blunders & BILLS

It was a simple spine surgery procedure involving removal of the portion of the spine disk which was causing the pressure on the nerve root. I read a lot about it, did lot of searching to choose the right specialist and hospital for the treatment. But it failed.

I was suffering from nerve compression in the L4-L5 region of lumbar spine for couple of months and visited local doctors as many times to get relieve of the constant pain and condition. I was always advised to take medications, rest + physiotherapy sessions.

After a struggle of more than 4 months, I decided to look for an option to get treated ‘Surgically’ and started doing the online search - whenever I use to type ‘best spine surgeon’ to treat my medical condition, a lot of references would show up and each representing best options whether it was a doctor’s personal website, a hospital’s webstie or medical toursim services related website.

I choosed to trust the doctor’s website considering;

-He is an experienced doctor
-His website is showing number of testimonials as ‘references’
-He is member of many international organizations
-His website is claiming him to be the best in the field

with many self righteous, self certified claims.

Therefore, I went ahead and contacted this doctor who in return arranged the necesary steps to facilitate the medical travel in his country. Upon meeting him, I was explained about the spine surgery operation steps, recovery time and amount to be spend on the surgery. When I asked about the success rate of the spine surgery, the doctor replied -

‘Listen, we are doing this type of spine surgery every day and have vast experience in treating such cases’.

Now lets do a quick recap:
-I’m desparate to get treated
-I’m suffering for long
-I’ve travelled to a different country now looking for solution
-I want an affordable solution considering finanacial arrangements
-I think I’m almost there…

For people looking to get treated at an cost is always scary because you put all your resources in one basket to arrange the funds and in return trust the doctor to see you through and this is what I also did and went ahead for the surgery.

So, admission took place, diagnostics were run and surgery date was alloted. Immediately after operation when I gained senses, I felt a moving pain at the back region and when I told the support staff about it, they said that it will subside in couple of hours time and is very normal.

Then the next day, the pain was worse and I requested the attention of my doctor who operated on me and upon physical examination, he said we should do a repeat MRI.
RESULT: It was observed that one of the screws is not properly placed and is causing the pain…..I told them to fix it. He said he will which means I have to go under the knife again and it will add to the existing bill which means I have to pay more than what was agreed or was quoted to me.

This is heart breaking and more painful. You are the specialist and supposed to do your job to perfection. Your blunder has a direct relationship with my bill.
I was re-operated and this time the results were different.

[i]So what I learned from this:

-I choosed the doctor’s website considering it was the right choice which later turned out to be quite opposite. Who’s is accountable for what is written on such websites and bold claims.

-Why should I pay for your mistakes. Even by mimimizing the second operation costing it still doesn’t solve the main purpose. And it’s very convenient on part of hospital to make you sign the ‘Consent’ form before the surgery.

-During crises, one definitely needs a helping hand. So, it’s always wise to look for the professional options for medical treatment facilitation but do a lot of searching and calling to make them understand your problems and circumstances and to know about them too.

-In cases like my episode, at least you can have someone accountable for their actions by choosing to opt for medical facilitation services company. Make sure you check their credentials, experience and educational background related to medical treatment facilitation and their contract status with the hospitals.

-It’s always wise to check for the back references by connecting with the past patients facilitated by them. But remember to ask for couple of references, not just one or two.



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Medsolin | mail@medsolin.com | www.medsolin.com

Heart and The Transplant

We all are emotional by nature irrespective of the facial appearances and are connected to someone in one or other way. The different stages of human life are fetus, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age and the two most important biological support organs to pass through these stages are - Brain and Heart.

So far we have not heard anyone getting a brain as ‘transplant’ in case of a brain dead condition, but Heart Transplant - Definitely YES. Therefore, let’s talk about Heart Transplant.

A heart transplant is surgery to remove the diseased heart from a person and replace it with a healthy one from an organ donor. To remove the heart from the donor, two or more healthcare providers must declare the donor brain-dead.
Before you can be put on a waiting list for a heart transplant, a healthcare provider makes the decision that this is the best treatment choice for your heart failure. A healthcare team also makes sure you are healthy enough to go through the transplant process.

