Pay tribute to Wu Mengchao-let the common people live with courage! Doctors are determined to serve the country
Today, we are seeing off the "Father of Chinese Hepatobiliary Surgery"
"If one day falls on the operating table, that would be my greatest happiness." In the operating room, Wu Mengchao said this sentence countless times.
■Our reporter Li Chenyan and Zhang Peng
There is no sorrow and joy in his mourning hall, echoing with the majestic melody of "Internationale", which is his favorite song during his lifetime.
In the last photo, he was dressed in a military uniform and his smile was as genial as usual.
Fighting the "king of cancer" for a lifetime, he once said that his lifelong wish is "may there be no more liver cancer in the world."
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On May 22, Wu Mengchao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pioneer and main founder of Chinese liver surgery, and former vice president of the Second Military Medical University, passed away in Shanghai at the age of 99 due to ineffective treatment.
Today, the farewell ceremony of Wu Mengchao's remains will be held in the lobby of Shanghai Longhua Funeral Home. His relatives, friends, colleagues, students, etc. will bid the final farewell to Mr. Wu.
Heal and guts help the common people.
Wu Mengchao has been accompanied by medicine and science throughout his life, and has written countless legends——
In the 1940s, he returned to China from Malaysia and studied medicine by mistake; once he was too short to be on the operating table because of his short stature, he led the Chinese Hepatobiliary Surgery through a road of overcoming obstacles and created a new world; He has performed nearly 16,000 operations, creating countless firsts in the field of medical hepatobiliary surgery in China and even in the world; he has won the country's highest science award, and he is still in frontline wards and operating tables at the age of 96.
"It is our pride to be able to live in an era with Mr." "You are a deity, a star, and a good grandfather with a warm smile, and a grandfather to all of us." "Although we have lost you, we want to be you! "... Inside and outside the mourning hall, white chrysanthemums are piled into hills, and the words written on the flower cards are moving.
A lot of the past about Wu Lao, one by one, surfaced in people's minds.
From it, we read about the persistence, faith, and responsibility of a generation of great doctors.
Great doctors have passed on from generation to generation.
Academician Wu Mengchao is gone, but his spirit will remain in the world forever, just like "Wu Mengchao Star" in the mighty universe is still shining.
Concern for the patient: "If there is no Academician Wu, I will live 20 years less"
Wu Mengchao has a pair of magical hands: As he holds a scalpel and hemostatic forceps all the year round, his right index finger is slightly bent to the inside, but on the operating table, not only does his hand not shake, but it is no problem to stand for more than an hour.
The hands of these great doctors always "accept the patients that others dare not to take, and open the knife that others dare not to do."
The Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Military Medical University (Shanghai Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital), a place where Wu Mengchao once established and fought for.
In the past two days, in front of the mourning hall of Building 3, crowds of condolences came from all over the country. For a time, a long line lined up on the road at the entrance of the hospital. Everyone was silent, and the air was filled with grief.
Inside and outside the mourning hall, Bai Ju has been piled up into a hill, but there are also courier brothers who hurried over holding Bai Ju from time to time and handed them to the security guard at the door.
"These are flowers people bought online. Let us send them to the hospital to express our grief." A security guard told reporters that in Wu Mengchao's mourning hall, nearly half of the white chrysanthemums were mailed from other places.
Wu Mengchao always cares about patients.
He often said to people around him: "It is a very happy thing to visit patients often, chat with them, and watch them recover."
The patient's heart also contains him.
Upon learning that the mourning hall had accepted public condolences, Huang Wei and his wife from Nantong arrived by high-speed train early in the morning, tearfully offering a bunch of white chrysanthemums to Wu Mengchao.
Huang Wei said: "If there were no Academician Wu, I would live 20 years less."
In 2001, 27-year-old Huang Wei found primary liver cancer during a physical examination.
"The day of diagnosis was July 26, and my daughter was just five months old." Holding the diagnosis, Huang Wei and his wife almost collapsed. The word "cancer" was like a death sentence.
With the last glimmer of hope, the family found Wu Mengchao.
In the outpatient clinic, after reading Huang Wei’s diagnosis, Wu Mengchao said with relief: “It’s okay, you are a small problem, and it will be resolved.” Later during the hospitalization, Wu Mengchao went to the ward to see him many times, repeating every time: “Small problem. ,take it easy."
The master did not break his promise, Huang Wei's surgery and postoperative recovery went smoother than expected.
Now, 20 years later, Huang Wei is in good physical condition and his liver cancer has been cured.
