Here's to your health!

Being wheeled to surgey

While we didn’t post anything on social media about this, I had some surgery here in Singapore a couple of weeks ago (actually on Thanksgiving Day).  I had developed an umbilical hernia, which first popped up (no pun intended), in Vietnam a couple of months ago.  It wasn’t too bothersome, but I knew that it wouldn’t fix itself either—so off I went to a doctor to see what was up.

My GP at Camden International Medical Clinic sent me for an ultrasound.  After the procedure  (in which I felt like a pregnant mother to be) the radiologist agreed that it was a moderate sized hernia located just above my navel.  Then I went to the surgeon, 6’1’” Singaporean who had gone to USC for undergrad.  We hit it off well and he even gave me the name of his tailor (big people have a hard time finding clothes here).

My bill

So surgery was scheduled at Gleneagles Hospital.  Family and friends at home asked, “what is medical care like in Singapore?”.  The short answer is three-fold:

1)     The nurses wear uniforms, not scrubs

Thank You Card

2)     A hospital room is about $225 USD per night, not $2,500 like the US (cheaper than a hotel room in Singapore)

3)     Do US hospitals ever send thank you cards?

Anyway, a good experience and all is well.

(Postscript: Leaving a follow up appointment with my surgeon, I picked up a chewy candy from his lobby dish and promptly broke a tooth—sucks getting old, but the dental care seems good here as well.)