Why might I need a heart transplant?
You may need a heart transplant if your heart is failing and cannot be treated by other means.

End-stage heart failure is a disease in which the heart muscle is failing severely in its attempt to pump blood through the body. It means all other available treatments are no longer helping to improve the heart's function. End-stage heart failure is the final stage of heart failure. Despite its name, a diagnosis of heart failure does not mean the heart is about to stop beating. The term failure means the heart muscle is failing to pump blood normally because it is damaged or very weak, or both.

Some causes of heart failure include:
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction or MI)
• Viral infection of the heart muscle
• High blood pressure
• Heart valve disease
• Heart conditions present at birth (congenital)
• Irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias)
• High blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension)
• Alcoholism or drug abuse
• Chronic lung diseases, such as emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Heart muscle is enlarged, thick, and stiff (cardiomyopathy)
• Low red blood cell count (anemia)

How do I get ready for a heart transplant?
Not everyone is a candidate for heart transplant. Because of the wide range of information needed to know if a person is eligible for transplant, the evaluation process is carried out by a transplant team. The team includes a transplant surgeon, a transplant cardiologist (doctor specializing in the treatment of the heart), nurse practitioners or physician assistants, one or more transplant nurses, a psychiatrist or psychologist.



The transplant evaluation process will include:

• Psychological and social evaluation. Some psychological and social issues that are involved in organ transplant include stress, financial issues, and support from family or significant others. These factors can greatly affect how you do after the transplant.
• Blood tests. Blood tests are needed to help find a good donor match and help improve the chances that the donor heart will not be rejected.
• Diagnostic tests. Diagnostic tests may be done to assess your lungs as well as your overall health. These tests may include X-rays, ultrasound procedures, CT scan, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), and dental exams. Women may get a Pap test, gynecology evaluation, and a mammogram.
• Other preparations. You will get several vaccines to decrease the chances of developing infections that can affect the transplanted heart.


The transplant team will consider all the information from interviews, health history, the findings from your physical exam, and diagnostic test results when deciding if you are eligible for a heart transplant.

Once you have been accepted as a transplant candidate and a donor organ becomes available, candidates are selected based on the severity of their condition, body size, and blood type. If the heart is to be yours, you will be told and will need to go to the hospital right away so you can get ready for the transplant. (Most hearts must be transplanted within 4 hours after they’ve been removed from the donor.)

These things will need to be done before the transplant:
• Your medical facilitator will explain the procedure and let you ask questions.
• You will be asked to sign a consent form that gives your permission to do the surgery. Read the form carefully and ask questions if anything is not clear.
• You should not eat or drink anything (fast) as soon as you have been told that a heart has become available.
• You may be given medicine to help you relax (sedative).
• Based on your health condition, your healthcare provider may request other specific preparation.

What happens after a heart transplant?
In the hospital
After the surgery, you may be taken to a recovery room before being taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) to be closely monitored for several days. Or you may be taken directly to the ICU from the operating room. You will be connected to machines that will constantly display your electrocardiogram (ECG) tracing, blood pressure, other pressure readings, breathing rate, and your oxygen level. Heart transplant surgery requires an in-hospital stay of 7 to 14 days, or even longer.

At home
Once you are home, it will be important to keep the surgical area clean and dry. You will be given specific bathing instructions. The sutures or surgical staples will be removed during a follow-up office visit, if they were not removed before leaving the hospital.

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Medsolin | mail@medsolin.com | www.medsolin.com
*Reference: John Hopkins, USA.

Gift of Life - ‘Kidney Transplant’


In Nigeria the age of most Nigerians with chronic kidney disease ranges between 20 and 55 years; hypertension, glomerulonephritis and diabetes are considered the major causes of kidney problem.
 
"Apart from these reasons - inheritance, ignorance and poor access of health care facility also majorly contributes to Kidney failure condition".
 

Adamu's condition was a result of high antibiotic intake and other associated conditions over the years which lead to her kidney failure. When she was diagnosed about the kidney failure, the family members wasted no time in arranging the most essential documents and medical reports required for kidney transplant surgery process flow in India in consulting with the local / family doctor.


