Have any of you gone under the knife in Taiwan?
Is it something I should fear, more so than back home?
I haven’t had majory surgery, but I have had some procedures done like an endoscopy (where they stick a small camera down your throat into your stomach) and some other things I don’t have the time to explain.
To answer your question, I don’t think you need to worry, but you DO need to know exactly what your doctors will be doing, so you are prepared emotionally and physically. Of course, it helps if you speak pretty good Chinese. Even though a lot of doctors speak some English, it’s usually just a bunch of medical terms.
I’ve had some unpleasant hospital visits, but most of the time it’s not the fault of the doctors. I do hate it when I feel like everyone is curious as to why I’m there. When I had the endoscopy, I had 3 doctors in the room because they were so curious. Maybe they’d never seen the inside of a Caucasian stomach or something…
My biggest beef with the doctors here is actually getting them to take me seriously. I look like I’m in perfect health, so they dismiss my concerns because they’re busy with 90+ other patients who are all waiting in line.
Have you read my rant on post-operative pain? I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to have surgery here again unless it was life-saving.
I go to a hospital in Dali that has a whole program set up just for English speaking foreigners. If the doctor hasn’t spent years studying in the USA, they at least have someone on staff who has who will do the rounds with you.
I’ll certainly take a look at Lord Lucan’s rant on post operative pain.
Where’s Dali?
Just south of Taichung City.
Forumosa’s auto editor strikes again. It’s not Ren-Ai! It’s Jen, with a freakin’ J!