Say Hello to Black Jack 7

Say Hello to Black Jack, Volume 1, Chapter 7 (pp. 94.5~104)


<94.5>
=My dream...
=Is to buy a 24-speed bicycle.

[x3]=HUFF

=Eiroku University Hospital, aka//"King of the Hill."
=So named after this long hill that I'm climbing.

SWU—P

PHWIT


<95>
#7: The "Topnotch" Trap

[x7]=HUFF—

=BLAM

=How was it? Did you enjoy the ride?

=It was hot.

=Hah-hah-hah,//Yes, air-conditioning doesn't work on a convertible.
=But actually, riding this way during the winter is also quite chic.

=Say no to littering...!!

GRIP..
[x2]=PSST
[x3]HUFF—


<96>
=I see...
=So you ended up clamming up after his question...

=Yes, I mean...
=Mr. Miyamura actually needs surgery immediately...

=But the patient asked you whether he could trust the hospital, right?
=Saying nothing would scare him even more.

=It's necessary to fib, at times.
=Communication improves a doctor's impression.

=So there's less chance of being sued when you screw up.

=B-But...

=You're doing nicely.
=We'll decide whether to have surgery in tomorrow's meeting with the surgical department.

=U...//Umm...
=I'm sorry about yesterday...

=But we're really doing our very best to help you...
=Please... Have faith in us...


<97>
=Most heart problems are treated at the internal department.
=But more serious problems require surgical attention.

=So at Eidai, the internal and cardiac surgery departments hold an inter-departmental meeting once a month.
=Where they determine a candidate's summary and suitability
[note]Suitability; The need to perform surgery.//Summary; A candidate's chances of surviving surgery.

=Here it is,

[sign]Case Conference Room

=Don't lose your nerve...
=Inside are all cut-and-pasters from another planet...

=You'll live as long as you don't talk back...
CLACK

=Uh—This is the X-ray of the chest.

=Speak the hell up—!!

=Forget about those!
=How's the ultrasound on the mitral valve!!

=These worthless physicians soiling Eidai's reputation...
*mumble mumble*

=Hurry your ass up—!!

=This is the cardiac surgery department...
=The one in the back is their boss, Professor Yoshinari Fujii...


<98>
=Oh...
=I saw him this morning...

=He's more of a politician than a doctor.
=Loves money, women, and power.

=Come back after you've run a heart-cath!!
=Next! First internal, CABG candidate!
[note]CABG; Coronary artery bypass graft

=I'm Saito from the first internal department.//The patient is Mr. Kazuo Miyamura, age 38.//He runs a liquor store.

=There's shrinkage along both the left anterior and the left circumflex.
=The tests revealed heavy blockage of 93 and 91%.

=Surgery.
=Surgery.

=We currently have him on heparin and millisrol...//Next we have the blood analysis.

=We get the idea!
=Why didn't you bring him in before he got like this!

SHUP...


<99>
=So... Then...
=When can you perform the surgery?

=That's up to us.
=Just keep watching him till we decide when.

=B-//But...
=He complained of chest pains several times yesterday, so...

TICK...

=Look, kiddo...
=We're the ones always covering your asses...

=We cardiac surgeons know the heart better than anybody...
=Just leave everything up to us, yes...?

=We're the "King of the Hill..."
=There's nothing that we can't handle.


<100>
=The next department is farther than a foreign country...

=What's wrong Saito—
=We got off early tonight, let's party—

=Sorry, I want to study up on heart disease a little more.
=I'm low on cash too...

=Try having more fun!
=Life's too short to be miserable!!
VREEEM

=I'm taking the bus, okay!?
=No, I'm not kidding!

[x2]=Come on—

=Please go away!!
=Hah-hah-hah—You're playing hard to get, aren't you—?

=I shall return—!
VROOOM
=Adios—

=Oh...
=It's Professor Fujii and that littering lady...

[x3]*impatience*


<101>
[x3]=CLACK

TING TII—NG

=TING
=TII—NG

=Uh... It's a bit far to walk...
=Might take over 30 minutes with heels...

SWU—P

=Gosh, why would anyone ever build a hospital on a mountain...?
=Plus the bus only comes every half hour...

=I've been around a lot of hospitals, but this has gotta be one of the worst...

=Huh?
=You work at the hospital?

=Kaori Akagi.
=I've been a nurse at the surgical department since last month.


<102>
=Hmm—
=So they won't schedule the operation even though the patient's dying, huh...

=Surgical, internal, medical societies and all...
=I think they ought to be more considerate of the patients...
[x2]=HUFF

=Men are all the same.
=All they wanna to do is show off.

=I'm no better,
=Talking behind their backs like this.
[x2]=HUFF

=Hey, Dr. Saito.
=If you were a patient, what kind of hospital would you go to for surgery?

=Huh?

=Well, I guess it would have to be a university hospital.
=Worst comes to worst, they've got more doctors on hand than anyplace else!
[x3]=HUFF

=Idiot...
=More doctors just means more lack of skill.


<103>
=The more surgeries you do, the better you become...
=Hospitals that have lots of doctors actually aren't that good at surgery.

=Oh yeah...

=There are 18,000 bypass surgeries performed each year.//And Japan has about 3,000 cardiac surgeons.

=So a doctor does six per year, on average...
GLANCE..

=But in order for a doctor to maintain surgical skills,
=They need to do at least 100 surgeries a year.

=I took a peek at Eidai's records.
=Of all those cardiac surgeons, only 12 of them actually performed surgeries last year...

=B-
=But the head of the surgical department said there's nothing they can't handle...

=Well it's the all-powerful Eidai...
=They can't even imagine there being people better than them.

=That's why "topnotch" really means dangerous.


<104>
=Doctor Kume...
[sign]Case Conference Room
=There was something I noticed about Mr. Miyamoto's blood test...

=This is bad...

=Mr. Miyamura's body,
=Won't withstand this surgery...