When they arrived in India, it was observed during the donor's pre-investigation tests that she is 8 weeks old pregnant and hence by default deemed unfit for the kidney transplant surgery as donor. Therefore, all eyes shifted to the next available donor who also came along with the family. After second donor's pre-investigation test results, BMI and overweight findings lead to various round table meetings amongst the doctors, and they finally decided to not to go ahead with the second available donor too.
 
Now in these circumstance - patience, understanding and faith are the keys and those were highly appreciated from the family members including the receipient. Eventually, when the third donor was carefully selected and screened, she came to India and we witnessed a successful and well managed transplant treatment in the end.


"Points to remember from the above experience"
 
1. Carefully screening of donor / donors a must back home apart from blood relation criteria.
2. Patience is the key to manage and execute critical surgery cases.
3. Your service provider will always arrange the necessary steps in case you see unforeseen events because they are responsible for your well being and it's their duty to help and be with you all the time.


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Medsolin | mail@medsolin.com | www.medsolin.com

[center]Cancer Codes
ˈkansə/
noun
noun: cancer[/center]
‘a disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body’.”he/she's got cancer"


One of the most life threatening conditions out there today and one that everyone without a doubt wants to avoid is cancer. While most people realize the severity of suffering from cancer, not everyone really understands why cancer occurs.

What causes it? And more importantly, what can you do to prevent and/or overcome it?

Let’s go over some facts that you need to know.
As some of you know but Still - What Is Cancer?
To answer the question of what is cancer, you need to know that first ‘cancer’ is the name given to a number of different diseases that are related.

What do they have in common? In all forms of cancer, there are cells in the body that begin to divide, often rapidly, and continue doing so without stopping as they spread into surrounding areas.

Often cancer will start in just one area of the body and soon, spread to surrounding areas, increasing the severity and impact it has on your life.
In a normal healthy body, when cells grow old, they eventually die and new cells are made to replace them.

In cancer, this process is shifted. Now, cells become abnormal, old, or damaged and instead of dying off like they should, they survive. These cells may start to divide without stopping, which then leads to the growth of tumors.

How long or how often do cells die and get replaced?
Cell renewal rates in different tissues of the body have different durations

Example:

*Stomach cells get replaced every 2-9 days
*Lungs Alveoli – 8 days
*Tongue taste buds cells 10 days
*Red Blood cells 4 months
*Fat cells 8 years
*White blood cells 2-5 days
There are malignant tumors, which are life threatening and can spread to various organs or systems in the body and then you have benign tumors, which do not spread into invading nearby tissues and can usually be removed. Once removed, these tumors rarely grow back, however malignant tumors often do.

What Causes Cancer?
So what causes all this to take place? Do these cells just become abnormal on their own? Sometimes, they can. But often lifestyle factors are contributing to it.

Some of the day to day choices you may be making that could be putting you at risk for cancer include:

*High exposure to environmental toxins and pollution
*Diet rich in refined and heavily processed foods
*Excessive sun exposure (which puts you at risk for skin cancer)
*Exposure to radiation
*Intake of cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens) from the foods/substances we put into our body
*Chronic levels of inflammation (which are often related to a poor diet)
*Excess levels of body fat
*Smoking or high intake of alcohol
*Exposure to certain viruses

So as you can see, while there are some things that you may not be able to prevent (such as a genetic mutation you are born with that leads to cancer), there are many causes of cancer that you can prevent.

How can we prevent cancer?
*Reducing your intake of unhealthy and heavily processed foods is a great step towards preventing cancer. Once diagnosed, whole plant based diets have been shown to reduce the grown of cancer and even completely reversing the condition.
*Physical activity coupled with good nutrition are great ways to keep your body weight in check and your body healthy to combat cancer before it starts.

Remember the body is a living things and quality of our cells is ever-changing and heavily dependent upon the type of lifestyle and nourishment we feed our bodies. Cells of those who eat clean are replaced by new, healthy cells while cells of those who don’t pay attention to what they eat are replaced by new, weaker cells hence weak immune systems.

Most people do not realize just how much control they have to influence whether they contract this disease or not, so it’s time to sit up and start paying attention to your lifestyle choices.
Prevention now Is way better than trying to seek for a cure in the future.

