Boy have I got a personal tale interlaced with Korean experiences for you. I have no idea where to start. Perhaps I should first get out of the way that I very much love the Korean medical system, despite the one moment of frustration I had checking in before surgery, but that was due to language barriers.
I’ve had a deviated septum (aka broken nose) for 8 years now. For some people it may not be a big deal, but over time I have developed all sorts of health problems. Why had I not gotten surgery in the States? The costs. It is impossible for me to afford surgery in America. In fact, I would never be able to afford the combination of CR scans, X-rays, blood tests, medicines, consultation fees, etc. All those fees cost me the equivalent of a normal to the doctor in America when I need a vaccine (about 250-300 dollars). Additionally, I have never heard of anyone in America getting a CR scan, X-rays, and blood tests in the same season; in Korea I did it in one day.
The doctor spoke pretty fluent English. In fact, from the beginning of my experience until the end, someone spoke English to me. It may not of always been perfect, but their dedication to help me astounded me.
My tale began by going to a small hospital near my home to ask about surgery to correct the bone. The doctor at this hospital didn’t speak English, so they brought in someone to translate. Simply amazing. Then I was referred to Boramae Hospital, and they even made the appointment for me. Two dollars worth later, I was out the hospital on a cab to Boramae Hospital.
Korean hospitals, much like banks, use a number queue system. It is highly efficient. I took my number, spoke with the receptionist, and she made a map pointing me where to go next. I had my consultation with the nose specialist…yes a specialists (something I could never afford if I was in America). We talked about the problem. He wanted to look into alternatives before surgery, so he put me of allergy medicine for two weeks and that same day I had X-rays, blood tests, and CR scans done. Two weeks later I had my next appointment. It turned out that I was allergic to dust, but very little and not enough to justify my breathing problems. The images confirmed that my nose was in pretty bad shape as well. We then talked about the surgery. Did a few more tests, including a urine test and the next time we met he talked about the surgery and costs with me. We set it up for February 22nd, but I requested that if a day came earlier, I would take it.
At this point, I probably spent around 250 dollars. That included all those X-rays, blood tests, CR scans, consultations, medicines, and other lab fees….cab fares too if I really want to emphasize costs.
The procedures would be septoplasty and a spreader graft. Septoplasty is the realigning of the septum, or the cartilage that separates the airways in your nose. Spreader grafts are used when the nose is too narrow and needs to be widened to allow more air in. This is used when the blow to the nose causes the bones and cartilage to collapse in on themselves, narrowing the airways. It is functional rhinoplasty, or plastic surgery without the vanity; however, as the doctor explained to me, any surgery involving the nose has to take into account both function and aesthetic properties. We then talked about what the changes might look like and asked my approval for any small changes he that could take place to make the nose look normal. My nose will basically be a little wider, but not very noticeable. People might notice something different about my appearance, but may be unable to figure out why.
The cost of septoplasty in America is $4,400 on average. Spreader grafts are $7,000. Anesthesia alone is more than $1000. One night at a hospital can cost $2000. Medicines, tests, and extras haven’t been taken into account.
In Korea…my surgery costs $3,500 USD. I am doing two payments of 1,800,000 Won . The average hospital stay is something between 18-30 dollars a night, depending on how many people you room with, it includes meals and meds.
Last Friday night I received a call from the hospital letting me know that a spot had opened up for this previous Monday Feb 6. Classes don’t start until March 1, there is only deskwarming to be done at school. I figured that having almost a full month to recover before teaching would be much more beneficial; additionally, I have many annual leave days that I have not used. I took the surgery spot without a second thought.
Sunday I checked in, but there was a really frustrating problem – which I didn’t understand at the time, but now I do. You need a guardian when you do a surgery in Korea, the only problem is that most people are unwilling to do it because if you are unable to afford it, they will be stuck with the bill. I wasn’t able to get someone to be my guardian since no one wanted to take on that responsibility, and my girlfriend lives in Cheonan – they need her stamp. Before I was told that I didn’t need a guardian because I was an adult. But because of this, when I checked in they wanted to charge me 1,000,000 Won, or about $1,000. I was bewildered because I had not taken that extra money into account; I would not be able to afford my surgery. We fumbled in English and Korean for about 2 hours; I was worried. Luckily, they were able to fax the paperwork to my girlfriend, she signed and stamped the documents, and that cancelled that payment.
Later on I found out that it would be a deposit, from the total – so either way I would be paying the same. I felt foolish, but happy to know that now. Checked in and the staff was super friendly. All the nurses were cute and their English was cute but understandable. I changed into my robes, and had the IV drip set up. They performed a few tests once more to be sure I wouldn’t have any allergic reactions. Then the nurses took my blood pressure and temperature every 2 hours or so, and the doctor consulted with me me about the surgery one more time, getting my final approval.
