komang skye
Hi everyone it just now occurred to me to try my questions here although pretty short notice, still any input would be much appreciated.
First some quick background: I am American, my wife is Balinese, we met in Singaraja, her hometown, in 2007. Currently we are working on her immigration to the US but that is still a few months out. In preparation we had a physical done so we would know of any health related issues before her official physical. The doctor performing the physical diagnosed her with Goiter, a condition from a lack of Iodine where the thyroid grows vastly large and ill performs it's duties of making hormones.
She actually was diagnosed 4 years ago but at the time her father was gravely ill and she had no money or time to deal with it so she just sort of forgot about it and never told anyone until now. And now it is too large to treat it must be removed. the operation is scheduled for tue
Here are my questions and concerns:
Indonesia has a poor reputation for health care, I have been to the hospital where she is going, the one near hardy's 1, and it was pretty un-settling, a bit gross, urine smell everywhere, overcrowded etc.. I appriciate the super low cost of the surgury but I'm scared to send my wife under the knife there. any thoughts or experiences with healthcare in Singaraja? I've been to 3 or 4 private practices and had good experiences but never had anything done in the big hospital.
Also my indonesian is not proficient enough to talk in depth about things like surgery to anyone but my wife(we sort of have our own version of the language developed from my misunderstandings and her rolling with them) but i feel irresponsible not having an in depth QandA with the doc, I suppose no one can help with that but it would be helpfull if anyone has had goiter or thyroid cancer (another reason to remove the thyroid) and could weigh in with info about life after thyroid removal and about the surgery and etc..
Any other thoughts? any input is much appreciated, thank you
ronb
My short answer would be - your apprehensions have some basis, so maybe it is good to get a second opinion before signing up for surgery. But where to go - depends on your finances.
I recently read a story of one person, a Balinese but fairly well off, which was on an e-mail so I cannot copy it to a public forum. But, briefly and a bit vaguely, this person had a problem, sought help in Denpasar, they said your problem is A and we can do surgery. He spoke to family in Jakarta who said, wait a bit and get a 2nd opinion, so they arranged for this to happen in Jakarta. Here they said, your problem is B, we can do surgery. Again, the family was not totally happy, so persuaded him to go to Singapore to a specialist with an international reputation. Here the diagnosis was B, so they went ahead with the surgery. During the surgery they found the problem A was also there and fixed both.
Rambutmerah
[b]Surgery[/b]
A dear friend of mine who runs a small private clinic in the Lovina area works with Dr Handra from time to time. She speaks highly of him and it would probarbly be a very good idea if you contact him on behalf of your wife.
tintin
I hope it's not too late. Have a look
Thyroid.org: Thyroid Surgery Brochure
Best of luck to your wife, wishing her a prompt recovery.
Keep us posted.
BKT
My wifes from Singaraja and she says you're better of going to Denpasar, both for a second opinion and for surgery, it may cost a little more but you'll be paying for piece of mind and you'll be able to communicate with the doctors. I'd recommend Kasih Ebu in Denpasar. My ex-girlfriend had surgery there a few years back and they were really professional. It set me back around 10 millz, roughly $1000 US at the time.
komang skye
It sounds like your friend benefited from looking around to other doc's and i hear many people go to KL for major health stuff if they have the means. I am fairly committed to getting it done in singaraja for a couple reasons, one i think there are few ambiguities with goiter, very much an easy thing to diagnose, and i think it is fairly common there so the doc's are hopefully experienced with the surgery. Also i dont really have the $$ to send her to KL and even if i did i dont think she would accept it, she is very uncomfortable accepting $ or expensive things from me, just getting her to go get surgery on my dime was a difficult thing to convince her to do, partly that is why the surgery is so soon, when i finally convinced her i said "quick go make an appointment for as soon as you can" .
anyway.. what about hospitals in the north vs the south? i would assume DPS has some big and more world class hospitals but do they vary greatly? did your friend do the operation in jakarta with the "B" doctor or in Singapore with the specialist?
ronb wroteMy short answer would be - your apprehensions have some basis, so maybe it is good to get a second opinion before signing up for surgery. But where to go - depends on your finances.