-Jane Mukami, Kenya
Medsolin | www.medsolin.com
mail@medsolin.com

High Hopes and Failure

It’s good to have hope, to carry a positive attitude and everything, even today I believe in HOPE. But what can you do when your hopes fade away and all you see nothing but FAILURE in the end.

This is what we saw during the treatment process of my beautiful child ‘Ada’ - was supposed to turn 28 by August this year. She suffered from Lung Metastases Cancer; eventually a result of a gland she had developed close to her neck couple of months back and we just couldn’t noticed it. We took her to various doctors and specialist, the best doctors and the best specialist all over Kenya.

From the medical manangement side, right from the 1st onset of the discomfort, our doctors diagnosed a lymph node presence close to her neck and the line of treatment was surgical removal of the gland mass, and was successfully performed in Kenya followed by advise to eat regular supplement of essential drugs and we made absolutely sure about the timings and adherence.

Everyting was back to normal - she was going to work, meeting friends, day to day activities for about 18 months or so period, and then came the part of our lives - the most frustrating and testing. She re-developed the pain symptoms all over and on new places like all over her chest and back. The bouts of pain use to last for couple of minutes and sometimes for hours and I can recall the times when she couldn’t sleep during nights. After the through examination, we couldn’t believe what the doctors disclosed - “Presence of lumps all over her chest”. But what caused this, how can we did see the symptoms earlier and why it happened so silently?

All shaken - We were advised to meet the medical oncologist for the chemo cycles in Kenya. The doctors also prescribed liquid morphine to Ada upon request considering the pain she was going through - proved to be an ultimate temporary relief.

Just to apprise you - In Kenya, a lot of medical companies and hospitals from various countries - are regularly organzining medical camps to educate common people about various common diseases of multispeciality health problems related to spine, brain tumors, cancer treatment, neurosurgery, urology, cardiac etc. by their group doctors along with the local support to organize such camps serving registration processes and in some cases ‘Fundraising / Sponsoring’ the treatment especially for those couldn’t afford.

To consider various options and looking into the situation, we decided to explore more medical treament possibilities for Ada and after our research and other factors, selected India for a second opinion and a possible treatment.

We arrived in the month of December in New Delhi- the capital of India and the very next day our appointment with the medical oncologist was fixed in a multispecialty private hospital. Upon routine examination and series of scans - the PET scan showed the areas of red-greenish dye presence all over the affected area of the lungs. The doctor was shocked to see such a rapid presence of growing mass but didn’t rule out the final result just yet. He suggested a further test called immune test biopsy of lung to understand the nature of the growing cell mass. The result of this test takes 5-6 days to come and we prayed every day for a miracle to happen,, We had HIGH HOPES.

When the result came, I could observe the straight face of the doctor and could read his mind too. We were told that the results are similar as were observed in Kenya and I can tell you that this was the most painful experience for me and my daughter yet again. Right after hearing the news, we just couldn’t wait to go back to our country to be united with our family.

My Ada expired in March this year. She was supposed to live a regular life, get married and most importantly to live life and be healthy. Why such tragedy happen to her, Why only to selective individuals, Why such painful episodes happen… I still have no answers and also can never understand the God’s will.
All I know - my hopes turned into a failure and living each day as it comes. Some say atleast we tried, but loss of life is a loss of life and it hurts the most when that someone was so special, was your very own.


*A Patient’s Father’s experience.
Medsolin | www.medsolin.com
mail@medsolin.com

How Honest Is Your Doctor?

They say never hide from a ‘Teacher’, ‘Lawyer’, ‘Cop’ and a ‘Doctor’. And if you do, your luck will ran out…sooner or later.

In Medical Profession it’s crystal that wave of Privatisation has lead to a fierce competition amongst budding medical / mid / Senior level professionals to be recoginzed as best surgeon or best doctor on social media platforms or electronic media or so on.

In India - We have witnessed a boom in the healthcare industry, brand new and state of the art hospitals are coming up at different tier level cities, JCI hospital accreditation has increased, NABH / NABL bodies are reaching out to hospitals in one or other way to certify them on the quality auditing etc.

