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 Health & Beauty | May 2007 
Prescription for Healing
 Alan Caplan - Edmonton Sun
| | Knee arthroscopic surgery is a procedure performed through small incisions in the skin to repair injuries to tissues such as ligaments, cartilage, or bone within the knee joint area. The surgery is conducted with the aid of an arthroscope, which is a very small instrument guided by a lighted scope attached to a television monitor. Other instruments are inserted through three incisions around the knee. While the clear advantages of arthrocopic surgery lie in surgery with less anesthetic, less cutting, and less recovery time, this surgery nonetheless requires a very thorough examination of the causes of knee injury or pain prior to a decision for surgery. (surgeryencyclopedia.com) |
Our socialist medical system thrashes about in severe pain while we ignore privatization. Though universal access to medical treatment is the goal, universally inadequate medical service is the reality.
Early this year, my wife, Lynn, hurt her knee and our family doctor recommended an MRI, followed by a visit to a specialist with an operation likely to follow; the timeline - a minimum of six months -likely stretching to more than a year of painful waiting. She'd have to curtail or eliminate golf, dancing and gardening for the duration.
Knowing that she'd be in Mexico for six weeks, the doctor suggested getting the MRI there. Although she'd have to pay, it would significantly shorten the timeline.
Part-time residents in Mexico for more than a decade, our support team includes our Mexican family physician, Dr. Victor.
After examining Lynn's knee and taking an X-ray, he declared no MRI was necessary; but the X-ray showed an arthroscopic surgery was called for.
Moreover, Dr. Victor would only be the "assistant" for the operation. An orthopedic specialist, Dr. Max, would do the actual procedure assisted by his associate, Dr. Cesar, along with Dr. Victor, an anaesthetist and an OR nurse.
Dr. Victor suggested he do blood work that day to preclude any problems before scheduling the procedure. That done, my wife said she would decide after consulting with our Canadian doctor.
She called him that day and he reiterated that "free" surgery here would be a long wait. That was the deciding factor.
The nearest hospital to our small town in Mexico is a half-hour away in Puerto Vallarta. So over the years, Dr. Victor built a state-of-the-art operating room at his office as well as a modern X-ray lab as well.
On Monday, we returned to his office, and the blood work results being normal, the surgery was booked for 10 days later. Dr. Victor then did a pre-op chest X-ray and booked Lynn to see a cardiologist only two days later.
The cardiologist did both an ECG and an echocardiogram over two days, finally declaring her fit for the operation.
Lynn's procedure was late in the day, which meant discharging her after midnight. Instead, Dr. Victor kept her in a recovery room (in his office), tending to her several times through the night, then drove her home in the morning. Medications he ordered by phone were delivered to our house within the hour.
He saw her twice more to monitor progress, the first time on a Sunday. A week later, he removed the stitches.
Lynn walked with the help of a cane immediately, but as Dr. Max promised, put it away in only a few days. Only two weeks from diagnosis to full recovery, and the total cost was about CDN$3,600, including the cardiologist and medications, but not counting air travel and accommodations.
That's about $6.50 for each painful day she didn't have to wait for "universal access" while opening one more space in the Canadian queue.
While not everyone can afford to do what we did, the cost was neither unreasonable nor unaffordable for most middle-class folks.
We need to re-examine our priorities.
Email Alan Caplan at acaplanatcba@hotmail.com. |
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