Chapter 1138 – Limb Replantation Successful
Actually, excising necrotic or irregular flesh was not a random act on my part. Limb replantation surgery inherently requires cutting away parts that cannot be matched or joined, shaping them for easier connection. However, in most cases, the surgery involves meticulous trimming, only cutting a few centimeters. It’s rare for someone to make drastic cuts like I did, which would naturally result in a shorter leg even after successful reattachment.
But as I made my cut, the wound began to revitalize, and the Life Elixir started to take effect. Flesh and blood regenerated rapidly, and Daijia’s intense pain transformed into an unbearable itch.
“It will be more painful from here on. I’ll say it again, if you can’t take it, knock her out. Understood?” I reminded them again. Bailing Ding nodded, while Daijia lightly shook her head, indicating she could still endure.
I picked up the dagger and began carving her wound. Fresh blood and chunks of flesh were cut away continuously. Damaged blood vessel linings and congested blood clots were also severed under my blade.
This intensified Daijia’s agony, akin to being sliced by a thousand blades. Tears streamed down her face from the pain, but the three women remembered my words and held her down firmly, preventing any significant movement of Daijia’s leg.
She also possessed remarkable endurance, forcibly suppressing her instinct to struggle. With my God’s Eye active for the surgery, I carefully avoided touching any nerves. Coupled with Elena’s tight grip, her leg remained surprisingly still.
Overcoming this hurdle made the rest much easier. This step was the most excruciating, as all damaged and necrotic blood vessels had to be removed. The biggest obstacle to successful replantation is whether the blood vessels can heal.
The next stage is connection. Once things had regenerated sufficiently, I trimmed the wound on the other leg, again applying a bit of Life Elixir. This leg, severed from its owner long ago, began to regenerate on its own.
Mentally, I ran through the principles of limb attachment: first the bone, then muscle and ligaments, followed by blood vessels—arteries first, then veins—nerves, and finally, skin closure.
When the bone had regrown to approximately its original length, I began the connection. Normally, bone mending requires stainless steel needles or bone screws, but without those, I had to rely on technique. If I had a scalpel, I could perform micro-repairs, but this dagger wasn’t suitable. Therefore, a single attempt was best, otherwise Daijia would suffer even more.
Luckily, my calculations were not flawed. The bone connected first. As I joined them, the two bones rapidly regenerated and fused completely. The speed was so astonishing that I felt if I had misaligned them, I might have had to cut and start over. This is the downside of using Life Elixir early on; the regeneration is too rapid, leaving no room for error. The flesh on the leg bone had already healed, and even the bone marrow was close to fusing.
I needed to speed up. Next was the muscle. Based on muscle memory, the flesh shouldn’t grow chaotically but should reform into a single cohesive piece. The issue was that a portion had been severed, requiring precise rejoining.
Without gloves, this was my first time operating directly with my bare hands. It tested my psychological fortitude. Even the other three girls flinched, their eyes wide, seeing my blood-covered hands. If I hadn’t warned them beforehand not to be scared, they would have thought I was committing murder.
As I was halfway through connecting the muscles, my worst fear materialized. The parts that came into contact began to forcibly heal, with blood vessels and nerves incorrectly splicing together. This would undoubtedly lead to a failed replantation. Blood wouldn’t flow, and nerves couldn’t control the foot. Even if attached, it would be a useless limb, prone to necrosis.
Without hesitation, I swiftly brought down my blade, re-cutting the incorrectly healed areas. Daijia cried out again, her eyes widening in pain, fresh tears streaming down her face. My movements were a blur, at times using the dagger to excise wrongly healed sections, at others using both hands to join severed parts, and then with the tip of the blade, applying a drop of Life Elixir to the rejoined area for localized healing.
I regretted using such a highly concentrated Life Elixir. I should have diluted it more, which would have slowed the healing and reduced blood production, making my surgery significantly easier. However, there were benefits too. I didn’t have to worry about necrosis or the patient’s life being in danger. Although Daijia was biting down on a towel, her eyes teary and her throat emitting pained cries, she had plenty of strength, indicating no immediate threat to her life.
Life Elixir was indeed a game-changing medicine. With it, her severed leg was essentially saved. I’d even prepared for the worst-case scenario: a flawed initial connection to preserve the leg’s vitality, with the intention of correcting it later under anesthesia after returning to the city.
As I gradually became more proficient, I calmed down, my movements becoming more skilled. I had performed similar bone and chest surgeries before. While not entirely identical, there were commonalities in connecting blood vessels and nerves.
Muscle joined, the main artery connected, the vein attached, nerves linked, and finally, the skin. After a series of operations focused on outspeeding regeneration, I successfully reattached the leg.
“Whoosh!” I exhaled, looking at the leg, which now bore only a thin scar from the final healing. I marveled that this was the most challenging yet fastest surgery I had ever performed, taking about three minutes, before even the Life Elixir’s effects had fully worn off. I finally understood the mindset of Lister, the swift surgeon, pursuing ultimate speed under non-anesthetized conditions to minimize the patient’s suffering.
“Hiss! Hiss!” Daijia, her mouth still muffled by the towel, made a strange sound, appearing uncomfortable. I quickly removed the towel and asked, “What’s wrong? Does your leg hurt somewhere inside?” Her blood vessels had been torn by immense force, potentially causing damage to the inner lining of other blood vessels, not just the break point. Though not outwardly visible, if coagulation or blockage occurred, blood wouldn’t flow to the limb, and the replantation would fail.
“No, it’s just… so numb. My whole leg is numb! Hiss!” Daijia said tearfully. The previous searing pain hadn’t fully subsided, and now she felt both numbness and itching.
“Wait, your leg has feeling already?” Elena asked, astonished. Feeling leg numbness indicated blood flow to the muscles. She pinched Daijia’s severed leg area.
“Huh? I… I can feel it! I really can feel it!” Daijia exclaimed joyfully. She then attempted to move her foot, and we all saw her toes twitch.
“It’s really healed! So quickly!” the Female Knight exclaimed in surprise. She had harbored doubts, not truly believing I could succeed. Even if it worked, she expected several days of rest before any movement was possible, not this immediate ability to seemingly stand. Of course, they couldn’t comprehend the true difficulty of the surgery, only witnessing the results.
