disease a few years ago.

This is one of the few areas where American medicine can surpass European medicine, so it is naturally sought after. It also helped him successfully get the positions of Director of Internal Medicine at the Love Hospital and Vice President of the New York Medical Association.

Perhaps the glory brought by the paper on auscultation of heart sounds was too dazzling, Flint focused all his research on auscultation and even founded the Buffalo Medical School, hoping to make auscultation with a binaural stethoscope the most important diagnostic and treatment method in internal medicine.

So after finding nothing more about the heart murmur, he switched to pulmonology, hoping to complete his research on tuberculosis by relying on auscultation.

Flint's research was not easy. He made no progress in the past few years, and was criticized by many European physicians for his research on tuberculosis. The most venomous one was Niemeyer, a pulmonary specialist who divided tuberculosis into two periods, "consumption" and "tuberculosis".

"Let's talk about surgery."

Holmes was still obsessed with Cavey's skills, so he brought the topic back to the topic: "I never thought that surgery was a fancy subject. I always thought that the accurate diagnosis of diseases by internal medicine, as well as the preparation and use of drugs and chemical reagents, are the embodiment of medical art. Now..."

Janeway and Delafield looked at him at the same time: "What now?"

"It's hard to say. In my heart, I still think that internal medicine is the 'orthodox' medicine, but it is undeniable that surgery can solve problems that take a long time for internal medicine to solve in an incomprehensible and efficient way."

James and Wade wanted to laugh and said jokingly, "I remember you said that you really fell in love with medicine because you listened to the lecturer explain the arrangement of forearm muscles in the anatomy class."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that."

Holmes was a little embarrassed and quickly explained, "It's because Harvard Medical School has so little and poor surgical teaching. Compared with here, American surgery is a joke. I really want those guys who brag every day that the Civil War changed American surgery and led the direction of modern surgery to come to Paris and see how funny their fantasies are."

"Dr. Kavi cannot represent all Europeans. Dr. Kavi is unique."

"really."

The journey that would normally take half an hour by carriage took the three of them more than an hour as they walked and talked before reaching the hotel.

They were all born in 41, four years younger than Flint, and at the right age to produce research results. If they had stayed in the hospital, they would have been attending physicians. But in order to obtain first-class medical knowledge, they gave up their jobs and lives in the United States and came to Paris.

Of course, after a busy day of work and study, proper relaxation is also necessary.

"I can't sleep after watching such an operation." James and Wade took out three tickets from their arms with a smile, "I recently found a bar by the Seine River, not far from here, and the evening performance is particularly exciting. Do you want to go for a drink?"

"How exciting is it?" Delafield asked with interest.

Janeway was so proud, as if he owned the bar himself: "All I'm saying is, they serve soda and can-can."

"You mean the last time you had to wait in line for a whole block to get two sips of soda?"

"Why should we go back to the hotel? We've already taken a detour!"

Unlike Austria, surgery in Paris has long lost its halo of exhibition and has become a more professional and serious medical work. The preoperative notice time, intraoperative record report and postoperative summary of important surgical operations are all under the jurisdiction of the Medical Newspaper. Other newspapers in Paris will not pay much attention to it, especially during the World Expo, when there is too much news to report.

However, Kavey was an outlier after all, and he and John, who was only one day old, made headlines in major media outlets.

This was a shot in the arm for the nobles and royals who spent their days betting on horses, eating banquets and visiting salons. Who wouldn't want to watch a performance that was different from the past when they were bored?

"No, absolutely not!" Holt said "no" firmly to the three people in front of him. "How can I break the rules set by the French Surgical Association several years ago?"

Sitting at the desk was Charles As, a man who had made a name for himself in high society with his eye for art. However, this time he was not here for the paintings, but simply to entertain people: "President Holt, I'm just giving a few seats. It won't affect others."

"How many seats?" Hott was anxious, and he repeated the list he wanted, "There are 12 earls and their wives alone, and what about the princes? And the foreign minister and his entourage of the British Embassy."

"There are indeed too many people." As was a little embarrassed, "But they can pay." Holt looked very unhappy, but he still asked, "How much?"

"One thousand francs per person."

Holt smiled, like a child who got the most fun toy in the world: "You probably don't know much about the value of Dr. Kavi. Do you know how many crowns Kavi charges for a surgery in Vienna?"

As thought he had some friendship with Kawi. He had only thought Kawi was a good doctor before, but he had never equated him with money. Now, after hearing Holt's introduction, he was so surprised that he couldn't even close his jaw: "How much did you say?"

"The maximum price for the first row of VIP seats is 2000 kronor."