In 2010, Huang Wei's mother was also diagnosed with primary liver cancer. This time the baton of the chief surgeon was passed to the hands of Wu Mengchao's student and the director of the Fourth Department of Extrahepatology at Shanghai Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital. The operation was also successful.
"Our family is deeply gracious by Wu Lao Huize, who gave us a second life." Knowing that our son and daughter-in-law are going to Shanghai, my mother specifically asked him to say goodbye to Wu Lao on her behalf.
In the crowd of condolences to Wu Mengchao, there are too many similar patients.
Everyone knows that Wu Mengchao specializes in treating desperately ill patients. With his excellent skills, he has completed textbook-like classic operations one after another, "carrying one patient after another across the river."
48-year-old Luo Yongxing and Wu Mengchao have known each other for 23 years.
In 1998, this veteran found out that hepatocarcinoma was at an advanced stage-the tumor had grown to 13 cm, and his weight had dropped by 14 kg in a short period of time.
"Many hospitals said it couldn't be cured, and sentenced me to the death penalty. Someone told me that I can go to Wu Mengchao to see, he is the authority." On April 12 of the same year, Wu Yongxin was in Dongfang Hepatobiliary Hospital with Wu Lao Dai. Five days later, Wu Mengchao performed an operation on him.
After the operation, Luo Yongxing was very excited. He bought a small gift and sent it to Wu Mengchao to express his feelings.
Unexpectedly, Wu Mengchao not only confiscated it, but criticized him: "You are also a soldier. How can you still do this? A few hundred yuan is also very important to the common people."
Wu Mengchao doesn't chase his name; he doesn't chase after profit.
In his heart, he pretended to be patients.
A female patient was diagnosed with massive liver cancer.
Wu Mengchao took over 3 hours to successfully remove a hepatocellular adenoma weighing nearly 3 kilograms.
When she was discharged from the hospital, her lover couldn’t restrain her excitement: “Old Wu, I’ve already inquired that there are too many pennants given to you, and there is no place to hang them. You are very indifferent to money, fame and fortune, and I don’t know how to thank you. As the saying goes,'a man has gold under his knees', I will give you some gold." After speaking, he thumped and knelt down to Wu Mengchao.
Having partnered with Wu Mengchao for more than 30 years, nurse Cheng Yuee recalled that after an operation, Mr. Wu leaned on a chair in the lounge. The surgical gown on his chest was soaked. He put his arms on the armrests and sighed softly: " If one day I really fall down in the operating room, remember to wipe me clean and don’t let others see my sweaty face. You know, I love clean ones the most."
In the summer of 2019, our reporter interviewed 97-year-old Wu Mengchao in the ward.
At that time, he was unable to open one eye due to a fall and intracranial hemorrhage.
Even so, Wu Mengchao still missed his patients. Every day, young doctors in the hospital knocked on his door with various difficult cases.
The medical staff around him always persuade him to rest more, but he enjoys it when discussing the case.
"If one day falls on the operating table, that would be my greatest happiness." In the operating room, Wu Mengchao said this sentence countless times.
Serving the Motherland: Fighting the "King of Cancer" for a lifetime
Wu Mengchao often said: "I have three paths in my life: returning to the country, joining the army, and joining the party. If I were not in my home country, I might be rich, but I would not have my career. If I were not in the People’s Army, I might I am a doctor, but I won’t be where I am today; if I didn’t join the party organization, I might be a good person, but I wouldn’t be a member of the proletarian vanguard. And working in medicine gave me a platform for my pursuit.”
Wu Mengchao's childhood was spent in drifting.
In 1927, 5-year-old Wu Mengchao moved to Malaysia with his family, tapping rubber in the morning, doing housework, and going to school in the afternoon. Relying on this part-time and part-time life, Wu Mengchao was admitted to Guanghua Junior High School founded by local overseas Chinese after graduating from elementary school.
Since then, the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out in an all-round way, and the mountains and rivers swelled, preventing a patriotic young man from serving his country.
"Go back to China to find the Communist Party, go to the front line to fight against Japan!" With this simple wish, Wu Mengchao embarked on the journey back to China in the spring of 1940.
As the war blockade could not reach Yan'an, he went to school after returning to China and was admitted to Tongji Medical College, becoming a student of Qiu Fazu, the "father of Chinese surgery".
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation, Wu Mengchao saw the liberation of Shanghai with his own eyes.
At this time, "I want to join the Communist Party of China" and "I want to be a People's Liberation Army" became Wu Mengchao's strong desire.
