Has a doctor ever made a mistake on you during an important medical operation?
Four years ago I needed surgery to repair discs in my neck. I had an accident 13 years before and discs on 2 levels of my neck had herniated in different directions. I had 32 days in the hospital in Texas due to complications from DVT’s and PE’s. However, I recovered with reoccurring neck pain. It became much worse in 2014 and I sought out a neurologist in Oregon where we currently live. He recommended that he replace the two rods in my neck with one solid one going from C3 yo C7. I agreed to the surgery and it was performed. When I awoke from anesthesia, I had no use of my left arm. When I asked why, he stated that they had trouble opening the incision so they had placed a bar on my shoulder and pushed down until they could insert the rod. He said it would resolve in a few days. He also suggested rehab in a nursing home near us. I went there hoping they would be able to restore use of my left arm. After 3 weeks, I got to where I could walk with help, some feeling returned to my lower arm, but I did not have use of it. I worked with a physical therapist for 6 months and did get minimal use from my arm. I did go back to the doctor to see if anything else could be done. He denied that he had done any thing wrong. To this date, I have continual pain and limited use of my arm. Never was there any further communication from that doctor.
How does the healthcare system in Hong Kong work?
There are two systems: all public hospitals in Hong Kong are administered by the Hospital Authority (http://www.ha.org.hk). They provide inpatient and outpatient services to all Hong Kong citizens at a nominal charge (e.g. last year it cost