I recently read a story of one person, a Balinese but fairly well off, which was on an e-mail so I cannot copy it to a public forum. But, briefly and a bit vaguely, this person had a problem, sought help in Denpasar, they said your problem is A and we can do surgery. He spoke to family in Jakarta who said, wait a bit and get a 2nd opinion, so they arranged for this to happen in Jakarta. Here they said, your problem is B, we can do surgery. Again, the family was not totally happy, so persuaded him to go to Singapore to a specialist with an international reputation. Here the diagnosis was B, so they went ahead with the surgery. During the surgery they found the problem A was also there and fixed both.
ronb
komang skye wrote Also i dont really have the $$ to send her to KL and even if i did i dont think she would accept it, she is very uncomfortable accepting $ or expensive things from me, just getting her to go get surgery on my dime was a difficult thing to convince her to do, partly that is why the surgery is so soon, when i finally convinced her i said "quick go make an appointment for as soon as you can" .
In that case, my suggestion would be to see another doctor in Singaraja.
There is a Doctor Handra who speaks good English and sees many expats. From a Google Books result I get his contact details as Dr Handra (I Gde Putra Kartika), Jl Bukit Indah #1, Tel 0362 23798 or 081 23 60 57 33. His surgery hours are 7-9am or 6-9pm. His surgery is just over the road from the side entrance to Rumah Sakit Parama Sidhi - but his hospital connections are with R S Kerta Usada.
So maybe if you see him - you will be able to get English explanations from him, and maybe he can help you work out if the currently booked surgery is the right move.
hans121
Hey,
I highly recommend going to Denpasar.
I've had a few bad experiences at both a private and the public hospital in Singaraja.
The doctors' carelessness and unability to diagnose anything which is beyond minor illnesses is really scary. I don't want to generalize, but I think the majority of doctors in that area are more like a threat to your health.
But anyway, I would go to Dr. Handra, I'm not sure whether that's his field but I think he's your best option around here.
Oh yeah, I do know a good Dr dalam in Singaraja who actually examines you and takes his time - although I don't really know if endocrinology is his field. Anyway, if you're interested just write me a message and I'll tell you where to find him.
greetings
KayAus
I went there when we were in Bali 2 yrs ago. My daughter cut her foot open. They were great and i was more than happy with treatment.
But that was minor so I dont know 4 big things. I did chat to expats who all said they go to Singapore.
BKT
BIMC Hospital in my mind is the best Hospital in Bali, all the Doctors were trained overseas, it is expensive though and usually caters for foreigners. I suggested Kasih Ebu because unlike foreigners their prices are reasonable for locals.
hans121, you're right on the money, when I was staying with the wife's folks a few months back I caught Denge Fever, the doctors at the hospital I was taken to could not Diagnose me. I was admitted for 3 days and still no answers.
What ever you do though do NOT go Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, those butchers diagnosed be with an appendicitis and tried to cut me open, turned out I had typhoid.
JohnDean
Bimc
Hey,
I highly recommend going to Denpasar.
I've had a few bad experiences at both a private and the public hospital in Singaraja.
The doctors' carelessness and unability to diagnose anything which is beyond minor illnesses is really scary. I don't want to generalize, but I think the majority of doctors in that area are more like a threat to your health.
But anyway, I would go to Dr. Handra, I'm not sure whether that's his field but I think he's your best option around here.
Oh yeah, I do know a good Dr dalam in Singaraja who actually examines you and takes his time - although I don't really know if endocrinology is his field. Anyway, if you're interested just write me a message and I'll tell you where to find him.
greetings
I just had the best experience going to BIMC.
BIMC Hospital - Bali - 24 Hour Medical and Emergency Centre
The entire staff speaks English, the medical service was great.
tintin
BKT wrote
What ever you do though do NOT go Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, those butchers diagnosed be with an appendicitis and tried to cut me open, turned out I had typhoid.
Appendicitis, typhoid? Close enough.:icon_lol:
komang skye
[b]Update[/b]
Thanks everyone for your input. Dr handra sounds great, i will save his contact info but Yuli(my wife) needs an ear nose throat surgeon, according to her there are only two in Singaraja and she likes the one she is currently signed up with. Her father was very ill for 7 years and she was the only one in the family with the same blood type.. anyway long story short she knows many of the doctors and feels comfortable with this one.
I talked a lot with a retired nurse friend of mine when deciding whether or not to have her go to Denpasar, but in the end he convinced me that if she feels comfortable with the doctor, That goes a long a long way, especially when thinking about how scarred she is to be put under, better to be by the hand of someone she trusts. So at least for now we are sticking with Singaraja, I hope it is the right decision.
She has blood tests from the lab and wed morning(about 6 hours from now) she will take them to her doctor, the doctor tells her depending on the results, they will either put her under and cut out the thyroid or at least part of it, or.. If we are lucky the goiter will be mostly fluid and it can simply be drained. I am confused about how a blood test would reveal this, i would think one would need a biopsy of the thyroid it's self but perhaps there is something lost in translation. I speak pretty fast indonesian but that doesent mean my vocabulary is any good, Yuli told me the test is to find out whether it is like meat or like water(using indonesian of course) so you can see there could be something lost in translation.
