Fetal surgery is an especially delicate operation that demands extreme precision, primarily because the fetus is so tiny, and the cord's constraints severely limit the surgeon's maneuverability.

However, for Lin Jie, this is not much of a challenge.

Compared to the precision required for neurosurgery, fetal surgery is an order of magnitude less demanding.

Neurosurgery is known as the crown of surgical disciplines because most neurosurgeries not only have the highest difficulty but also the highest precision requirements and the strictest operational constraints.

Thus, Lin Jie handling this fetal surgery was akin to a top university student taking a middle school exam—effortless and proficient.

After removing a parasitic twin the size of a child's fist with minimal damage, Lin Jie connected the fetus to an extracorporeal circulation system and proceeded with a heart repair surgery.

This surgery could actually also be done after the fetus is born full-term.

The immense advantage of performing the surgery now is that the post-operative fetus gets nurtured in the mother's uterus, recovering three to five times faster than after birth.

Moreover, the hormone protection from the mother makes it less susceptible to infection.

Having already performed open-heart surgery, Lin Jie naturally completed everything in one go, not wanting the fetus to suffer again.

Under the microscope, Lin Jie used custom small surgical instruments to repair the atrial septum on the walnut-sized, rosy heart with near perfection.

Next, he removed the extracorporeal circulation system and used medication and finger massages to restore the fragile-looking heart's ability to beat autonomously.

Following that, Lin Jie repaired the sternum and ribs malformed by the parasitic twin, providing normal development space for the restricted lungs and heart.

Finally, Lin Jie meticulously sutured the open chest wound of the fetus with absorbable sutures.

After completing all this, Lin Jie looked up at Xing Yue.

Xing Yue, understanding, softly said, "The mother's heart rate is 104, with 95% oxygen saturation and a breathing rate of 21. She's ready for the next step of the operation."

The next crucial step is to return the fetus to the mother's uterus.

This process is extremely high-risk, with risks that could surpass the surgery Lin Jie performed on the fetus itself.

The main concern is that excessive movement might stimulate the placenta, causing it to detach from the uterine wall and lose its blood supply.

Should this occur, with placenta abruption, Lin Jie could only cut the umbilical cord, leading to premature birth. The fetus won't return to the uterus, but rather be placed in an incubator for further development.

For a 23-week-old fetus with many undeveloped organ functions and who has undergone a major surgery, this presents a massive challenge with quite low survival odds.

Before extracting the fetus, the surgical team used ultrasound to accurately locate the placenta.

Now, Lin Jie carefully cradled the tiny fetus like a potentially explosive bomb, holding his breath and steadily delivering it back to the mother's uterus inch by inch.

Xing Yue, Gao Yanhong, Zeng Yang, as well as two attending physicians, held their breaths too, their eyes unblinking on Lin Jie's movements...

Once the fetus's head finally submerged back into the uterus, Lin Jie slowly withdrew his hand and again looked at Xing Yue.

Xing Yue watched the monitor for data changes and, after waiting for more than twenty seconds, steadily nodded and said, "Everything is normal!"

Lin Jie exhaled softly and gestured with his hand; the attending obstetrician, who was already prepared, began injecting artificial amniotic fluid into Ge Qiuzhi's uterus along with some antibiotics to prevent possible infection.

Lin Jie resumed work, suturing the amnion, uterus, and abdominal skin.

With this, the surgery was completed. He glanced at the time; it was now 1:30 PM, and the entire surgery lasted four hours.

Lin Jie stopped the group's congratulations and said, "Though the surgery ended smoothly, whether the child can be successfully saved is still unknown."

"Send the mother to the ICU for continuous, close monitoring of both the mother and fetus for three days."

He instructed further: "The fetus has undergone major surgery. Although its nervous system is not fully developed, some sensations are still present."

"Doctor Xing, for these three days, use mild anesthesia through the mother for the fetus to prevent it from moving around due to discomfort in the uterus. This not only affects wound healing but can also easily stimulate the uterus, causing contractions and preterm labor."

"Also, administer medication regularly to inhibit uterine contractions…"

Lin Jie laid out several instructions, assigning postoperative tasks to everyone…

"The patient's surgery went quite smoothly…"

Outside the operating room, Lin Jie spoke to Ge Qiuzhi's brother and Yan Yuesi, explaining some aspects of the surgery.

He noticed that upon hearing the good news, Yan Yuesi, although looking immensely joyful, still had a resentful expression on her face, occasionally glaring at him as if he owed her substantial money.

Indeed, she's severely menopausal.

Lin Jie had long dismissed the idea of working with her and was not interested in delving into her odd behavior.

After discussing medical advice, he walked away, heading towards An Kexin, who stood aside looking proudly at him.

"Congratulations on successfully completing another highly challenging surgery, saving a fragile life," An Kexin congratulated with a beaming smile.

Lin Jie returned a faint smile and said, "Luck played a part. How come you're waiting for me here? You're quite the busy person."

An Kexin waved the laptop in her hand and laughed, "I'm working while waiting for you; it's almost like being in the office. Ajie, go change and freshen up, then let's have lunch together…"

Over half an hour later, they had take-out together in Lin Jie's office.

After swallowing a bite of fish, An Kexin softly asked, "Ajie, when is that Shanshan girl's gender reassignment surgery scheduled? I'm thinking of inviting a couple of interested cosmetic surgeons to Binhai to observe."

Lin Jie calculated for a moment and said, "This week she'll continue recovering, and next week we can start performing various tests on the skin grafted area."

"No matter the test results, it won't affect the timing of the next step surgery."

He decided, "The surgery will be on either Tuesday or Wednesday the week after next; we'll have more specific details next week."

Lin Jie continued, "Next Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll find a couple of interesting cases from the Affiliated Hospital to operate on. If you want to arrange for doctors to observe, that's possible too."

"What type, which department's surgery?" An Kexin eagerly asked.

Lin Jie shook his head and said, "Not sure yet. In any case, it will be representative and somewhat challenging surgeries, depending on the patients admitted to the hospital then."

An Kexin's eyes brightened, "Ajie, Ajie, could you pick a case from the ENT department? I'm in contact with an ENT doctor and want to swiftly secure them."

In line with Shen Lanruo's guidance, Lin Jie consciously accepted more cases to expand his knowledge. As for specific surgery types, he had no particular preferences, so he readily agreed to An Kexin's request.

After lunch, because of Ge Qiuzhi and her unborn child's still precarious situation, Lin Jie couldn't leave, and An Kexin decided to stay with him.

"Why are you being so good to me today, abandoning so much work just to be with me?" Lin Jie jokingly scrutinized An Kexin, "Do you harbor some significant unsavory intentions?"

Upon these words, Lin Jie sharply noticed a fleeting unnaturalness in An Kexin's expression.

Immediately, he felt a weight in his heart and solemnly asked, "Kexin, it seems you truly have something to say. What's going on?"

An Kexin hesitated a moment and then spoke, "Ajie, I received some news this morning."

"The elder of the Xie family in Capital City…"

She glanced at Lin Jie anxiously and softly said, "Passed away last night due to a brain hemorrhage caused by a brain tumor, which compressed the brainstem, resulting in respiratory and cardiac arrest."

Lin Jie paused for a moment before smiling and said, "I thought it was something major; turns out it's this. To me, he was like a stranger; his passing won't affect me at all."

"Kexin, you're worrying over nothing."

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