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Health Column - Issue 1
Dear Dr. Morrison,
About one year ago I had my first experience of deep water diving. At that time I had my left ear drum disrupted while I was diving about 10 meters below the surface of the ocean. I checked with a doctor and was told there is a very small whole on the ear drum. However, it did not bother me until about three months ago when I again dived in a swimming pool a few times and it hurt. I went back to a different doctor and was told that I will need a surgery to mend the ear drum. I live in China. The medical service here may not be as advance as in the States. I hope you may be able to give me a second opinion about what to do would be the best for me. If the surgery is needed, is it a simple or complex operation? What are the costs like? Thank you very much. I am looking forward hearing from you.
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~ Chris from China |
Dear Chris,
The tiny hole you have in your ear drum needs to be fixed before it causes a serious infection in the middle ear. It can be fixed with a microsurgical procedure. "Microsurgical" means surgery on a very tiny area, in this case your ear drum. The operation can be done in any region with developed medical technology. Unfortunately, China may not be one of these places. I suggest you go to Japan to get higher quality treatment. Costs vary all over the world. It isn't a complex procedure, just technically sensitive. Your ear drum is very delicate and very small.
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~ Dr. Morrison |
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