Korean Job Discussion Forums

[poet13]

Hey.

I think I have a small tear in my patellar tendon, or perhaps a chip of cartilage that keeps getting wedged in the front of my knee somewhere. I think I did it playing volleyball with the teachers at our social a month or so ago. I didn't realize it was injured at the time, just sore.

Anybody here had arthroscpoic knee surgery here and can they tell me about it? Downtime, quality of work, cost?

In an ideal world, I would be off of work for two days at most.
I can live with it the way it is, but after heavy activity it keeps me awake for a night or two. A knee band over the patellar tendon helps.

Anyone?

[Suwoner10]

Yup. Had chips in my knee cleaned up, petellar shaved slightly. They put me under for the arthroscopic, walked out with crutches two hours later. No crutches next day, was biking 2 days after that. Wasn't cheap though--they insist on an MRI, not covered by insurance at 335,000, but going under the knife was almost free. I think I paid under 400k in total.

[poet13]

No kidding, really? Damn, thats cheap. I like the recovery time too. makes me want to have the plate put in my shoulder like I should have a few years ago. Still can't sleep on that side with my arm by my side.

[poet13]

Suwoner. Did you have the procedure done as a result of a diagnosed injury, or did you just go to a doctor and say, "My knee has been hurting for X days/weeks/months?
I'm asking cause I don't know if there is a difference in coverage for injuries reported immediately as opposed to long term complaints.

[Lekker]

[poet13]

The MRI wasn't covered by insurance, the surgery was....at least that's how I read it.

I read on here once that if the mRI showed nothign, you paid full price. But if the MRI showed damage or injury, then it was covered....not sure though. It was a while ago.

[Suwoner10]

[poet13]

Id rather pay the money up front for an MRI first. I don't need anybody cutting on me trying to guess what my issue is. I think an MRI has the great benefit of being able to reveal the extent of an injury without all the cutting.

I don't know if it's an urban legend or not, but I heard during happy hour in DC once someone say they had heard of (yeah, i know) someone who had had back surgery (slipped disc) to correct chronic pain. Turned out his spine only needed adjusting because he sat on a big-ass wallet in his back pocket all day.

[shifty]

OP, were you a veteran runner when the tear took place? You may know that running thins the cartilage out and then an innocuous incident such as kneeling under a car gives it the coup de grace. Out of the blue.

In my case I spoke to a fellow athlete who also had the 2 day cleanup and he proclaimed that the following week he had gone on to do a PB (personal best).

This induced me to also seek out the op. Unfortunately the doc saw fit to whip out my entire cartilage and I was faced with an onerous recovery period. Making coffee I had to place the cup on a skateboard and push it with a crutch. Regular visists to the physio ensued and my leg looked like a pencil.

Another physio said that I should have declined the knife as the knee tends to heal by itself. Also a dictum of running stipulates that surgery is the last resort.

What am I saying?? I don't really know, but I'd advise that you see the best available specialist surgeon. If he is dubious about doing the op, then agree with great gusto.

[poet13]

No I wasn't a veteran runner when it happened, but in my past I did a lot of running (up until about age 25), and then in my job (up until about age 3 my knees took a lot of abuse.

[Rteacher]

I tore my meniscus playing basketball on "sports day" last fall. When I realized it wasn't getting any better I got an MRI which confirmed a bad meniscus tear, a partial ACL tear, some other ligament damage, fluid build-up ("probably blood") and "mild arthritus".

With insurance the MRI was around 350,000 won.
(According to Internet estimates, MRIs in the U.S. without insurance can cost up to $5000.)

The small Catholic hospital in my hick town strongly recommended that I go to a big Catholic hospital in Suwon (St. Vincent's.)

I did a little research on the Internet, and recent studies suggest that operations to just trim a torn meniscus (cartilage) are hardly worth getting unless ligament damage is also treated.

I had to go twice (one and a half hour bus rides) for preliminary tests, and the day before my scheduled operation a doctor told me they were only going to treat the meniscus - and that I would probably still experience some pain because of arthritus (which usually gets worse after they trim the meniscus)

They also wanted me to stay hospitalized at least three days - which I strongly protested against (since I knew that knee arthroscopic surgery is usually an outpatient procedure in the U.S.)

They insisted that in Korea I needed to stay at least a couple days so agreed to stay two nights in a two-person room (instead of the cheaper 6 bed rooms) at a cost of around 800,000 won.

I think they gave me too much anasthetic - shortly before the nuns prayed over me ...

Next thing I vaguely recall is being transported on a stretcher but not knowing if the operation was done or not.

The intravenous needle they had inserted in the back of my hand (because they couldn't find a vein in my arms) got very hard to tolerate after two days, and I finally insisted they take it out.

I wasn't sure how my knee was as I walked out on crutches, and when I changed bandages I saw I had picked up a small staph infection below my knee.

When I went back for a check-up after a few weeks, the doctors seemed unusually curious to know if the knee was any better than it was before the operation, and I frankly said that it seemed about the same - I still had trouble going up - and especially down - stairs (and running was completely out of the question.)

Now, after over three months, the wounds are healed and the swelling is finally gone, but I still have some trouble going down stairs.

[poet13]

Damn! Tyring to find the lesson in there, btu that's not a good story.

[bogey666]

[ttompatz]

For knee problems I still strongly recommend the NOW clinic by Seohyun station.

I have known 2 people who have had ACL surgery there and they were both very happy with the result.

I have been treated there for problems with my rotator cuff and I have been very happy with the (non surgical) treatment and physio.

IF the non-surgical treatment is unsuccessful then I would have no problem having the surgery there as well.

The doctors I have seen speak excellent English and are US trained.

.

[jaceduval]

would you happen to have the number of the NOW Clinic? Im looking to go get my knee checked out too.

Thanks