The next day.

8:40 AM.

After the morning meeting, Gao Jun called Zhao Heng into the office.

"Xiao Zhao, Sun Xinxin will be sent over tonight. How are the preparations going?"

Sitting on the sofa, Gao Jun asked Zhao Heng with great concern.

For the newborn center of anesthesia and perioperative medicine, receiving Sun Xinxin is now considered a top priority.

From across the ocean to North City, due to certain reasons, there is only a flight arriving at 7 PM, so Sun Xinxin's reception will also be conducted in the evening.

"Everything is in place, now just waiting for her to be sent over."

Zhao Heng replied.

Speaking of which, although Sun Xinxin is a very important patient, the ICU is already well-equipped with various instruments and devices, so Zhao Heng didn't need to exert much effort to complete the preparations.

"Here's all the medical records and data from the Mayo Clinic about Sun Xinxin for you to review first."

Gao Jun opened the laptop on the coffee table and handed it to Zhao Heng.

"Okay."

Zhao Heng took the laptop from Gao Jun and began to examine it carefully.

After just a short while, Zhao Heng's expression became heavy.

"Teacher, the situation is more serious than we initially estimated. According to the materials from Mayo, Sun Xinxin is currently in a persistent vegetative state."

Zhao Heng said very gravely.

The clinical definition of a vegetative state is periodic cycles of wakefulness and sleep of the body, but without any evidence of cognitive or behavioral responses to external stimuli, or cerebral metabolism.

When this cognitive loss persists for more than three months, it is termed a persistent vegetative state.

In this state, the patient is essentially a "living dead," having completely lost awareness of themselves and the surrounding environment, language comprehension, and expressive ability, suffers from incontinence, has a sleep-wake cycle, with complete or partial preservation of hypothalamic and brain stem autonomic functions.

"Yes, according to the Mayo Clinic, Sun Xinxin's condition has been identified as caused by severe craniocerebral injury leading to damage of the nerve axons in the ascending reticular activation system of the brain stem. During her stay at Mayo, all possible treatments were administered, yet Sun Xinxin showed no signs of regaining consciousness."

Gao Jun said very solemnly.

Mayo Clinic, being a world-leading hospital, naturally employs the most advanced treatment methods, and these techniques were utilized, yet the patient remains unresponsive, which can be tantamount to a "death sentence" for Sun Xinxin, in a sense.

"What are your thoughts on treating Sun Xinxin?"

After a pause, Gao Jun asked again.

He was hopeful to hear a different perspective from Zhao Heng.

On several occasions in the past, Zhao Heng had provided ideas and solved problems when everyone else was at a loss.

This is why Gao Jun values Zhao Heng so much.

"I noticed from the Mayo Clinic's treatment records that they have already attempted pharmacological awakening, along with some music therapy and familial connection therapy, but with minimal effects. Due to the brain stem aneurysm in Sun Xinxin's brain, electrical stimulation methods cannot be used."

"Therefore, I believe that Sun Xinxin's brain cells have been severely damaged, and using conventional methods to awaken her may already have little effect."

Zhao Heng stated methodically.

"Xiao Zhao, so what do you propose?"

Hearing Zhao Heng say this, Gao Jun was eager to know if Zhao Heng had any other thoughts.

"I believe we could try some unconventional awakening treatment methods, such as neural stem cell transplantation, gene therapy, or embryonic brain tissue transplantation."

Zhao Heng expressed his idea. Ever since he learned from Gao Jun that Sun Xinxin would be brought over, he had been considering what treatment methods could be used on her once she arrived.

The treatments already attempted by the Mayo Clinic had little success and were obviously unnecessary to repeat.

"Gene therapy and embryonic brain tissue transplantation are still quite far from practical application, but neural stem cell transplantation is indeed a new idea."

Gao Jun's eyes lit up as he spoke.

Neural stem cell transplantation involves transplanting neural stem cells into the host body, directing them to the diseased area in the nervous system, where they gather, survive, proliferate, and differentiate into neurons and glial cells, thus partially restoring the lost functions of the host.

"In fact, there are already many treatment methods for long-term coma both domestically and internationally, but currently, no specific treatment method has been found to accelerate the recovery of a patient's sensory abilities. The causes of long-term coma are varied, but for this patient Sun Xinxin, I believe the major reason for her long-term coma is likely severe traumatic brain injury, which damaged brain cells."

"So, by utilizing the method of neural stem cell transplantation, we can maximally replenish the damaged brain cells, facilitate the recovery of brain functions, and awaken the dormant consciousness."

Zhao Heng stated seriously.

Clearly, he was prepared and had done so in great detail.

"Yes, and neural stem cells can also be transplanted via intravenous and arterial injections, so there's virtually no damage to brain tissue, and it has no impact on the patient's intracranial aneurysm, making it highly worth trying."

Gao Jun nodded repeatedly. Clearly, Zhao Heng's idea could be a major breakthrough in the currently stagnant treatment of Sun Xinxin.

Young people surely are bold and capable!

With this thought, Gao Jun couldn't help but look at Zhao Heng with great satisfaction.

The best part of Zhao Heng's proposal is that it doesn't require extensive measures. By just performing a spinal tap to extract cerebrospinal fluid and isolate neural stem cells for differentiation and cultivation, before reintroducing them into the patient's body, the process can be completed.

"Mayo Clinic has actually also proposed a new treatment plan: deep brain stimulation. It's an awakening treatment method that Mayo has been eagerly studying all along."

After a pause, Gao Jun added.

"Didn't Sun Xinxin's family agree?"

Zhao Heng asked with some puzzlement.

"Of course they didn't agree. According to the doctors over there, Mayo internally believes that the success rate of deep brain stimulation is less than 30%, but it carries the risk of permanent brain function impairment due to electro-stimulation."

Gao Jun said slowly.

"That really shows the straightforward and crude approach of Americans."

Zhao Heng replied noncommittally.

In essence, deep brain stimulation for long-term coma patients is akin to defibrillation for those with cardiac arrest.

If the heart stops, give it an electric shock. If the brain stops functioning, electrify it.

For patients with normal physical functions and no severe brain damage, such a treatment method might be worth a try.

But Sun Xinxin's situation is obviously different; she not only has extremely severe craniocerebral injury but also an aneurysm on the brain stem. Electrification's effects are unknown, but the complications and sequelae are visibly severe.

This highlights the difference in clinical thinking between the doctors on both sides.

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