I think the worst part of it all was really the fasting. No food or drink before or after the surgery. As for the surgery itself, all I remember was the surgeon saying, “Breath in, it’s only oxygen.” I had to ask before, “Do people poop on themselves when they are knocked out?” He said that sometimes they do. It was my only concern. After that, I woke up and it I was in the recovery room. For the next 8 hours, I couldn’t drink anything…that was the worst experience I’ve had so far. Having a bandaged up nose, being thirsty for 24 hours, and being able to breath only through your mouth – making you thirstier. The thirst was the devil. I was awake until 2am, the time the nurses said I could finally drink water. But then came the next problem, it was drinking water itself. You should try drinking water while closing your nose, then add some pain to that, and imagine blood and mucus falling into your throat whenever you try taking a sip. Can’t forget the meds and painkillers, they make you look dumb.
Hours after surgery - looking fine
One of the first things I did when I got back to my room was throw up a wad of coagulated blood, quite a bit from the operation. They had gauze in both my nostrils and a cast on the nose. Additionally, a collective gauze under my nose that was changed every two to three hours. It is four days after the surgery now, and I am still changing the gauze every two to three hours. My eyes didn’t look so bad after the surgery. The bruising and swelling was much more obvious a day later, and peaked on the second and third days. My face has also been really puffy and I was unable to open my right eye.
Bruising and swelling showing up
The next day I spent it recovering at the hospital. The night was plagued with fever, headaches, an chills. Still ongoing. Unfortunately, my school wanted me to come back to work on Wednesday. My doctor was a little puzzled about it, after all I had just gone through surgery and my face looked like it it was hit by a bat. I was not exactly comfortable with coming back to work two days later, but I don’t think my teachers understood just how serious it was…and just how bad I looked. That may be my fault though, since I tend to downplay such situations.
Not as bad as most people afterwards
There was an unexpected situation though. The bill came out to 2,500,000 won. I was 500,000 short. The doctor had told me before that it would be no more than 2,000,000 won this payment. The stress from the experience about having a guardian, and the 500,000 won were really getting to me. I don’t know what I would have done or what would have happened but my friend offered to pay for me when I was checking out, the difference. My friend Sujeong just happened to visit me before I checked out, and brought me a whopper too. Checking out I was only able to pay 2 million won. She paid the remaining 500,000 won. I don’t think anyone back home would have done something like that for me. There just aren’t enough adjectives to describe my feeling of appreciation to her at that moment, so Sujeong, thanks. I’ll be paying her back, with interest on March 24. Besides my girlfriend, I love you right now.
It is my hope that perhaps it is just 500,000 from the next payment, in that case I would owe 1,300,000 and I can pay her the difference back sooner. Despite this little drawback, everything is alright. Regardless, everything is still really cheap compared to America. I’m actually running really low on cash. In fact, I didn’t go out almost this entire month because I needed money for the surgery, even sold my guitar. After the surgery I had 30,000 won in the bank, but I was able to borrow 100,000 won from a friend. Thanks Howard- it should be enough to get me until pay day, but then I will be in the same situation, except the school will have lunches by then. So I haven’t been eating a lot, I’ve lost 5kg already. It’s not the kind of thing I should be doing, but if K-pop stars can do it their whole lives, I can make it a month or two. Breathing again will be worth it.
Surgery was Monday at noon, by Tuesday evening I was on my way out. I won’t lie, it is one of the worst experiences I have ever had. Much worse than breaking half my body in an 80 mile an hour motorcycle accident. Wednesday I looked really bad, had a terrible headache, and the world was spinning. I’ve never felt in my life that I was pushing my body to a limit, but I felt it Wednesday night – despite how I act or try to play things off. It isn’t really painful, but the discomfort levels are just very high. I don’t even want to talk about what it is like having to go to work like this, except having a mask and trying to hide from everyone. Thursday was 5% better. Today is Friday and I can open my eye again, but the puffiness is still there. My nose is still oozing, but at least my eye isn’t black anymore (but still purpleish). Headaches come and go, and I am taking a cocktail of meds morning, lunch and dinner – washing my nose with saline solution 5 times a day, changing the gauze every 2-3 hours, and using synthetic adrenaline derivative droplets in my nose to try and stop the mucus. Taking 2 hour naps every hour or so because my body feels so tired…and so stressed from money issues plaguing me.
Four days later, looking better than most
I can’t wait for the congestion to feel over and I know this will be worth it. A special thanks to the Korean staff at Boramae Hospital, they made this terrible experience much easier with their kindness and direction. It isn’t easy and I sure as heck do not wish this feeling upon anyone, but I expect it to be worth it. I’ve never liked asking for help nor receiving it, but I am thankful that I got some of it this time around.
Christine February 10, 2012
Glad the process was delightfully smooth than it prob would have been here. Feel better soon!!