Surgery Godfather

Chapter 2199: Chapter 1439: Time to Pop the Champagne (Part 2)

"Dura mater incision complete," Professor Weber said, his voice steady, "Damage site located, T8 segment."

Post-surgery recovery for Vertrauen was slower compared to Hoffnung; it began eating in the second week and could turn over in the third week. Professor Weber was a bit worried and spent twice as much time observing it daily. By the fourth week, Vertrauen’s right hind leg showed spontaneous movement, although one full week later than Hoffnung, the amplitude and frequency steadily increased.

"Slow is okay," Weber wrote in the experiment record, "as long as there’s improvement, we’re headed in the right direction."

Surgery for Liebe was the smoothest.

When it lay on the operating table, it didn’t resemble an anesthetized monkey but more like a baby enjoying a nap. Breathing steady, heart rate normal, blood pressure stable. Professor Weber completed all operations in less than forty minutes, a full fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.

On the second day post-surgery, Liebe began eating. By the third day, it sat up in the cage. On the fourth day, it attempted to use its arms to support its body to stand. By the sixth day, its legs began to show activity.

Professor Weber watched Liebe stand in the cage, its hind legs slightly trembling but remaining motionless, suddenly recalling M7.

"Professor Yang," he sent a message to Yang Ping, "Liebe might be Europe’s M7."

Yang Ping replied: "M7 isn’t the only one, Liebe, you have six M7s."

Surgery for Geduld, Mut, and Weisheit were completed over the next two weeks.

Geduld’s post-surgery recovery was the most stable, just like its name, not rushing or fussing, taking each step steadily. Eating the first day after surgery, turning over on the third day, supporting itself to stand on the fifth day, spontaneous movement of the hind legs by the eighth day, all recovery milestones close to average without any exceptional highlights or delays.

Mut showcased its personality. On the third day post-surgery, it struggled to stand in the cage, fell, stood up again, fell again, and stood up again. Repeating more than a dozen times, each time steadier than before. By the tenth attempt, it stood firm, then let out a sharp cry, like a declaration of victory.

Weber was startled by the cry, then laughed.

Weisheit was the subject of the last surgery and also the smartest. On the fourth week post-surgery, it started to deliberately use its hind legs to press against the ground. Other monkeys would kick unconsciously, but it kicked consciously and rhythmically, as if stomping on something.

"It’s the first monkey to show gait patterns four weeks after surgery since M7," Hanna said watching the video, her voice trembling, "Professor, this monkey might be closest to M7."

Professor Weber watched the screen silently, his fingers gently tapping on the desktop, forming an irregular rhythm.

By the eighth week post-surgery, data on all six monkeys were fully compiled.

Professor Weber organized all data into a report, "Heidelberg University Primate Research Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Collaborative Treatment Experiment Report, Independent Repeated Verification of Six Primate Animals." A full four hundred pages, every data point had original records, every chart had statistical analysis.

He encrypted and compressed it, then sent it to Yang Ping.

By the time Yang Ping received the email, he was at the Institute in Nandu watching M7 undergoing rehabilitation training. M7 could already run fifty meters continuously, and after finishing, it did not gasp but jumped onto the perch, looking down at the people below with a commanding gaze.

"Professor, Professor Weber’s report has arrived," Tang Shun handed over the phone.

Yang Ping didn’t open it immediately; he let M7 finish its last lap, recorded the time and gait parameters, then returned to the office and sat at the desk.

Four hundred pages, he started reading from the beginning, turning page by page, verifying each data point, enlarging every chart.

"Professor Weber’s data have arrived, all six were successful, gather the team, tomorrow at eight in the morning, meeting room, data confrontation."

"All six were successful?" Tang Shun’s voice almost shouting over the phone, "Professor, is this... is this real?"

"It’s real, six monkeys, six independent individuals, same experimental plan. Recovery curves highly consistent with M7, none showed significant central sensitization; Germans work more rigorously than you might think."

"Weber is crazier than I imagined," Tang Shun said.

"He’s not crazy, he’s meticulous. A meticulous person confronting a matter worthy of meticulous effort will appear crazy."

The next day’s data confrontation was the quietest meeting in Yang Ping’s career.

No applause, no cheers, no one stood up to speak, everyone sat at their place silently watching the six recovery curves on the big screen.

Six curves, six colors, starting from the same point, going through platform periods of varying lengths but same shape, then almost simultaneously beginning to rise and converging at a similar endpoint.

Six monkeys, six lines, one ending.

Manstein was the first to speak: "Professor, I want to say something but I fear I might burst into laughter again."

Yang Ping glanced at him.

"Then laugh before you speak."

Manstein really laughed a bit, then stopped and seriously said, "Professor Weber’s experimental results validated our theory: In spinal cord injury repair, the role of exogenous stem cells isn’t to replace damaged neurons but to activate the endogenous repair mechanism. The previously reported small, uncertain effects in literature were because of sparse, minuscule original cells at the damage site. Exogenous stem cells act like a key that opens the door to the original cells. Without the door, the key is just a piece of scrap metal."

He paused.

"Professor Yang, you’ve integrated the three-dimensional guidance gene theory and stem cell theory. This is not just a breakthrough in spinal cord injury repair but a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine, it’s astonishing."

Yang Ping did not respond; he looked at those six curves on the screen, watching for a long time.

Tang Shun recorded beside him, his pen twirling swiftly on paper, making a rustling sound.

The final version of the paper was completed three days after the data confrontation.

The title was changed three times, the abstract twice, the discussion section almost completely rewritten; Weber integrated all six monkeys’ data, re-did statistical analyses, redrew charts, and rewrote the results section.

"Now it’s not n=1," Yang Ping said at the meeting, "but n=7, M7 plus six, seven primate animals, two independent labs, cross-center blind method verification, this paper isn’t reporting a phenomenon but proving a theory."

Weber sent the final version of amendments from Germany, he only changed one place, adding a sentence in the final paragraph of the discussion section: "Previously we thought stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury was small and uncertain. Now we know the reason; stem cells are not the main player, the main player is the endogenous original cells, stem cells are just supporting roles, they accelerate and amplify."

Yang Ping read it several times, confirmed there was no misunderstanding, then Weber submitted it.

This article was not only accepted at once but also suggested by Cell’s editor-in-chief to be featured as a cover article.

Weber was quite excited: "It means M7 will be seen by the whole world, not twenty thousand people, not two hundred thousand people, but two million, twenty million... M7 will become a symbol of spinal cord injury repair."

"Professor Yang, do you remember what I said before? I said all the papers I’ve published don’t match the value of your current experiment’s value; I was wrong."

"Not unmatched but far less, a hundred times, a thousand times. Because those papers were just tiny discoveries, while this discovery is disruptive."

Yang Ping did not speak; he switched the phone to his left hand and lightly tapped the table with his right hand.

"Professor Weber, once the paper is published, that bottle of champagne should be opened."

"Are you coming to Germany or should I go to China?"

"You come to China; M7 is waiting for you."

Weber’s breathing was clearly heard on the other end of the phone, carrying a slight emotional fluctuation.

"Alright, I’ll come! Bring the data of six monkeys, and bring that bottle of champagne to China, to see M7."

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