“Therefore all said and done - It comes down to two important tools; Product and End User”.

Product of the hospital | Doctor and
End User | Patient

Patients by default consider thier doctors to be the most professional and honest human being on Planet Earth and some even mortagage their homes, land, borrow money from various sources to fulfill the cost expenditure of the treatment.

‘But what if the treatment prescribed is not even required..”

#Orthopaedics treatment - You should be very careful and alert to take best of 3 opinions for knee replacement and hip replacement procedures.

#Spine Surgery treatment - all spine surgery cases are not surgical and in fact surgery is the last resort if your conservative medical management has failed irrespective of the age factor. Make sure you visit the right best spine surgeon having in depth experiences in treating similar cases like your suffering.

#Brain Tumor treatment - They are the most critical / tricky due to spreading of the mass in the brain area. Your neurosurgeon will always contemplate on the decision making to either remove the whole of the tumor or refer to radiosurgery treatment i.e. non-invasive method of treat brain tumors. Tell him / her to be very straight forward with you instead of giving positive looking statements.

#Cardiac Stenting procedures - The blockage artery percentage determines the decision making for Angioplasty procedures. The range is clearly defined by the medical bodies. In case of medical emergency situations like a very different kind of pain in the chest area, excessive sweating, extreme lethargy and difficulty in breathing are the symptoms for stent procedure due to blockage of higher percentage i.e. >70-80.

#Cancer cases for chemotherapy sessions. Needless chemo drugs are prescribed to patients without knowing the outcomes / secondary reaction of using them on the other human body funtions or suggestion of quality life survival time.

#Stem Cell” treatment package available across the world to make cheap and unethical money to bank on desperate patients.


…….. So why your doctor is not telling the truth? There could be different reasons / set of explanations:

|Don’t want to disclose the bad news - Intention is Good in such cases
|Don’t want to loose the patient
|Target Pressure
|Competition
|Back their own judgement on the prognosis - Demigod complex etc.


Some Doctors who sugarcoat patients’ prognosis may do so to soften the blow of bad news and help them remain hopeful about their potential recovery.
So how can doctors learn to be more honest with their patients?
Simply Communicate the HONESTY— especially when it comes to delivering news.

Brain Tumor - "A brain tumor is a collection, or mass, of abnormal cells in your brain".

Radiosurgery - Radiosurgery is a high dose of radiation treatment that you have usually as a single treatment. It is not a type of surgery.

Medical science is LONG using the power of technology to treat your neuro tumor medical condition without making a single cut into your head and it definitely sounds terrific (any day and any time). Interestingly, the use of high /powerful dose of radiation to a precise area (let's not get into the maths part) and the radiations enters the exact site of the tumor cells resulting in killing the the proliferation of cells by disturbing the chromosomal DNA of the cellular nucleus or in other words stopping the further growth of the cells.


Brain Tumors are of various types and characteristics majorly classified as benign or malignant. For benign tumors and vessels, the results after radiation to the affected part will usually be 18 months to two years. For malignant or metastatic tumors, results may be seen in a few months, because these cells are very fast-growing. Your neurosurgeon will prescribe the repeat MRI test to check the emergence of black spots on the tumor picture which shall indicate recovery path of your medical condition.

Then why this technology is not readily available in every hospital. Three answers:
1. Limitation to the size of the tumor, standard size varies between 3 to 4 cm.
2. Limited number of Neurosurgeons who could perform radio surgery (because it requires understanding and certified course completion on radiation science and applications apart from MS/MCh specialisations).
3. Profitability - Hospitals will make more revenue in doing open surgery vs. radio surgery.

So, is it worth to look for RADIOSURGERY as an alternative to treat low sized tumor cells... ODDS ARE DEFINITELY IN THE FAVOUR.

THANKS FOR READING. | MEDSOLIN | mail@medsolin.com

“FOLLOW Up PLEASE”

The surgery was successful, everything went fine during the post surgery stay period at the host coutnry and after the final consultation / appointment with the doctor, we went home keeping the incredible memories of quality medical treatment and services to remember for life and that’s it.

