How do operations in Indonesia, or how I fell from a bike in Bali

TravelAsk continues a series of interviews with subscribers, and today is our story about medical services for tourists in Bali. We talked with Eugene, who returned to Russia some time ago after a year on the island. Without a doubt, Bali gives a completely different experience and experience to everyone. Eugene decided to share with us the story of the accident and the operation that he underwent.

- In many Asian countries, a scooter or bike can seriously help save time on the road. Bali is no exception. It is known that traffic in many cities on the island is dense, they drive very sloppy (if not terribly). Tell me how it all happened and how you got hurt?

- Firstly, when traveling to Indonesia, I would definitely recommend that you take out medical insurance. The fact is that the cost of good medical services for tourists is quite high, as well as the risk of injury when riding a bike, surfing, tracking volcanoes and just when stopping at a traffic light in a stream of cars (as this surprisingly happened to me) . It is better to include accident risks and active sports in insurance (unless, of course, you are going to deal with them).

While in Bali in Ubud, I somehow rode a bike and stopped at a traffic light. No wonder they say that if you do everything right, there will be someone who does the wrong thing in your place. So, while I was waiting for the light to switch (I notice, I just stood still, did not even ride) another guy on a bike flew into me obliquely, or rather my leg took over his entire bike. I will not describe in detail what the limb looked like after an impact, but it became clear that one could not do without the help of a doctor.

“Did you go to the hospital right away?”

- At the first moment, apparently, due to the shock state, I somehow did not realize that I should call the insurance. I only understood that I needed to go to the nearest medical institution, which I could find. I jumped in a taxi (as far as possible in my case) and on the way I was looking for a hospital. They finally brought me to Ari Canti Hospital. The hospital’s appearance made, let’s say, not the most pleasant impression, although it didn’t differ much from the standard “injury” near Moscow (photo below).

They did an X-ray, washed and sewed up the wound, and preliminarily anesthetized with lidocaine. Apparently, it didn’t take it to the end, and it was very noticeable when the doctor began to sew up. The cost of medical services amounted to 900,000 rupees (about 70 US dollars). I was also informed that I have a comminuted fracture and it is necessary to have an operation to remove a piece of bone, otherwise the consequences will not be pleasant. Scared of all sorts of infections and complications. I thought for a long time what to do, but still decided to refuse. The quality of service and the staff in the hospital didn’t inspire confidence in me, I couldn’t help myself, although I realized that everything was serious.

“What did you do in the end?” Has the insurance company somehow connected?

- Undoubtedly, it was necessary to look for some other version of the hospital. Nevertheless, it’s not every day that you get into accidents in Asia; naturally, I knew very little about medical facilities. I turned to the insurance (since I was preoccupied with the insurance issue before the trip), and I was sent to another hospital in the city of Gianyar. It turned out that the institution is a very high level. I was re-x-rayed and also confirmed the need for emergency surgery. But I still couldn’t calm down. I thought what would happen if this happened in Moscow. In order to make a final decision - whether or not to have the operation - I wanted to listen to the opinion of a specialist from Russia. Still, it would have been somehow calmer if an uncle in a white coat speaking Russian spoke: "Yes, Eugene, don't play the fool, do the operation." He started calling friends in Moscow, sent all the pictures and a description, asked for help with finding a doctor who can evaluate how much surgical intervention is needed, and also ask the specialists what exactly needs to be done. If something similar happens in Indonesia with you, God forbid, I definitely recommend consulting an independent doctor, this will definitely help to avoid unnecessary medical procedures. Still, for the clinic it is an opportunity to earn money, and for Asia, such things are often the norm. I breathed a sigh of relief when the hospital doctor described exactly the same manipulations as a surgeon from Moscow. This somehow immediately gave me confidence, and they began to prepare me for the operation.

About the clinic as a whole: the staff speaks excellent English, which, to be honest, I was even a little surprised. This facilitates an understanding of what is happening, patients are treated carefully. At first I was worried: maybe they’ll somehow prepare me for the operation, it was recalled how the leg was sewn up in the first hospital almost in a living manner. But all the necessary preparatory procedures went well: I was measured pressure, temperature, oxygen level, put a dropper with saline and antibiotic.

Surgery under anesthesia was required. General or epidural anesthesia was suggested. I chose the general one (for my own reasons). I remember that the operating room was large, bright and clean, which could not but rejoice. I woke up softly and got out of anesthesia quite easily, although before the operation my imagination drew pictures from the Zhenya Zombie series. I was taken to a separate comfortable room, in general, a very high-quality level of patient care. I spent 2 days after surgery in the hospital. I cannot but note the fact that pleased me the most: fed 5 times a day, a choice of dishes on the menu. Honestly, I only saw this in films. Before discharge, they did a dressing and gave a package of medicines with them. That's all.

- It turns out that the insurance company paid for the operation costs?

- The cost of all services amounted to 4,300 US dollars, and this amount was fully covered by insurance. In general, I want to say that the quality of medical services in Indonesia can be different (as in Russia), and the cost of these services can also be different. But really high-quality medicine for tourists is expensive. Therefore, take care of yourself, be prudent before and during the trip. Well, do not forget to look around.

Dear readers, if you have interesting travel stories that you would like to share with TravelAsk, we will be happy to hear them and publish them as an interview or story. Just let us know about it by sending an email to: [email protected]