From 1949 to 1956, he successively submitted 19 applications for enclosing the party, and finally became a member of the Communist Party in 1956.
Since then, on the long road of life, the power of faith has always inspired Wu Mengchao, urging him to forge ahead, climb one medical peak after another, and seize one scientific achievement after another.
In 1888, Germany performed the world's first liver surgery.
At this time, the Chinese were still very unfamiliar with liver surgery.
Seventy years later, in 1958, Changhai Hospital admitted a liver cancer patient, and specially invited a foreign authoritative doctor to act.
At that time, Wu Mengchao participated in the operation as an assistant.
The operation lasted for 5 hours, and the patient's liver continued to ooze blood.
Two days later, the patient unfortunately passed away due to excessive blood loss.
Qiu Fazu told Wu Mengchao: "The world's medicine is developing rapidly, but liver surgery is currently very weak. my country is still blank in this regard. However, our country is an area with a high incidence of liver disease. If you are determined, you can go in this direction." So, Wu Mengchao Dive into the field of liver surgery.
Liver cancer is known as the "king of cancer" and has a very high fatality rate.
At that time, Chinese accounted for about half of the new liver cancer patients in the world each year.
Wu Mengchao is determined to "throw the hat of China, a major liver cancer country, to the Pacific Ocean."
Ideals are beautiful, but reality is full of thorns.
At that time, liver surgery in China was in a "three noes" situation: no textbooks, no theory of liver anatomy, and no precedent for successful liver cancer resection.
Wu Mengchao plunged into the library and found an "Introduction to Liver Surgery" written by an American. He and his colleague Fang Zhiyang translated this book of more than 200,000 words. This is also the world's first Chinese version of liver surgery. Translation.
Since then, Wu Mengchao and Zhang Xiaohua and Hu Hongkai formed a "three-person research group" to tackle the problem of the "king of cancer", with Wu Mengchao as the team leader.
Three healthy young men work in the ward during the day and gather together to discuss and do experiments at night.
In 1959, Wu Mengchao’s team founded the classic anatomical theory of the "five-leaf and four-segment" Chinese liver, which laid the foundation for the theoretical foundation of liver surgery in my country; in 1960, he successfully completed the first liver cancer resection operation and invented the "intermittent liver at room temperature". "Portal blocking method" created the first hemostatic method in liver surgery in my country; in 1963, Wu Mengchao successfully completed the world's first middle hepatic lobectomy, making my country enter the forefront of international hepatobiliary surgery.
On September 17, 1964, the front page of Wen Wei Po reported the story of the "three-person research team" climbing the dangerous peak of liver surgery: in just seven years, Wu Mengchao led the team from scratch and continued to innovate, realizing the theoretical basis of liver surgery in my country A major breakthrough in research and clinical treatment.
"China's hepatobiliary surgery can have today's achievements, and Wu Lao is inseparable." On May 24, after finishing the work at hand, Xia Qiang, secretary of the party committee of Shanghai Renji Hospital, rushed to express his condolences.
This medical master who conquered the wasteland of children's liver transplantation technology sent him affectionately saying goodbye to Mr. Wu: "Under the leadership of Mr. Wu, Chinese Hepatobiliary Surgery has gone from bravely entering the restricted area to now there is no such area."
Medically, Wu Mengchao has created many miracles.
He removed the cavernous hemangioma of the liver weighing 18 kilograms, which is the largest hepatic cavernous hemangioma in the world so far; he removed the hepatoblastoma for a 4-month-old baby girl, breaking the world record of the youngest patient's age for liver surgery; The liver cancer patients who underwent his operation had survived for the longest 45 years, which also set a world record.
In 2011, Shanghai Great World Guinness Headquarters officially sent a letter: 88-year-old Wu Mengchao completed 190 liver tumor resections in one year in 2010, setting the Guinness World Record for the oldest surgeon who insisted on frequent operations.
After this record, Wu Mengchao continued the legend for many years: sticking to the front line, he did not officially retire until the age of 97, becoming the world's oldest surgical surgeon.
"The diagnostic accuracy, surgical success rate and postoperative survival rate of liver diseases in my country have reached the world's leading level. Patients from developed countries have come to China for treatment!" Wu Mengchao was so moved when interviewed by our reporter before his death. Say.
What makes the reporter also unforgettable is that he also has a more in-depth consideration for the future development of hepatobiliary surgery.
"We should attach importance to basic research, and treat patients with consideration for the sake of patients. Expensive medicines should not always be used, and patients should be cured more cheaply and better."
