Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 592: Chapter 592: Locating

Professor Han’s ambiguous answer did little to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

"Professor Han, just give it to us straight. Can acupuncture anesthesia actually be used for this kind of craniotomy?"

"Or, to be more specific, how effective is it? Can it replace conventional anesthesia?"

Faced with his colleagues’ pressing questions, Professor Han took a deep breath, his voice suddenly tinged with emotion.

"Everyone, acupuncture anesthesia is an absolute banner of our distinctly Chinese medicine."

"It is even a gateway to the world, a way to gain global recognition for the scientific basis of Chinese medicine."

"We’ve spent decades researching it. Acupuncture anesthesia is indeed clinically viable. The state has even published five editions of clinical guidelines for it. This is not pseudoscience."

"As early as the fifties and sixties, our acupuncture anesthesia achieved excellent results. The first successful tonsillectomy using it was in 1958. In 1972, during Nixon’s visit to China, he personally witnessed a lobectomy performed with acupuncture anesthesia. In fact, the history of acupuncture anesthesia can be traced back to ancient texts from as early as 607 AD."

"There is clearly a scientific basis for it!"

"During the seventies, acupuncture anesthesia reached incredible heights. More than 30 countries were using it clinically, with nations like Sweden, Canada, Japan, the United States, and Singapore all conducting research."

"By 1979, it was used in nearly every common type of surgery across all departments in China, with the cumulative number of cases exceeding two million."

"But..."

Professor Han’s tone shifted, growing heavy. "After the eighties, however, interest in acupuncture anesthesia plummeted. It reached the point where now, many young doctors have never even heard of it."

"Why?"

Someone asked curiously.

Professor Han sighed. "Because... of its inconsistent results."

"First, the analgesia is incomplete. This is its most prominent issue. Many patients can tolerate the procedure, but they still feel pain and sometimes require supplemental medication."

"Second, it can’t fully suppress visceral reactions. When internal organs are manipulated, the patient might experience nausea, vomiting, and a drop in blood pressure."

"And finally... insufficient muscle relaxation. Acupuncture can’t relax the muscles as completely as a paralytic agent, which complicates the surgery, especially for abdominal procedures."

"So, in the nineties, with the rapid development of new, powerful analgesics and anesthetics in the United States, the advantages of acupuncture anesthesia became less pronounced, and interest naturally waned."

"To this day, acupuncture anesthesia still isn’t widely used in clinical practice and has not gained full acceptance from the mainstream international medical community, primarily due to its inconsistent analgesic effects, lack of standardized procedures, and an action mechanism that remains unclear."

"So... we are left in this awkward position."

At this, Professor Han snapped his head up, his gaze burning as he stared at Li Xu on the screen. "But..."

"I believe it’s not that acupuncture anesthesia has failed, but that we haven’t researched it thoroughly enough. We still haven’t found the true key to unlocking the human body’s own treasury of self-healing and pain relief."

"And today... perhaps we will witness a miracle!"

Hearing this, the crowd grew pensive, their gazes once again fixed on the operating room.

...

Inside the operating room.

Luo Xiangnan appeared calm, but inwardly, he was on edge.

He held the screws for the head-fixation frame, aiming for the patient’s frontal bone.

"This might hurt a little. Try to bear with it."

Luo Xiangnan said in a low, soothing voice.

However, as the screw pierced the skin and pressed against the periosteum...

The patient, Uncle Zhang Lianquan, didn’t even flinch.

Luo Xiangnan froze.

He tentatively applied more pressure, even pinching the surrounding skin with forceps.

No reaction.

After several more tests, the patient’s lack of reaction left him pleasantly surprised, even incredulous.

’Completely painless?’

Luo Xiangnan couldn’t help but turn to Li Xu, his eyes wide with shock.

Li Xu gave him a calm smile and glanced at the Electric Needle Device. "Director Luo, proceed with confidence. My current needle technique and parameters can maintain a high level of anesthesia for two hours. If the surgery runs longer... I’ll just apply the needles again to reinforce the effect."

"Alright."

His confidence restored, Luo Xiangnan’s worries vanished. "The surgery officially begins," he announced in a firm voice.

The head frame was secured, scans were used for positioning, and the target was confirmed.

Everything was ready.

Li Xu stood to the side, quietly observing the procedure.

The difficulty of this stereotactic lesion surgery for Parkinson’s was on another level compared to a typical operation.

From the required precision of the surgical maneuvers to the reliance on modern instruments integrated with digital navigation, it represented the pinnacle of neurosurgery.

Under the guidance of TPGS multi-dimensional stereotactic digital imaging, the procedure only required drilling a coin-sized hole in the skull, unlike a traditional craniotomy which involves removing a large bone flap.

Two precision robotic arms, guided by a high-speed drill, slowly advanced into the cranium.

"BZZZZT—"

As the piercing sound of the drill grinding through bone filled the air, the atmosphere in the operating room grew tense.

Everyone held their breath.

This was the most painful part of the procedure.

The pain of drilling through bone was no small thing.

Yet, in the midst of this tense atmosphere, a slightly puzzled voice suddenly broke the silence from the operating table.

"What a nice smell..."

Uncle Zhang sniffed the air and asked in confusion, "What is... what is that smell? Why does it smell like burning wood?"

"And... why does my scalp feel a little itchy? Is someone scratching it for me?"

"Director Luo... is something on fire in here?"

The patient’s three absurd questions were met with starkly different reactions around the operating room.

A few of the younger nurses barely stifled their laughter.

But...

most of the experts, including Luo Xiangnan and Professor Han in the observation room, wore expressions of utter shock, bordering on ecstasy.

Because his questions happened to prove two critical facts:

First, the patient was fully conscious, with a keen sense of smell and normal tactile sensation.

Second, his sense of pain was completely gone.

The excruciating pain of drilling through bone felt to him like nothing more than an "itch."

For a Parkinson’s surgery that requires the patient to be awake and cooperative, this was the absolute best-case scenario—a dream come true.

It was also the highest state of acupuncture anesthesia: a clear and refreshed mind, completely detached from the sensation of pain.

Luo Xiangnan was in high spirits.

He even cracked a joke, telling the patient, "I’ll let you have a look sometime, if you get the chance."

The incredible effect of the acupuncture anesthesia was like a gentle spring rain, washing away the suffocatingly tense atmosphere in the operating room.

Even the other surgeons, who had been on edge, felt their tense brows relax a little as their movements became more composed.

"Prepare for targeting!"

Luo Xiangnan focused his mind and began operating the modern stereotactic equipment.

This was a far cry from the crude mechanical targeting systems of decades past.

It was a sophisticated, cutting-edge technology based on modern digital analysis.

The installation of the targeting frame was extremely meticulous. The sagittal midline of the frame had to perfectly align with the midline of the skull. The frame’s Y-axis needed to be parallel to the G-I line. In the anteroposterior direction, the skull had to be positioned exactly in the center of the frame. Even a one-millimeter tilt backward, forward, or a slight rotation would result in a targeting error. A miss by a millimeter could mean failure by a mile.

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