Had Gu Yan not been struck by that palm from Nangong Li, there might have been a slight chance for a transcatheter closure — it would only require an extremely thin sheath to be inserted from the leg to the heart, delivering the occluder right to the defect, easily blocking the gap.
But now, the area of defect was too large, too big for the tiny occlusion umbrella to handle, which made an invasive cardiac surgery necessary.
Watching the spot Gu Jiao was disinfecting, the National Master asked, "You're not performing a standard thoracotomy?"
A standard thoracotomy entails cutting open the sternum from above the heart. It's a straightforward procedure with a large exposure area that doesn't require extraordinarily high precision from the physician.
However, Gu Jiao opted to make a small incision under Gu Yan's right armpit, significantly elevating the difficulty level.
