Alaskan resident Sangeet Kaur Khalsa (pictured below) developed acute pain in her knee, but she found that getting the right diagnosis and then finding proper treatment she could afford was much more of a daunting task than she had imagined.
“The first doctor I saw in Alaska pointed to my grey hair and told me, without even carrying out any investigative tests, that the pain in my knee was because of arthritis from old age,” says Khalsa.
Later when in California for wrist surgery, Khalsa decided to see an orthopaedic surgeon there. He was thorough and suspected a meniscal tear in her knee. However, Khalsa balked at the US$2,500 costs of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan that she needed.
“I was just not prepared to pay so much for that. Back home in Alaska, it was even higher, around US$3,700,” says Khalsa.
The alternative was to look for more affordable treatment outside the US, but searching for medical treatment overseas was new territory for her.
“I had heard of people travelling out of the country for medical care but honestly, I was on a blind search. I read up about hospitals around the world on the internet and sent out countless emails but wasn’t sure how else to proceed.
“I had received some replies offering me things like a knee replacement and cosmetic surgery but never directly addressing my queries. They all seemed so flaky and I found it hard trusting any of them. I grew sceptical about the whole thing,” says Khalsa.
Eventually, she came across the website of the Overseas Medical Services (OMS), a medical travel firm in Canada. She called the toll-free number and spoke with Aruna Th-Hollingshead, the Sri Lankan-born Canadian woman who runs it.
OMS helps potential patients by matching them with doctors and facilities overseas. The company also arranges travel and accommodation details as well as providing useful information about the chosen destination for those with the time or inclination to fit in more than just medical care.
“Aruna called me a couple of days later and told me she had found a doctor for me in Singapore. Within the next day, she informed me that plans were underway to get me there. She was very transparent and efficient. I was impressed, but there was a problem,” Khalsa says.
Most countries will not issue a visa to travellers if their passports have less than six months left before expiry. Khalsa’s had only four months’ validity left.
Th-Hollingshead says: “The people at the National University Hospital (NUH) sorted out her visa with the immigration department in no time. They clearly took pains to make things easier. This is important for patients like Khalsa because they have to endure the pain on top of the disappointment with their healthcare system. They don’t need any more headaches.”
She provided Khalsa with the hospital information as well as the consulting doctor’s credentials.
Th-Hollingshead adds: “When I first suggested Singapore to Khalsa, it was because I knew it had the expertise to handle her medical condition and it was also affordable compared to many countries in the West. Its excellent infrastructure also played a part.
“Singapore stands out because it is one country that would bend backwards to accommodate its foreign patients. It may be small but they manage big deeds.”
Landing at Changi Airport, Khalsa says: “Going through immigration was a breeze. I felt I was in good hands from the moment I landed. I was picked up at the airport by NUH staff who brought me to the hospital. They even had orchids in my room. All the necessary paperwork had been done and within a short period, I got to see my doctor.”
Associate Professor James Hui Hoi Po, senior consultant at NUH’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, met Khalsa and outlined what he intended to do, making sure she fully understood.
The next day, Khalsa had the long-awaited MRI scan (which cost just over US$500), which confirmed a meniscal tear was the source of her pain.
To cure the problem, Associate Professor Hui trimmed Khalsa’s meniscus and smoothed the inside of her kneecap. The procedure took just 45 minutes.
Khalsa intends to return to Singapore in a few years to have the cartilage in her kneecap fully restored with the help of bone-marrow derived stem cells.
As part of OMS add-on concierge services, Th-Hollingshead took Khalsa to Orchard Road shopping belt to take in some sights while she was recuperating.
Says Th-Hollingshead: “Singapore’s small size is its advantage in that it’s manageable and easy to get around. Of course it helps too when it’s so cosmopolitan, clean and up to world standards.”
Source: SingaporeMedicine and National University Hospital Singapore