"That would cost 1 francs, right?" As was stunned. The brain cells in his head that were used to bargaining with artists did not recover for a moment. "Two or three hours of surgery time is actually more valuable than a famous oil painting?"

"What else?" Holt was a little proud. "In Vienna, tickets for his surgery are hard to come by. Moreover, this is the first anoplasty in the world. Do you understand???"

As soon as the words fell, the voice of the person sitting on the sofa on the other side jumped out: "President, do you mean that as long as you have enough money, you can enter?"

Holt coughed twice and shook his head, "That's not what I meant."

"So ten thousand francs is not enough?"

"This is the most medically valuable operation, so of course we have to meet the needs of the surgeons in office first. What's more, there are so many medical students and interns, even me..."

"2 francs." The man on the sofa doubled the price. "I'll pay 2 francs per person. Just prepare three seats for me."

“But the association has rules.”

"3 francs." The man stood up, put the newspaper in his hand on the coffee table, straightened his shirt and vest, and then took the hat handed to him by As, "If it still doesn't work, forget it."

Hearing this, Holt's eyes suddenly widened, and his sad face turned into a smile: "I didn't expect that the Prince of Wales would be so interested in medicine. There is no reason for me not to arrange for him. Queen Victoria in London will also be relieved to know about this."

"Then it's settled."

Holt watched the three people leave the office, raised the newspaper in his hand high, and put it down gently. He couldn't help but sigh that he had lost his dignity as a doctor.

This was already the fourth group of people this afternoon. Holt had always held to his bottom line, even when someone before him offered 1 francs, he still didn't give in. But now it was 3 francs per seat, and three seats were booked at once, so he really had no reason to refuse.

But he had already thought of the reason for accepting the offer, which was to fill the funding gap for the aqueduct at the medical school.

"Just think of it as raising money for Kawi. After all, there is a more dramatic operation waiting for Paris."

Hott picked up another newspaper, read it carefully twice, and couldn't help laughing again: "This guy is getting more and more outrageous. Why is he an Austrian? It would be great if he could stay in Paris forever. Wait, why am I laughing?"

He hurried to the mirror and looked at his wrinkled face. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "This position of president is really not for a human being. Even I have fallen."

The three people who were in the office just now quickly left the Surgical Association.

It can be seen that the Prince of Wales was very happy after getting the admission to the operating theater, and he seemed to be walking lightly. As, who gave him the news in the first time, also received his praise: "Not bad, Charles, very smart, you know what I want. The timing is just right. If I wait until tomorrow to find this guy, God knows whether 3 francs will be enough."

"I am an art connoisseur after all. Dr. Kavi's techniques can also be considered works of art, so they are naturally on my radar."

As smiled and sent the prince to the carriage. After the three of them were seated, he said, "Your Highness, if it is convenient, can you discuss this with Duke Dudoville?"

"Why do you care so much about a club?"

Bertie knew what he wanted, but he just kept looking out the window. "Hasn't it occurred to you that your presence in this club would destroy the very dignity you hoped it would have?"

As was speechless for a while: "This"

“A Jockey Club without you is the noblest club you could ever want.” Bertie turned and glanced at him, admonishing him like a friend. “Promise me you won’t think about it again, okay?”

At this time, the attendant beside him suddenly asked: "Prince, the operation will be tomorrow night. What about the banquet originally scheduled?"

"Lytton, do you think that banquet was worth 10 francs?"

The attendant shook his head: "I don't know much about the prices of food and wine, as for the appearance fees of those artists..."

“Have you been scolded by my mother and become stupid?” Bertie frowned and tapped his hat brim twice with his cane. “Think about how happy we were when we played bird shooting in her manor. Even if someone really gave me 100,000 francs, I wouldn’t trade it!”

There was still no smile on Litton's face: "I understand. I will have someone send them a notice to cancel the banquet."

Bertie sighed, feeling that his childhood playmate had become too rigid, and he was helpless: "Don't secretly cancel your appointment with Venice tomorrow night. That's my only happiness in Paris."

"But my lady."

"I'm not meeting you in bed, what are you afraid of?"

"understood."

"I heard that the Austrian Emperor has left Hungary and is coming to Paris?"

"It will arrive in about a week, estimated to be between the 16th and 17th, but the exact time has not been decided yet." Litton glanced at the memo, "Dr. Kavi has already booked the banquet hall, probably for the Emperor's welcome ceremony, and you are the first person invited."

"Our Queen has given me a great mission." Bertie closed his eyes. "She swallowed up the whole of Hungary at no cost, and now we have Kavi. We have to have good relations with not only France, but also Austria. By the way, Franz is almost 40 years old. Should I call him brother or uncle in private?"

"It's better to just call him Emperor Austrian. It's more formal."

"Boring."