Tao Li Man Yuan: Bring out 80% of the backbone of hepatobiliary surgery
In the field of surgery, there is an unwritten rule that whoever has the highest position on the operating table shall bear the main responsibility.
Wu Mengchao is never afraid to take responsibility: "What is reputation? I am just Wu Mengchao!"
Wu Mengchao has countless honors and titles throughout his life, but he values nothing more than three: one is a Communist, one is a "doctor" for patients, and the other is a "teacher" for his students.
Today, among the backbone of Chinese hepatobiliary surgery, Bacheng is a student of Wu Mengchao.
In the past few days, Li Gang, director of the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Military Medical University (Shanghai Changhai Hospital), has been unable to sleep.
Shanghai Changhai Hospital and Shanghai Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital are separated by only one street, only a few hundred meters away, but he has not had the courage to step forward so far, "really afraid of going wrong."
The reporter's interview with him was completed intermittently: in about 20 minutes, he shed tears four times.
In 1998, Li Gang joined Wu Mengchao's school and became his master's student.
At that time, one of the things he feared most was following Wu Mengchao's ward rounds.
Wu Mengchao's medical records did not turn page by page, but instead used his right index finger to point and read line by line.
Once he suddenly stops moving his fingers and frowns, people around him will feel uneasy.
"Old Wu's requirements are very strict, and any details related to the patient must not be overlooked." Li Gang said that during a round, Wu Mengchao discovered that the patient's medical history had made an error. He was 78 years old and wrote 87 years old.
This time, he made a big fire.
This is the first time Li Gang has seen Wu Mengchao get angry.
He is a little puzzled, isn't it all at an advanced age, is it necessary to make such a big fire?
Later, Li Gang gradually grew into a doctor on his own. Only then did he realize the meaning of the word "detail" in Wu Mengchao's mouth: subtle deviations often affect the course of the patient's condition, and the slightest error is too far away.
Around 2010, Wu Mengchao was admitted to Changhai Hospital due to bladder tumors, and Li Gang often visited him.
At that time, Li Gang was already well-known in the field of minimally invasive liver and gallbladder.
Wu Mengchao reminded him tactfully and sternly: "It's a good thing to win a prize, but don't be complacent." Upon hearing this, Li Gang sweated on his back.
Subsequently, Wu Mengchao added: "I am in a very good condition now. You don't have to stay here. Doing things well by yourself and looking after the patients is the most important thing."
In the hospital, Wu Mengchao's surgeries are usually arranged in room 6.
Room 6 is at the innermost, and you have to go through 9 other operating rooms all the way.
When Wu Mengchao walked in, he would tiptoe and glance at each operating room.
The doctors and nurses in the operating room know that Wu Mengchao has entered as long as they see the "two big spectacle lenses" through the glass on the door.
Everyone will be more careful, after all, he has made mistakes that shouldn't have been made in front of the "old man", and he will not save a bit of "face".
After the operation, Wu Mengchao was not in a hurry to leave. The patrolling operation was his next "highlight".
Ye Zhixia, director of the Department of Clinical Nursing at Shanghai Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, has worked with Wu Mengchao for more than 30 years. What she admires most is Wu Mengchao’s courage and responsibility: "Rescue Taiwan" is Wu Mengchao’s most common task. Which surgery is not done? Wu The old city rushed in immediately.
Wu Mengchao is strict, but he also protects the calf.
Professor Yang Guangshun of Shanghai Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital is Wu Mengchao's first batch of doctoral students.
Although still a student, Wu Mengchao always pays attention to their lives and family.
At that time, Yang Guangshun's wife was still working in the field. He did not say anything, but in his heart endured the torment of the separation of the husband and wife.
After Wu Mengchao knew about it, he transferred Yang Guangshun's wife back to Shanghai through personal efforts.
"You know, it was not easy to transfer work at that time, and Mr. Wu resolved my worries in life for me."
In order to allow young people to grow up quickly, Wu Mengchao is good at setting up a stage for them.
Yuan Zhengang, director of the oncology department of Shanghai Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, still remembers his difficult journey of creating an oncology department from scratch with the support of his teachers.
"Teachers are willing to let young people explore, what kind of talents, what equipment and venues are needed to establish an oncology department, and the teachers strongly support." Wu Mengchao has the forward-looking and broad mind to develop the Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital into a comprehensive hospital with complete departments. Under his guidance and guidance, more and more young people are picking up heavy burdens on their shoulders.