NOW wait a minute and Let’s take a quick recap and go back to the preperation days when you were deciding to select the surgeon, hospital, service provider, medical reports compliation, local doctors appointment and medical visa interview. A lot of hard work, careful planning, to do list’s, networking etc. leads to your decision to choose your treatment country destination for the medical treatment and this process is like a cycle which requires a constant follow up with the service provider / doctor / hospital post surgery / post trip.

“But sometimes even the most successful surgery could lead to complication AFTER couple of days / weeks without notice and then we witness panic, fear and a state full of confusion”.

Every surgery has many paramters that care carefully evaluated and the primary factor amongst those is the planning and incision site selection process . Please remember, “Surgery is a Surgery” and therefore, It’s important for you to understand that your regular follow up process post surgery can do wonders during the recovery process. There are numerous cases often lined up for revision due to lack of follow up or simple adherence to the instructions cum bullet points provided in the discharge summary / prescription paper by the family members / patient itself.

So, it’s advisable to be in touch with your service provider / doctor for minimum 6 months and keep updating them about the recovery steps / development so that they could track the correct line of diagnosis in case of any unforseen circumstances or events.


To conclude….

“Doctors are human; they make mistakes, and you have to stay on top of them. You have to ask the second question, the third question, the follow-up to the fourth question” - Robby Benson

When I was in a ‘Dilemma’ about my road to recovery

I have two kids - one aged 6 years and other 9. I’m a practisioner Nurse in a governement hospital in abuja, Nigeria and my husband is a public servant. Happily married for 10 years, juggling between job and house work and suddenly one day - experienced a terrible headache which lasted for 15 or more minutes. Being a nurse, thought to be a non-serious issue and took a pill for the pain. But this was just the beginning….

After couple of days during the office hours, again felt that same excrusiating head pain and this time it was rotating all over the head. I consulted my department and they advised to meet the physician doctor for physical evaluation.

As usual, I was given a different set of pain medications though this time it came with take some days rest advised. Then everything was back to normal except a sudden burst of another painful episode exaclty a month’s later and this time around it made me really worried.. I got scared and many questions started popping my head about this unusual health situation.

Upon meeting our local physician for as many times, he recommended to visit a neurosurgeon which in turn advised me to undergo contrast brain MRI. The next day the result of the scan came which literally stopped by world. …..It turned out to be couple of Brain Masses / brain tumors and the worst part was - some of them were spreading.

For couple of days, imagine the circumstances that you are told about this ‘ticking bomb’ inside your head which would grow more and more and the growth would cause compresion of the vital and delicate nerves inside the head which would alter the body functions - are the most fearful and equally depressing moment of your life and you start asking questions to ‘God’.. Why me.

Now comes the dilemma part - The neurosurgeon and team had couple of round table meetings about the approach - Whether to operate to treat the brain tumor masses or refer to more specialised center for Radiosurgery. The easy way out was to simply hide the important facts / outcomes about the standard procedure but considering the size and number of the masses, they presented various options to me and asked me to ‘Choose’.

The first was to ‘Operate’ as there are always limitations to surgery, though most of them are covered by the most experienced neurosurgeons and some are not citing medical reasons or some other.

The second was to use high dose of radiation to kill the growth of the brain tumor masses by technique referred as ‘RADIOSURGERY’.
The third was the combination of option 1 and option 2.

I asked my doctor about the survival rate percentage, up and down sides of all options and finally the success rate. The open surgery method always have risk though most of the neurosurgeons preferred doing surgery on tumors. But in my case, due to the multiple brain tumor masses and after series of discussion, we concluded and picked the option 2 i.e. Radiosurgery.

I decided to visit India after consulting the doctors.

To summarise my experience, I witnessed:
-Pain
-Problems
-Fear
-Loneliness
-Change in my behaviour
when I was diagnosed with brain tumor.

Then came:
-Hope
-Compassion
-Positive Energy
-Survival Instincts
when I decided to fight.

It’s not easy to understand what the other person go through these difficult situations and we only realise the true meaning of the suffering when you enter in the the same line of sufferings and being a Nurse, it was a life changing experience for me. I thank ‘God’, my family and doctors to give me this second chance to embrace my life once again.