“There are no doctors during Chinese New Year — both TCM and Western clinics are on holiday,”
the patient sighed as soon as she sat down.
“My hand was fractured when I fell during a trip overseas. The doctor advised surgery, but I chose not to proceed and came back first.”
“The orthopedic specialist at *** Hospital insisted on surgery. He said the bone was already deformed and might have affected the nerve. If I don’t operate, the consequences could be serious,” she explained in detail.
It was already the fifth day after the fracture.
I could hardly imagine how she endured such intense pain for so long.
“May I ask — are you personally considering surgery? The doctor has already recommended it,”
I asked seriously, wanting to understand her wishes clearly.
“If I can avoid surgery, of course I don’t want it. Even though the costs are covered by insurance, if TCM can treat me, I’d rather not go through an operation.”
She was very clear — she did not want surgery for now.
“Alright. Thank you for your trust. I will perform reduction and immobilization for you. After the reduction, we’ll take an X-ray for review. Over the next few days, you can bring the post-treatment X-rays back to the specialist, and then we can discuss again whether surgery is still necessary.”
As I spoke, we had already prepared all the necessary materials.
She hesitated and asked,
“If I see a TCM doctor and then go back to the Western doctor, will I get scolded? Will the doctor be angry? 💢”
I reassured her,
“No, don’t worry. If the reduction is successful, both TCM and Western doctors will acknowledge it. When something is done correctly, there is usually only one correct outcome.
If the bone is misaligned, placing the two X-rays side by side will make it obvious. And if that happens, it’s still not too late to consider surgery.”
In the end, she decided to give it a try.
The result? She was very satisfied.
Japan
