Once inside, the lobby and registration desk mirrored that of a fancy hotel. Marble walls and floors, it really gave us patients a pleasant feel of the hospital. Again, it is a very intimate hospital so each time an employee spoke to you, they were not rushed and were very courteous. After checking into the registration desk, I was escorted to the 2nd floor, which was where my hospital room was. All the nursing and clinical staff were very professional and efficient. After confirming my identity multiple times (a big plus for me since this is SO important), I was given a wristband and brought back to my room. They completed the check-in process, which included taking my baseline blood pressure and temperature readings. They explained to me the schedule of the day and how I could store my belongings. I had my own locker to store my items and also a small bedside compartment to also store other items. Dr. Wu and the anesthesiologist, Dr, Chan, both came by to talk with me beforehand. They had to ask some additional questions, including my current pain level (1-10), and whether or not I had any allergies to medications. I was told to change into the hospital gown and about an hour before surgery, to perform the betadine wash on my feet. Dr. Wu's patients were provided with a betadine wash solution and sponge to soak one's feet into and to clean the feet prior to surgery. They would sterilize my feet again while I'm in surgery, but it was important for me to do this initial cleaning. They provided me with directions as they felt that patients would clean their own feet more thoroughly. Once I completed my betadine wash, I used the clean slippers they provided me and waited.
Once they were ready for me, the nurse escorted me down to the first floor where the operating room (OR) suites were. Again, I was thankful that I was not very nervous as I've been inside ORs before, for my work. I knew generally what to expect. The surgery was supposed to last about 2.5 hrs (1hr 15min per foot), and I would then be rolled into the recovery room to wait until I woke up from the anesthesia. So overall, probably about 3 hrs before I'm back in my room.
They walked me to the OR waiting area where another nurse perform some final pre-op checks (very impressed again). She re-confirmed my identity and asked about my allergies, whether I had any jewelry, loose teeth, etc. Dr. Wu was also sitting there and we briefly chatted about work before I walked into the OR room. Once I was inside the OR room, they asked me to lay on the bed and they immediately covered me with a nice warm blanket which had a hose pumping warm air inside. They definitely did not want me to be cold. :-) On my right arm, they were taking blood pressure readings and on my left, Dr. Chan was explaining that he was going to insert a small needle into my left hand. He said it would sting a little bit, but not too bad. Only at this point, did my nerves get to me a little and I was having jitters. But everyone was very nice and did their best to calm the situation. I chatted with Dr. Chan as well to help me calm my nerves. Once he successfully got the needle in, he then explained that I would feel a slight stinging sensation in my left hand. That was from the medication he was administering to me. I acknowledged that I felt the stinging sensation, and then I don't recall anything after that. That was probably when I blacked out/fell asleep. Haha! Next thing I know, Dr, Chan is waking me up and saying, "Nathalie, we're done now." When I heard that the first thought I had was, "Already? Really? That was fast." I literally only remember falling asleep and then waking up. The whole surgery felt like it lasted only 2 min to me! Below is a picture of them wheeling me out of surgery and everyone was surprised to see how alert I was. I guess it didn't take me too long to wake up, which was great! I think I got back to my room around 12:30pm, so 3 hours was a good estimate.
Natalie, thank you so much for your speedy and very informative reply. You have helped SO much with your information and advice. May I ask another question? More personal one? You don't have to answer it. My hubby wants me to ask about how much did the surgery cost in US & also Honk Kong dollars? I told him here in America you really aren't supposed to ask that kind of question. How much something cost etc. Well, the way I was raised you didn't. But then I'm 57. Maybe things are different now. It used to be considered personal. But, he says Chinese ask these things. I'm trying to contact Dr Wu to also ask but his website is down for maintenance for the weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to email him pictures of my feet and ask if he thinks they can be made decent again. And also ask him of his honest opinion of his confidence in having his method done by DR Felner who learned it , but may have only practiced while training with Dr Wu. Maybe because bones aren't broken its something a Dr could learn easily. Another question. you said your toes did shift more. Did they shift much more then the last picture you posted of them? I AM a little worried mine could shift a lot, so its leaning way over again, and don't want hubby to think he spent his $$ for nothing. My left foot is decent but the bunion IS pushing my big toe on that foot over to the second toe a bit. The right foot is BAD! about as severe as DR Wu's most severe bunion pictures, with a very large bunion and my big toe is starting to turn almost sideways and also it has moved way over to my second toe. My second toe lifts up and is over lapping the big toe. If he could get my right foot and toes to look like my left foot( which great, but isn't that bad yet) i would be deliriously happy. and I'm pretty sure he could fix my left foot to look much straighter. Your feet looked cute in the last photo I saw. To me that is cute. you should see my right foot. sad!. I always had tiny bunions but in my early 40's they got worse. And my formerly straight toes, my Big and second toes started to space out. like a peace sign I used to say. I found out that my family on my dads side has muscular dystrophy. My dads mother and his brother and sister had it. I don't know if dad had it because he died when I was 12. I didn't see signs of him having it. Except some days he said it was hard to walk as his legs ached and then other days he would be fine. So maybe I inherited some more milder form of it that formed later in life,causing my feet to deform. Because I don't wear high heels.
Anyway, I wandered if yours shifted a LOT more since the last picture you posted of them or just a little bit? Anything has to be better then mine look now. But, am hopeful they can look as good as some of Dr Wu's patients that had similar severity of deformity.
Also, who did your xrays to take to Dr WU? or did he do them at the consultation? I fear it will be hard to get a Podiatrist here to take an x ray for me to give to another Doctor. Especially an out of the country one. They are so jealous and snobbish here. Not wanting to believe another country might be more advanced in some things then we are. So, wondering how to go about getting a Podiatrist here to take foot xrays and letting me have them to take to another doctor.
Again. Thank you for all your help. This has greatly helped me. I wouldn't have known to be mindful of cabin pressure on the flight home and what it might be like for me trying to work after a few months ,etc. So, thank you again. Sincerely, Cheryl Hong
Nathalie, I apologise but I have another question. Does Dr Wu speak English ? If so is it very good English? My husband is Chinese, but grew up in Vietnam, and came here as one of the boat people in 1979 after escaping Vietnam. His native dialect from the little village he grew up in is not well known to some other Chinese, but he also speaks Cantonese fluently. So, he could translate for me if need be. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply. I had responded earlier but for some reason the response did not post. To answer your questions above, Dr. Wu does speak English and very well. He has an accent when he speaks, but there is no limitation to his understanding and communication in English. The surgery costed about $20,000 US, which translates to about 156,000 HK dollars (if you multiply by 7.8 exchange rate). You can pay by credit card, but there are extra fees if using a credit card for a certain amount. I would check with Dr. Wu's office directly on the price as it may change depending on when the surgery is done. Regarding X-Rays, I would recommend you reaching out to your primary care physician and seeing if they are willing to write the X-Ray order for you. Explain to them what you're planning on doing, to get a consultation, and I believe your doctor should be able to help you. I don't think you need to get a podiatrist or orthopaedic surgeon to write you an X-Ray. Dr. Wu also has an X-Ray machine in his office, so you will also take X-rays there. When you are back here in US, you will need to send X-Rays to Dr. Wu every month, so it will be good for you to establish a relationship with a doctor here first. So far, my feet look about the same as last time. I cannot truly tell if there has been additional shifting without taking an X-Ray. But my functionality has been getting much better as time passes. I will not truly know if this surgery was completely successful, meaning no re-occurrence of my bunion, until time passes over the years. I do not regret doing this surgery and am hopeful that it was a success. Good luck with your decision! Best, Nathalie