I'm an American male recovering from hemorrhoid surgery in Korea and figured I would weigh in.
There's really no way for the doctor to examine that area without looking at it, and the only way to examine for internal hemorrhoids is to insert a scope.
I was examined the first time by a male doctor with a female nurse and a male interpreter present. To get a second opinion to make sure a surgery was truly necessary. There, I was examined by a female doctor and a female nurse and a female interpreter were present. During both examinations, I was on my side.
During the surgery, I was in the jackknife position, with my behind at the apex of the table. Many medical staff were there performing their medical tasks.
Be glad you're in the USA. Here in Korea, it's customary for friends and relatives to help their relatives in the post-surgery wards. There were a lot of patients and their family members of all ages and both genders in the ward. Three times on each of the three days, a doctor and a nurse would have me get on my hands and knees so they could see the area. While it was embarrassing, half of all Koreans will get hemorrhoids during their life, so half of them at some point will be in a ward full of people experiencing the same thing I did, and besides, after hemorrhoid surgery, you're only thinking about the pain and healing.
Oh, and my female boss translated last year when I went for a colonoscopy. Although I drank the prep solution the night before, they asked how many times I went and what it looked like. They ended up doing an enema with my boss (similar age as me) present, to interpret the nurses instructions about how long to hold it, et cetera, from Korean to English.
So just be glad it's only a doctor and nurse there. You're not having to deal with interpreters, families, and so on. Just put your health first. As the prostate exam commercials on TV say, "Don't die of embarrassment." Sometimes medical procedures are embarrassing, but put your health first.
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I'm an American male recovering from hemorrhoid surgery in Korea and figured I would weigh in.
There's really no way for the doctor to examine that area without looking at it, and the only way to examine for internal hemorrhoids is to insert a scope.
I was examined the first time by a male doctor with a female nurse and a male interpreter present. To get a second opinion to make sure a surgery was truly necessary. There, I was examined by a female doctor and a female nurse and a female interpreter were present. During both examinations, I was on my side.
During the surgery, I was in the jackknife position, with my behind at the apex of the table. Many medical staff were there performing their medical tasks.
Be glad you're in the USA. Here in Korea, it's customary for friends and relatives to help their relatives in the post-surgery wards. There were a lot of patients and their family members of all ages and both genders in the ward. Three times on each of the three days, a doctor and a nurse would have me get on my hands and knees so they could see the area. While it was embarrassing, half of all Koreans will get hemorrhoids during their life, so half of them at some point will be in a ward full of people experiencing the same thing I did, and besides, after hemorrhoid surgery, you're only thinking about the pain and healing.
Oh, and my female boss translated last year when I went for a colonoscopy. Although I drank the prep solution the night before, they asked how many times I went and what it looked like. They ended up doing an enema with my boss (similar age as me) present, to interpret the nurses instructions about how long to hold it, et cetera, from Korean to English.
So just be glad it's only a doctor and nurse there. You're not having to deal with interpreters, families, and so on. Just put your health first. As the prostate exam commercials on TV say, "Don't die of embarrassment." Sometimes medical procedures are embarrassing, but put your health first.
September 1, 2013 - 2:00amThis Comment
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