Medical ethics first: "As long as the patient needs, I can go into battle at any time"
Wu Mengchao often taught the younger generations to say: "Virtue is the first and skill is the second." He also often quoted his teacher Qiu Fazu: "You must be content, you must know inadequate things, and you must be unsatisfied in learning."
Great doctors have great love.
This love often makes people around you feel warm.
It is said that Wu Mengchao in life is very stingy. The operating meal is always two dishes and one soup. The staff once wanted to change to four dishes and one soup. He disagreed: "I am old and can't eat so much."
As Wu Mengchao's "personal photographer", Cao Xi has been with Wu for 10 years.
In his opinion, there is no difference between Wu Mengchao inside and outside the lens.
"Every time I eat, Mr. Wu is always worried about whether I am full, but whenever I sit at the table with him, Mr. Wu will definitely give us some food, just like his own grandfather."
Zhang Peng, who has worked alongside Wu Mengchao for many years, also revealed a detail in an interview: In the hospital, Wu Mengchao is notorious for his stinginess.
After washing his hands, turn off the faucet to the tightest, and turn off the light even for a few minutes when he is out of the office. The dishes on the plate must be “distributed as needed” during meals.
Wu Mengchao's "standard" action after get off work is to lock the door and turn off the lights.
But Wu Mengchao also has a very generous time.
In 1996, he established the "Wu Mengchao Hepatobiliary Surgery Fund" with his own bonus and social donations of 5 million yuan, focusing on funding medical and scientific research personnel who have made outstanding achievements in the field of hepatobiliary; in 2006, he won the country's highest science and technology award. A total of 6 million yuan in bonuses were used for basic research and personnel training in the hospital; in 2008, he donated 5 million yuan worth of emergency medicines to the disaster-stricken area immediately after the Wenchuan earthquake...
Wu Mengchao also has one of his biggest hobbies, which is reading newspapers and watching news.
Zhang Peng told reporters: "When Mr. Wu was alive, he would read Wen Wei Po every day, especially paying attention to the health news on Wen Wei Po. Whenever he saw the good practices of other hospitals, he would share with us and encourage us to learn from our peers." In 1995, As a reader who cares about Wen Wei Po, Wu Mengchao congratulated the new news edition of the newspaper, saying: "It is our duty to promote the dedication and scientific research achievements of intellectuals."
Holding a lancet in his hand, I have great love in my heart.
After winning the country’s highest science and technology award, everyone felt that this was the peak of Wu Mengchao’s career, but he did not stop. He joined 6 well-known academicians and submitted an "Integrated Study on the Pathogenesis and Pathogenesis of Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer to the State Council." The proposal of “prevention and treatment” was included in a major national science and technology project.
Since then, Wu Mengchao, who is more than 80 years old, has been running around for the creation of the National Liver Cancer Science Center.
The effort paid off. In December 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission officially approved the establishment of the National Liver Cancer Science Center. This is my country's second national center after the establishment of the National Nano Center.
Then, he led the team to carefully select the site, and finally chose to build the National Liver Cancer Science Center and the Anting New Hospital of the Oriental Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital in Anting Town, Jiading District.
During the preparation period, Wu Mengchao went to Beijing several times to coordinate and communicate related matters.
One day, when the report was over, he was very tired, and he had to rest on the wall every few steps.
The entourage sighed: "Old Wu is at his age. Not only does he have to go to the operating table for surgery, but he also has to keep running around preparing for the construction of a new hospital. It is really hard work." At the beginning of 2017, a modern building covering an area of 30,000 square meters was officially completed. .
That day, Wu Mengchao, who was 95 years old, was extremely excited.
In 2019, Wu Mengchao took the initiative to respond to the reform of the national academician system and retired honorably.
At that time, this newspaper exclusively reported the news.
At the retirement ceremony, his tone was firm: "Although I have retired, as long as the organization needs it, as long as the patient needs it, I can enter the battle position and fight! I think my body is okay, so I have confidence and determination."
Liver and gallbladder look at each other, not the old lancet.
Wu Mengchao likes this famous saying by the medical master Qiu Fazu: Those who are not close to the Buddha cannot be a doctor.
I still remember that in 2019, our reporter asked Mr. Wu to write an inscription for Wen Wei Po. This 97-year-old man, without thinking, used a deformed finger to hold a pen and wrote this line: "Be a good doctor and serve the people wholeheartedly."
The unity of knowledge and action, Wu Mengchao practiced this sentence in his life.
The great doctor, his brilliant image will always remain in the world and in people's hearts.