Portrait of an LBX

By Andy

Related post: On the Chinese Medical System and a Rest in Shanghai

With each visit to a doctor, I increasingly feel like medicine is more guesswork than science. I’ve seen three doctors in the past two weeks, each laying blame for my knee troubles on a different part of the knee. The first doctor in Hangzhou seemed sure the problem was with my meniscus and that the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was perfectly fine. The second doctor, a surgeon at United Family Hospital in Shanghai, looked at my MRIs and saw slight tearing in the ACL, saying that the meniscus was a bit degenerated but would heal itself just fine. The third doctor, an orthopedic and sports medicine specialist at United Family, after looking at the MRIs and making some seriously painful jabs at my knee, said that the problem was with my patellar tendon, which is inflamed where it connects to the shin.

The latter, Dr. Chen, gave me three options: physical therapy for five weeks, a cortisone shot, or surgery. Due to communication issues, I had an extremely hard time getting him to explain to me why I would do any of these three things or what the hoped-for result would be for any given treatment. When pressed, he suggested I start with physical therapy, maybe get a cortisone shot, and do surgery as a last resort. Well, that seemed pretty reasonable. Worryingly, he also said that it looked as if my knee had developed incorrectly, with something-or-other being higher than it should be, thus making it likely that these problems wouldhttp://www.portraitofanlbx.com/wordpress/wp-admin/post-new.php continue to pop up. The consult, vague information, some anti-inflammatory patches and creams and a referral to a physical therapist set me back 1,700 yuan (nearly $250). An orthopedist friend of my mom’s suggested that the structural issue Dr. Chen was referring to was likely patella alta, where the kneecap sits too high, making for an elongated patellar tendon, which is inherently less stable. (more…)

By Andy

I am still sitting in Shanghai nursing my wounds. A trip through the circus-like (but cheap) Chinese medical system last Thursday and Friday left me with a week’s supply of anti-inflammatory drugs, a two-week supply of some other pills that will supposedly help to regrow my cartilage (i.e. my degenerated menisci — I’m pretty sure the pills are just glucose and crushed seashells or something) and orders to rest for at least a week. For the benefit of family and other readers in the West who may not have had any exposure to the Chinese medical system, I’ll give a little overview of the experience. If you’ve been through it yourself there’s probably not much new in this post.

A little Interwebs research leads me to the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, to which Evan is kind enough to accompany me (we figure his own experience with knee trouble and the Chinese medical system will be useful). I should preface this explanation by saying that my trip to the SRRC Hospital is the smoothest and least frustrating of my encounters with the Chinese medical system.

The hospital is massive compared to the others I have been to in this country. The first thing I notice upon walking into the lobby is that the place is clean, and no one is smoking — a relief after visiting my sister in a Sanya hospital where she was recuperating from an attack in a bar in which she had a couple beer bottles broken over her head. The main lobby consists of an information desk (where we are immediately given some incorrect information) and a row of ladies behind glass, resembling tellers at a bank. My only complaint about the SRRS Hospital (outside the dysfunctional medical system in which it operates) is that this row of ladies at computers acts as both the registration and payment center, which means everyone has to wait together to complete either task. Other hospitals I’ve been to separate these. (more…)