Risky Surgery mechanics

[YuriP]

Let's exemplify each situation. First let us player when the damage happens:

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 208 2.0 - Risky Surgery wrote:

Your surgery can bring a patient back from the brink of death, but might push them over the edge. When you Treat Wounds, you can deal 1d8 slashing damage to your patient just before applying the effects of Treat Wounds. If you do, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your Medicine check to Treat Wounds, and if you roll a success, you get a critical success instead.

So the first thing it do is damage the target then you will try to Treat Wounds.

Situation 1 - Target isn't dying but will become dying due the 1d8 slashing damage caused by Risky Surgery (like as it having 1 HP):

Critical Failure: The target take the damage and becomes Dying 2 due the critical failure.

Failure: The target take the damage and becomes Dying 1.

Success or Higher: The target take the damage and becomes Dying 1 but it heals the number of hit points given by Treat Wounds recovers from Dying condition and loses the wounded condition.

Situation 2 - Target already is dying you aren't able to use Risky Surgery because Treat Wounds requires 10 minutes to make the check. You first need to Administer First Aid to stabilize it first than you back to situation 1.