Doctor goes the extra mile to benefit patients
At 7:30am on a hot and humid mid-June day, when many people just woke, doctors from Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital have assembled outside wards and were ready to start their day's work.
"Our daytime begins at 5am," said Dr Zhang Wei, a chief surgeon at the hospital's orthopedics department and also one of the nation's leading bone experts. "The principle of being an orthopedic doctor is to allow our patients to recover to the best possible motor function after treatment."
Dr Zhang Wei checks on the recovery of a patient.
"As much as possible to benefit patients" has been his life creed for the many years he's practiced medicine in the military and been a member of the Communist Part of China for over 30 years.
For Zhang's generation, a straight military uniform, a white coat or being someone who can defend the country or save lives and help others were dream jobs. Therefore, he chose to become a military doctor without hesitation.
When it comes to the difficulties he encountered in his medical career, Zhang talked about the longest surgery he's undertaken.
"We started at 8am on the first day and ended around 9am the next day. Two teams of doctors took turns during the surgery, but as the chief surgeon, I was in the operation room almost all the time," he said. "The patient was in good condition after the operation. As long as the result is good, it's worthwhile no matter how exhausted we are."
However, his longest surgery wasn't his most difficult.
Zhang joined the first national medical team to aid the Tibet Autonomous Region in August 2015, where he had the most difficult surgery of his life.
One day, a Tibetan was sent to the hospital in the city of Shigatse, traveling 500 kilometers to get there after a long fall that seriously fractured his neck.
"I still remember the patient, a typical herder, with dark skin and big eyes. We couldn't communicate because of the language barrier, but from his eyes I saw his longing for life," Zhang said.
Dr Zhang Wei (second from right) guides the placement of patient during a surgery.
With no time to lose, with low oxygen, a difficult surgery began. After eight hours, the operation was done and the patient was saved. However, Zhang collapsed and rested for three days.
On the plateau with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters, it is difficult even to walk normally.
"We were faced with many difficulties at the time. In addition to a lack of oxygen, the air pressure was low," Zhang said. "The surgery was at a high level of risk."
After surgery, the Tibetan patient is in good condition.
Soon after Zhang arrived in Tibet, he discovered that during some difficult surgeries, surgeons had to stop and inhale oxygen, which can contaminate the operating area. However, a lack of oxygen is also dangerous for the surgeons.
He was inspired by the installation of microphones – which could be covered with clothing – and invented a method to support doctors' oxygen needs by maneuvering oxygen tubes through surgical gowns.
In this way, he finished operations one by one and initiated new techniques that filled the gaps in Tibet's medical history.
Because the oxygen tubes look like a long braid, the local people amiably call him the "braid doctor."
Dr Zhang Wei (center) is on surgery with a long oxygen braid.
"The oxygen provided for doctors comes from the same oxygen can that supports patients in surgery, so we say we share the same 'source of life,'" Zhang said with a smile.
He not only aided the medical needs of Tibet, but also helped the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In 2008, he also served at the forefront of earthquake relief in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province.
"The earthquake happened on May 12, and I went to the disaster area on May 13 right after I finished a surgery," he said. "There was no time for me to think. I just thought I should be there."
Tibetan people love and respect Dr Zhang Wei (left) very much, even calling him "living Buddha."
Dr Zhang Wei in surgery on a 23-year-old patient to repair his fractured patella with a robot assistant
Just like inventing the oxygen braid, Zhang pays a great deal of attention to innovations in his work.
In the operating room, a robot has become his right-hand man.
After setting up the program, the huge instrument scans patients' injuries, after which they are displayed in real time on a screen on the other side of the room.
With the assistance of the robot, he precisely drives steel nails used to fix damaged bones into patients' bodies. The entire process is smooth and quick.
"The application of new technologies in surgery leaves only small scars. They can accurately locate injuries and significantly shorten the amount of time it takes to perform surgeries," he said.
"We're coming up with new methods to treat fractures. We've applied for many national patents, and worked with several research institutions to develop new materials and equipment. This will not only make surgeries more efficient, but also reduce hospital fees for patients."
July 1, the centennial of the founding of the Communist Party of China, is also Zhang's 30th anniversary of being a Party member.
For him, choosing to be a member of the CPC is just like choosing to be a doctor. It is a sense of honor and mission.
But patients are always what he cares about the most.
"The most beautiful smile I have ever seen was the smile of a centenarian who had recovered from a hip replacement surgery," he said.
The real-time scanning image is presented on a screen during the surgery.
Dr Zhang Wei (right) analyzes the condition of a patient with fellow doctors.
