CHAPTER 195: EATING BROADCASTS HARMFUL TO HEALTH 195

Qiu Huaili was still brimming with confidence at this point. Liu Banxia didn’t try to scare him too much; after all, the agony that would follow once the anesthesia wore off was something only the person experiencing it would truly understand.

"The current task was successfully completed. I’ll hold down the fort here," Liu Banxia said cheerfully upon returning to the emergency department.

"You’re just saying that because there aren’t many patients here, aren’t you?" Shi Lei asked, glancing sideways at him.

"Heh, well, I’ve performed two surgeries today, at least. I expect my next day off will be easier; there are no patients in Jinshui District," Liu Banxia said.

"You should make the most of the leisure time while you can. Once it gets really busy, you’ll be lucky to have two days off a month," Shi Lei said.

Liu Banxia’s face fell instantly; that was indeed the reality.

Although he was, in principle, entitled to rotating days off, it was just a formality. When the time came, all inpatients would be under his care—they were *his* patients. Could he really take a day off without a care in the world? Dream on.

"Also, the emergency department physician roster is nearly finalized. From General Surgery, it’ll be me, Wei Yuan, Wang Chao, and Qi Wentai. You need to start thinking about the scheduling," Shi Lei continued.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Let’s stick to the old routine. I’ll be taken out of the rotation, and then you guys can rotate in order. Is there any news on when they’ll officially transfer over?"

"It should be in the next couple of days. In the initial phase, Wei Yuan and I should be scheduled for more shifts to guide Wang Chao and Qi Wentai. And don’t just boldly attempt any surgery; if you’re not very confident, call me or Wei Yuan," Shi Lei cautioned.

Liu Banxia chuckled. "I knew you cared about me the most, Chief. It’s fine as long as you guys don’t find it too troublesome. We’ll aim to get through the transition period within a month, and then the three of us can truly take charge."

"As long as you’re aware, you all should be fine with routine surgeries. However, patients’ physical conditions vary greatly. I’m worried your ability to adapt to unexpected situations might not be sufficient," Shi Lei added.

"The director actually feels the same way. Think about it: only General Surgery is sending over residents. All the other departments sending physicians to the emergency department are sending attending physicians."

"Furthermore, you need to seriously consider how to conduct emergency care training for the internal medicine doctors, and also for the upcoming residents in standardized training. The hospital is paying close attention to educational and training work."

Liu Banxia was genuinely unsure what to say. It wasn’t because Shi Lei’s lengthy talk annoyed him. The truth was, his heart was full of gratitude.

Shi Lei wasn’t a talkative person; he was usually quite taciturn. For him to say so much today, even sounding a bit like a mother hen, was purely out of concern for him. That’s why he’d meticulously gone over every point Liu Banxia needed to be aware of.

At that moment, Wang Huan emerged from the consultation room and called out, "President Liu, you’re back just in time. I have a situation here that you need to handle."

Liu Banxia hurried over. "Doctor Wang, what’s the situation?"

"The patient presented with hiccups and acid reflux. A gastroscopy showed a tear approximately one centimeter long in her upper esophagus. It’s currently bleeding, so I recommended surgical hemostasis, but the patient refuses," Wang Huan explained.

Liu Banxia glanced at the patient, a girl in her early twenties.

He glanced at the gastroscopy report again. The tear was quite deep. Although the bleeding wasn’t severe, any further vomiting or spasms could easily lead to an esophageal rupture.

He also noted three areas of scar tissue on the girl’s esophagus, along with two minor ulcerative lesions in her stomach and duodenum. He couldn’t help but wonder, does this girl frequently drink heavily, or what?

After a moment’s thought, Liu Banxia asked, "Did you come for treatment by yourself?"

The girl shook her head. "No, my boyfriend is here too. He stepped out to make a phone call."

"Doctor Wang has probably already explained it to you, right? If we don’t perform surgery, your esophagus is at risk of rupturing. Do you understand the consequences of a rupture? It could be life-threatening," Liu Banxia said.

The girl nodded. "I’m a livestreamer. It’s not that I don’t want the surgery, but could I possibly have it tomorrow? I have a livestreaming commitment tonight."

"The operation won’t interfere with your streaming. You can just speak a bit more slowly; it won’t affect your work," Liu Banxia said.

"I do food livestreams," the girl said.

Liu Banxia was momentarily speechless. No wonder her esophagus was in such bad shape at such a young age.

Food livestreaming is a very popular type of broadcast nowadays. Streamers generally use one of three approaches.

One type genuinely eats, but slowly, allowing them to consume a lot. Another fakes eating, using visual tricks to fool the audience. Then there’s a third type that also genuinely eats, but in a way that harms their body—they induce vomiting afterward.

Esophageal tears can be caused by swallowing foreign objects that scratch it, or sometimes by esophageal spasms.

People who frequently drink heavily often have damaged esophagi. This is because drinking leads to vomiting, and frequent vomiting injures the esophagus.

