Surgery in Ecuador – No Fear
Jul 2nd, 2007 by Bob P
I arrived in Ibarra at The Instituto de Medico on Mon. 11 of June at 10 AM with my fiance Mary and Conrad who had appointments with the dentist Dr. Proaño. My pursuit was getting my varicose veins removed. Fortunately the vascular surgeon was right at the end of the hall, next door. Only with my driver Julio interpreting and my fiance Mary flipping through the pages of her Spanish-English dictionary could any credible medical procedures be understood. Finally after 25 minutes of discussion and examination of my veins Dr. Roman marked out the veins that would be removed with a black marker and the one that the laser would be inserted into.
He then pulled up the procedure in a movie on his PC in French with English subtitles ( I love foreign movies ). So after watching the procedure and agreeing to have it preformed he said I would need a blood test and be examined by the cardiologist. He wrote the orders to have the blood test at 10:30 on the first floor the next morning and see Dr. Aquirre at 12 noon when she arrived at her office directly next door ( everything so convenient ).
Tues. at 10:30 I had my blood drawn (very professionally) then toured Ibarra with my driver/interpreter Julio for an hour arriving back at the institute just in time to see Dr. Aguirre for my cardiologist examination. She read my blood tests,examined me with the usual equipment and procedures then gave me the test results to step next door and see Dr. Roman. No waiting , Dr. Roman’s door was open and he was sitting at his desk. He read the reports and said to come in tomorrow morning at 10:30 for surgery. Super!
On Wed. morning I had communication problems with my driver and had to hire a substitute cab so I arrived late at 11AM. I thought they would cancel my surgery but they said no problem. The nurses had me undress, get into a gown and inserted a IV into a vein in my wrist. Next the anesthesiologist ( Dr. Munoz ) came in and introduced himself then motioned over my chest with his hand in the sign of an X. WOW, now I knew I was in BIG trouble ( only joking ). He had a great sense of humor. After a short time the nurses came in , walked me into the surgery room and helped me onto the operating table. Dr. Roman came in dressed in full surgical wear, leaned over and asked me “listo” (ready) and I replied “listo”. I woke up back in my original receiving room without any side effects at all from the anesthetic. My leg was wrapped in bandages from my toes to over my knee. An hour or more after recovering Mary and Steve came to see if I still had two legs. Steve had to leave as the tour bus was waiting outside with all of the participants of the group. Mary and I grabbed a cab back to Cotacachi later around 6PM.
I followed up the next day with Dr. Roman for remaining instructions. He gave me a box of 4 capsules of ISOX (meloxicam) antibiotics against infection, one pre-measured syringe of Fragmin an anti clotting solution and a prescription for 4 more over the following days.
I checked with a vein clinic in Naples when I returned and they said it would be $100 for consultation and the usual fee for removing varicose veins is $3,500. My consutation/examination with Dr. Roman was $35 , Dr. Aguirre $35 , blood test (3 vials) $26.50 . Surgery, Dr. Roman, Dr. Munoz, medical supplies and the clinic $1,500. I paid half in cash ( cheaper in cash ) and the remainder with my credit card.
The only problem I had was not knowing more Spanish.
P.S. I also have a kidney stone problem and have a prescription from my urologist to drink the juice of 4 fresh lemons a day. In the market of Cotacachi I bought a bag of 7 lemons for 50 cents , back here in Naples lemons are 50 cents each.
