Chinese medicine: from rural hospitals to top three hospitals in Kyoto

Chapter 982 ALS

The opening ceremony of the International Medical Center was scheduled for Friday morning, and Chen Yang and his team moved into the East Campus two days in advance.

The decoration style of the new hospital campus combines Chinese and Western elements. It has both antique Chinese pulse diagnosis rooms and modern treatment areas equipped with the latest instruments.

Lin Yi was studying the operating procedures of an imported neurofeedback device. As he looked at it, he asked, "Is this the equipment donated by Orson Group?"

"No."

Xia Hongliang said: "To be honest, I don't like this thing very much."

"Indeed, it's a bit half Chinese and half Western." Li Chengjie also nodded.

“Before I came to the medical center, I thought the medical center would be more pure.”

"These equipments were donated by the Orson Group."

Gao Anliang smiled and said, "Besides, we are an international medical center, so we must be more international. It's okay for domestic patients, but if they are foreign patients, we must always provide them with a buffer environment."

“It’s not just that.”

Chen Yang said: "At present, whether it is domestic or foreign patients, most people use modern medical examination data to judge the symptoms. Even if acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine are used, the standard for judging whether the condition has improved is still data."

"This is also the tragedy of traditional Chinese medicine." Wen Haodong said.

"That can't be said. Traditional Chinese medicine has its own standards, and Western medicine has its own standards. Sometimes it's not a bad thing to refer to some data to give patients a more intuitive experience."

Chen Yang said: "In our clinical treatment, we still have to follow the standards of Shen Xi Zhong Zhong and have a scale in our hearts."

Chen Yang paused and said with a smile: "At any time, if you want to set standards, you must become strong. When we become strong and authoritative, then some of the things we set will become standards."

"Doctor Chen is right."

Gao Anliang smiled and said, "If we can really use the medical center as a window to connect Chinese medicine to the world, then we will be the standard. When foreign medical institutions study and research Chinese medicine, they will use us as a reference."

As they were talking, a group of people entered the meeting room.

Today is the first time that Chen Yang, as the person in charge, has held a meeting with everyone.

Chen Yang sat in the main seat. On his left were Gao Anliang, Lin Yi, and Xun Jiahong. Although Xun Jiahong was newlywed, he also came to the medical center today. Next were Gu Yingyin, Zhu Gaoyuan and others. On his right were Wen Haodong, Wen Haohui, Xia Hongliang, Wen Manlu, Zeng Yunhui, Yang Lei, Liu Zhengxu, Li Chengjie, Qu Wenxuan and others.

"Dear colleagues, welcome to join the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the International Medical Center."

Chen Yang smiled and said, "I won't say any more polite words, let's get straight to the point."

"It's better to have Director Chen preside over meetings. Everyone likes to get straight to the point." Xia Hongliang said with a smile.

“Everyone is very clear about the purpose of the medical center: to build on the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine and combine it with modern medicine to provide the best diagnosis and treatment plans for difficult and critically ill patients at home and abroad, while promoting the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine and international exchanges.”

"The advantage of our team is that it brings together the elites of the younger generation in the medical field."

Chen Yang's eyes swept over everyone present: "Everyone has his or her own area of expertise, including internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, acupuncture, massage, orthopedics, pharmacology... In the future, we will work in the mode of 'combining disease and syndrome, cooperating with Chinese and Western medicine, and tackling key problems as a team'. When encountering complex cases, it is no longer a one-person fight, but the whole team brainstorms and gives full play to their respective strengths."

"Currently, the Western Medicine Department is being led by Professor Zhong Dongyang of Kyoto Hospital and is also being established in full swing."

Chen Yang paused and continued, "Our medical center can be said to be a model of combining Chinese and Western medicine, co-building Chinese and Western medicine, and co-developing Chinese and Western medicine."

"but......"

Chen Yang paused and raised his voice a little: "The integration of Chinese and Western medicine in our center is based on treatment, not on concepts. It is about Chinese and Western medicine cooperating in a fair and balanced health state, leveraging their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses..."

"I still say that I hope everyone can combine western medicine with traditional Chinese medicine in clinical practice and maintain the pure concept of traditional Chinese medicine."

The people selected by Chen Yang are basically all young people with quite good skills. Most of them are second or third generation doctors, and many of them have famous doctors in their families.

People like Xun Jiahong, Li Chengjie and others have been influenced by their families since childhood and have relatively pure thoughts. This is also one of the factors that Chen Yang chose these people.

Chen Yang and Wen Xiuping talked about this during their chat, and they said that if Chinese medicine wants to maintain its advantages and establish its own characteristics, it must still follow the path of pure Chinese medicine.

The reason why traditional Chinese medicine can be so effective in treating some diseases and cure some diseases that are difficult to be cured by modern medicine is precisely because of its people-oriented holistic concept and pure thinking.

If traditional Chinese medicine loses its core, it will completely become a vassal of Western medicine.

When traditional Chinese medicine loses its advantages, then there is no need for it to exist.

After talking for a few words, Chen Yang gestured and the assistant beside him placed a document in front of everyone.

"In the past few days, the first batch of patient data of the medical center has been preliminarily screened, and there are many difficult cases among them."

"Today, we will choose one from this list as our team's 'first battle'."

Everyone looked serious as they flipped through the documents. The cases on the list were either clearly diagnosed by Western medicine but with poor treatment results, or difficult and complicated cases with unknown causes and no results from repeated medical treatments. The patients also included people from all walks of life at home and abroad.

Soon, a case attracted everyone's attention and discussion.

Patient: David Baker, male, 32 years old, British, main striker of a top Premier League club.

Chief complaint: progressive weakness of both lower limbs, muscle twitching, and slurred speech for 3 months.

Medical history: 3 months ago, the patient developed right foot weakness without obvious cause, prone to falling, and gradually developed weakness in both lower limbs and difficulty walking. Accompanied by involuntary muscle twitching (flesh twitching) in multiple parts of the body, and coughing when drinking water, slurred speech, and difficulty swallowing in the past month. No sensory impairment, no incontinence.

The patient visited several top hospitals in London and underwent a full set of neurophysiological examinations (electromyography, nerve conduction velocity), head and spinal cord MRI, blood biochemistry, immunity, and genetic tests.

Electromyography showed extensive neurogenic damage (mainly damage to anterior horn cells), and MRI showed no obvious structural lesions. The initial diagnosis was "high possibility of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)", but the symptoms progressed relatively quickly and some manifestations were atypical, so it has not been fully confirmed. Western medicine gave drugs such as riluzole, but the effect was minimal.

After learning from the media about Chen Yang's treatment of Wilson, the patient and the club contacted the International Medical Center through the embassy for help.

"ALS?" Xia Hongliang took a deep breath. "ALS! This is a world-class problem. Western medicine can only delay it, but cannot reverse it."