Anyway thanks everyone for your input and links, It eases my mind a bit and i appreciate that.
I will check in again to let you all know how it was. On a side note I have been meaning to post the story of my wedding in bali, I actually met bert in 2008 (hi Bert) when i was still courting my wife and told him about a goat we had slaughtered for the party we were at. any way I have gained a lot by reading all of your comments and so when i have time I will write and contribute as well..
Thanks again and if anyone will be in Singaraja in Nov. Drop me a PM, we can have a Bintang
komang skye
[b]Update#2[/b]
surgery was at 1pm yesterday and she is awake now, i just spoke with her, she sounds a bit rough and only could talk for a min or so but that is to be expected i suppose after a surgery on the throat. I dont yet know much but all seems well so far. She also said the doctor was able to not cut all the thyroid out, that sounds great but i dont really know what the heck it means, later i will know more
scout
My thoughts are with you both
mat
Glad to hear the good news.
What was your experiance of the hospital? [I presume in Singaraja]
Would you feel safe there for an operation? I see in the thread [and I've seen before in previous threads] nobody will recommend a hospital in the north.
komang skye
[b]Update 3[/b]
Okay, wow crazy stuff.. so bad news first.. Not goiter actually a huge tumor on the right lobe of the thyroid. But before the gravity of that news starts to fall, as far as i can tell, it is totally benign and the doctor as successfully removed all of it, and also as far as i can tell, the thyroid or the left lobe anyway, is still functioning and delivering the proper amount of hormones into her body(it's essential to life function).
I dont know if it is still called cancer if it is benign but as i said before all communication with this is indirect
Basically the doc said no need to worry, cancer was slow growing and we cut it out.
My only worry is in general i dont know how cancer is thought of there, maybe you just cut what you can and call it good because radiation and chemo are too expensive, but anyway hopefully in about 4 monthis or five she will come here and at that time we will see a doc here and maybe get a cat-scan
Surgery it's self was good i think, just 2 days in the hospital and already she is talking and laughing a bunch on the phone, usually she is pretty quiet but my goodness she was talkative last night, probably just relieved to be out of the hospital.
Anyway, thanks for the kind words everyone..
Jimbo
Must be a worrying time for you. I hope everything turns out OK. Good luck
Mr T Arif Bawah
Okay, wow crazy stuff.. so bad news first.. Not goiter actually a huge tumor on the right lobe of the thyroid. But before the gravity of that news starts to fall, as far as i can tell, it is totally benign and the doctor as successfully removed all of it, and also as far as i can tell, the thyroid or the left lobe anyway, is still functioning and delivering the proper amount of hormones into her body(it's essential to life function).
I dont know if it is still called cancer if it is benign but as i said before all communication with this is indirect
Basically the doc said no need to worry, cancer was slow growing and we cut it out.
My only worry is in general i dont know how cancer is thought of there, maybe you just cut what you can and call it good because radiation and chemo are too expensive, but anyway hopefully in about 4 monthis or five she will come here and at that time we will see a doc here and maybe get a cat-scan
Surgery it's self was good i think, just 2 days in the hospital and already she is talking and laughing a bunch on the phone, usually she is pretty quiet but my goodness she was talkative last night, probably just relieved to be out of the hospital.
Anyway, thanks for the kind words everyone..
Please get someone to translate for you, there is a big difference to ordering Nas Gor and a beer fast to dealing with a medical situation. When many Indonesians don't understand medical terms I'm not sure a bule will. Sounds like you are outside of Indo now, try and find someone who can really speak Indo to help you.
Load to comment on here, and really you need to act fast. the material removed at surgery MUST be sent to pathology to determine what you are dealing with. Why didn't they do a scan and biopsy first?
A benign tumour is one thing and not to be taken lightly, but a malignant tumour is quite something else, and any delay in starting treatment could be a big problem.
You need to act now, in 5 months there may be nothing left to do. Cancer is treated in Indonesia, and people do understand the gravity of it. I can only stress now that you need to act now, determine what sort of tumour this was and take action.
http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/ThyroidCancer_brochure.pdf
Maway
Hi All,
A lot of Indonesien come to Penang for check up or surgery, I think the standart and quality is higher than in Indonesia. A good Hospital is the "Island Hospital".....
Good Luck
Maway