When people talk about drinking until they vomit blood, it’s not always gastric bleeding. It’s often an esophageal rupture during vomiting that causes hematemesis.

Although this young woman hadn’t been drinking alcohol, the damage she had inflicted on her own esophagus was no less severe than that caused by heavy drinking.

"Young lady, please listen to our advice. You should stop doing those eating broadcasts. Your body is already showing problems," Liu Banxia urged patiently.

"And even when we prescribe medication, our orders will specify a diet of mainly warm, bland, soft foods. You absolutely must not overeat or binge, and definitely avoid overly spicy foods."

"You said you have a livestreaming commitment tonight? Are you planning to continue with an eating broadcast? I can tell you right now, if you really push yourself and overeat today, it won’t just be an esophageal tear; it’ll be a full rupture."

"You’ve seen the gastroscopy images yourself; your body has a problem. Even if you don’t want surgery, you need to let your esophagus heal. Also, monitor your stools for the next couple of days. If you still see black stools after two days, come back to the hospital for a check-up."

Hearing Liu Banxia’s words, the girl looked a bit embarrassed. Who on earth inspects their stool all the time?

"Don’t think I’m joking. Just take a look after you have a bowel movement. There’s no harm in it," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"From changes in its shape and color, we can tell if our body is having issues, or if our intestines are in trouble."

"Unless you’ve eaten very dark-colored food, black or unformed stools usually mean your intestines are inflamed or there’s some internal bleeding."

"Discuss it with your boyfriend: surgery or conservative treatment. The surgery isn’t that complicated; it’s a minor procedure. Conservative treatment is also an option, but you must follow medical advice."

The girl’s expression was hesitant. Liu Banxia caught Wang Huan’s eye, and they both stepped outside.

"Do you think she’ll agree to the surgery?" Wang Huan asked with a smile.

"Surgery is unlikely now. I’m just worried she’ll go ahead with her eating broadcast tonight. I saw one once on Wang Chao’s phone; that way of eating is bound to wreck a person’s health," Liu Banxia said, shaking his head.

"That’s why I mentioned the stool thing earlier. It might not mean much to us, but for ordinary people, it can be quite impactful. If she really does go ahead with the eating broadcast recklessly, hopefully, she’ll remember what I said."

"You’re really crafty. The one who just went in is her boyfriend. Sigh... young people these days," Wang Huan said, shaking his head.

"My intention was also to use the surgery to scare them a bit. But they didn’t seem to take it seriously, which is why I called you over. Now, it looks like the effect wasn’t great. I just don’t know if what you said will be useful."

After about five minutes, they seemed to have reached a decision. The girl came to the doorway of the consultation room and beckoned to them.

"Have you decided?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Doctor, can you prescribe some medicine so I can rest and recover first? As long as I don’t hiccup so much, it should be fine. HIC..." The girl had barely finished speaking when she hiccuped again.

Liu Banxia and Wang Huan exchanged a look. It seemed everything they’d said had been for nothing.

"We can prescribe omeprazole capsules, one pill twice a day," Wang Huan said.

"But I must stress again, if you do that eating broadcast tonight, switch to soft foods, eat as little as possible, and don’t induce vomiting."

"If you don’t have surgery, will medication alone be enough? The esophagus isn’t as tough as we imagine, especially now that there’s already a tear."

"Min, let’s go. Didn’t I tell you? That’s just how it is. You come to the hospital, and it’s always ’surgery, surgery,’ or ’test this, test that.’ As if people can’t live without surgery!" her boyfriend interjected before she could speak.

"Young man, can you take responsibility for your words? You’re only her boyfriend, not her legal guardian. If something happens to her because she continues livestreaming, can you bear that responsibility?" Liu Banxia asked, staring at him.

"If *I* had a girlfriend, and she was in this condition, my first thought would definitely be her health! Are you blind? Didn’t you see the tear on the report?"

"Trying to scare us? You’re just trying to fool people. I’ve asked around; this isn’t serious at all. It was only found because of the gastroscopy. Plenty of people never have one and are perfectly fine," the girl’s boyfriend said dismissively.

"Young lady, it’s your body," Liu Banxia said, turning to the girl. "We won’t force you to have surgery; patients have their rights. However, we must remind you: if you binge eat, or consume overly spicy food, it’s highly likely to cause an esophageal rupture."

It was useless talking to her boyfriend; he had no decision-making power anyway.

The girl hesitated, her expression uncertain.

"Min, let’s go home. No need to let them scare you here." Her boyfriend showed no hesitation, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the exit.

Liu Banxia and Wang Huan sighed simultaneously. They could only hope no tragedy would occur. From the looks of it, the girl would definitely be doing her eating broadcast tonight.

Liu Banxia now understood why Wang Huan had only said half of what he intended earlier. The girl was too devoted to her boyfriend; she had no mind of her own.

What more could they do? It was documented in her medical records, and she had been clearly informed. They couldn’t very well tie the patient to the operating table.