The first two times were years ago when I was still in Singapore. The first time was done by a family-friend-cum-family-doctor at his clinic at Mount E. Now this is one doctor that I would trust wholeheartedly even when he suggested asking me to chew and swallow the chicken bones as I lacked iron then. Anyway, even his stitching, using dissolvable thread, was beautiful. No charge for a family friend, he said. :)
Dr Ang retired years later when I kena my second cyst. I ended up at a local dentist in Ghim Moh. Not saying that the Ghim Moh dentist is lousy but there is a reason why the prior is in Mount E and he in Ghim Moh. The stitching using ugly black thread was haphazard at best. Still, it got the job done and so I still owed my gratitude to the good dentist too.
So here I am again with a swollen lower lip. I must have nurtured the cyst for a month now, given that (a) I originally wanted to get it done back in Singapore and (b) I have been traveling a lot lately.
Anyway, I was accompanying my dad to ChangAn hospital for an extraction of a rotten tooth that I thought might as well let the dentist take a look-see since I was there. Snap, went the rubber gloves as I lay on the dentist chair, as she peeled my lip over and fiddled with the swelling. Next thing I knew, I saw here grabbing the syringe and poking it into the swelling.
WHAT THE F*CK!!???
Later did I realised that she used the syringe to extract the cyst. My swelling went down to half almost immediately. She prescribed some medication for me to take, hoping that the swelling would have gone down enough to avoid surgery. I have to see her again tomorrow, if the swelling doesn't go down enough, then it's HELLO SCALPEL.
Here's the thing about hospitals in Ch1na. They are horrible in appearance but these doctors and nurses do get their jobs done, even if the good doc is smoking and examining you at the same time.
The place is over crowded that you could see that there are beds along the corridors. My place is not like the big cities but rather an industrial area and so the stuff that you see here are more gruesome than usual, as most of them are industrial accidents. Limbs torn off, bones crushed, eyes poked (the more severe kind), etc.
Anyway, the facilities are really old and spartan like the school labs of old. The white coats of the docs are no longer white. They are creased and translucent, as a result of many visits to the laundry. A hole here and a tear there is nothing to be bothered at all.
Still, I have every confidence in these good people of the medical profession. Now, if only they have a proper sink to spit your drool instead of the plastic bucket. Sigh....
- Voxeros
1. akk left...
*nursing an ulcer*
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 2:44 pm
sorry, i shall be very dumb here, wat's a cyst? will an ulcer become a cyst? update on the slicing....:) *nursing an ulcer*
2. kIm left...
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 2:52 pm
It sounds painful. Poke a syringe into your lips!!! Oh my.. But mind that I'm a girl who nearly shrieked during my blood test. Hahaha..
3. hitomi left...
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 4:15 pm
Uncle, may our good Lord bless the hands of the doctor who's treating you. Have a speedy and complete recovery! :-)
4. Zhe Bin left...
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 4:23 pm
Sometimes we just want to feel like we can change a lot of things single-handedly right..
5. JayWalk left...
Akk: Got you the link to the definition of a Epidermal Cyst - Click Here.
Ulcer will not turn into a cyst. In my case, it was due to trauma to the lip as a result of my big CHOMP!
kIm: Luckily, the cyst area got not much nerve endings so I don't really feel any pain. But looking at the incoming needle up close can be a bit unnerving though.
hitomi: Auntie, you disappear from Yahoo leh... how's you and the SH trip?
ZheBin: Can you elaborate further?
Akk: Got you the link to the definition of a Epidermal Cyst - Click Here.
Ulcer will not turn into a cyst. In my case, it was due to trauma to the lip as a result of my big CHOMP!
kIm: Luckily, the cyst area got not much nerve endings so I don't really feel any pain. But looking at the incoming needle up close can be a bit unnerving though.
hitomi: Auntie, you disappear from Yahoo leh... how's you and the SH trip?
ZheBin: Can you elaborate further?
6. mihuatang left...
perhaps being all alone in ch1na, there is no one to boil 'liang teh' for you.
on a more serious note, unless it is a life-and-death matter, i would not want to step into a hospital in ch1na (esp those in industrial cities)
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 4:51 pm
you sure yr lips are not bitten by somebody? perhaps being all alone in ch1na, there is no one to boil 'liang teh' for you.
on a more serious note, unless it is a life-and-death matter, i would not want to step into a hospital in ch1na (esp those in industrial cities)
7. Pam left...
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 6:11 pm
poor dear... get better soon ok? did you get my email re address? i oredi print invite lah - so send me the address ok (china/hk or sg oso can).
8. hitomi left...
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 6:32 pm
Busy busy mah. Usually on invisible mode too... Will try to blog about my trip if got time.
9. Lynne left...
Wednesday, 2 November 2005 9:43 pm
Sounds scary ... esp the part where the docs smoke and examine patients at the same time?! But if I see the syringe, I would have fainted already ... not scared of blood, but scared of needles!
10. JayWalk left...
Anyway, having lived here long enough, I have come to learn that the medical services may appear to be damn jialat, they are actually quite ok. Especially when you are a foreigner, they tend to treat you with more care.
Pam: I have already replied your email re: my Hong Kong address liao.
hitomi: Dun invisible lah, can?
Lynne: I have been on the needle since young. No stranger to it liao.
Thursday, 3 November 2005 12:20 am ::
mihuatang: I KNEW you were going to say that! Anyway, having lived here long enough, I have come to learn that the medical services may appear to be damn jialat, they are actually quite ok. Especially when you are a foreigner, they tend to treat you with more care.
Pam: I have already replied your email re: my Hong Kong address liao.
hitomi: Dun invisible lah, can?
Lynne: I have been on the needle since young. No stranger to it liao.
11. Pam left...
Thursday, 3 November 2005 1:35 am
boh leh!!! i checked all my email addys leh... donch have! can send to my work addy?
12. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 3 November 2005 8:40 am ::
Pam: Ok. Will try again or maybe just leave it on your Yahoo.
13. Zhe Bin left...
Friday, 4 November 2005 3:06 am
Like sometimes you wish you got a magic wand and you can change everything. Into a better world kinda thing. Haha.
14. JayWalk left...
Friday, 4 November 2005 6:46 am ::
Zhe Bin: Well yes and no. If you make everything happen the way you want then, not much magic liao is there?
Sometimes you just need to sit back and let things happen on their own.
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