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Climbing Again A Patient's Portrayal

Patient Experience & Hospitality
There is nothing worse for an athlete to be unable to do the sport they love. This is exactly what happened to me. I was an avid rock climber and due to a chronic and deteriorating condition called Kienbocks Disease in my left wrist I was told to stop climbing. This condition led me to the internet and I began researching the different procedures available to help regain the mobility in my left wrist.

One of our hospitals specialties is orthopedic surgery. Our center performed over 2500 orthopedic surgeries alone in 2007. We asked Urs Meir a patient with a rare bone disorder called Kienbocks Disease to share his experience as an inpatient in our hospital. Dr. Jae Hoon Lee performed an iliac bone graft and fusion on Mr. Meirs wrist. He recommended the surgery because at the moment there are no other treatments for this disease. Dr. Lee sees about 3 patients a year with the same disorder and the cause of Kienbocks is unknown. Dr. Lee believes that the skill and techniques available

There is nothing worse for an athlete to be unable to do the sport they love. This is exactly what happened to me. I was an avid rock climber and due to a chronic and deteriorating condition called Kienbock’s Disease in my left wrist, I was told to stop climbing. This condition led me to the internet and I began researching the different procedures available to help regain the mobility in my left wrist.

One of our hospital’s specialties is orthopedic surgery. Our center performed over 2500 orthopedic surgeries alone in 2007. We asked Urs Meir, a patient with a rare bone disorder called “Kienbock’s Disease,” to share his experience as an inpatient in our hospital. Dr. Jae Hoon Lee performed an iliac bone graft and fusion on Mr. Meir’s wrist. He recommended the surgery because, at the moment, there are no other treatments for this disease. Dr. Lee sees about 3 patients a year with the same disorder and the cause of Kienbock’s is unknown. Dr. Lee believes that the skill and techniques available at our hospital’s orthopedic center rivals any center in the world. The center performs many specialized surgeries including joint replacements for patients with hemophilia. The center offers expertise in all areas of orthopedics including, rheumatology, spine surgery, sports medicine, and Oriental Medicine and acupuncture.

From Mr. Urs Meir

There is nothing worse for an athlete to be unable to do the sport they love. This is exactly what happened to me. I was an avid rock climber and due to a chronic and deteriorating condition called Kienbock’s Disease in my left wrist, I was told to stop climbing. This condition led me to the internet and I began researching the different procedures available to help regain the mobility in my left wrist.

At the time, I was living and working in Korea and after some careful research, I sought out Dr. Jae Hoon Lee. Dr. Lee is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in the wrist joint and is a professor at the East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyung Hee University in Seoul. I was impressed with the knowledge and expertise of the doctor and the facilities of the hospital. I received rapid results on all of my tests and the staff was very helpful and sensitive to my concerns. After the consultation, the doctor recommended a vacuolated bone graft surgical procedure to help restore blood flow to the damaged bone in my wrist. The surgery is performed to relieve pressure on the lunate bone and to reestablish the blood supply to the bone. There are no other successful treatments for this somewhat rare condition.

I booked my surgery to be done during my Christmas break in 2006. When I arrived at the hospital, I was greeted by the international healthcare center’s nurse who helped me get admitted into my two person room. After checking into the room, I was taken for a battery of pre-surgery tests and x-rays to ensure that I was healthy enough to undergo the procedure.


After the tests, a nutritionist came to visit me in my room to see if I had any special requests for the food I would be served during my 5 days in the hospital. I was comfortable in the room, which had a large T.V and comfortable bed. The night before the surgery, I was visited by the resident who came and explained the procedure again to me one more time. I was a little nervous that night as I slept, but my girlfriend was there with me and the hospital had provided a cot for her to sleep on in my room.

In the morning I was prepped for surgery and wheeled to the surgery theater. The nurses where all extremely kind, assuring me that everything would be all right, I’m sure they sensed my apprehension. When I arrived, Dr. Lee spoke to me briefly about the surgery before I was given my anesthetic and the next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room.


There was a dull pain in my arm, and I could see the pins through the bandages on my wrist. I was taken for x-rays immediately after I awoke and then up to my room. I spent the next four days in the hospital with my girlfriend. The nurses helped me with my medication and encouraged me to walk around the hospital. I was amazed that despite the number of people staying in the hospital it was very quiet and I was quite relaxed during my stay. In my room, I read books, watched movies and surfed the internet on my laptop.


Dr. Lee came to visit me on his rounds everyday during my stay and he was happy with the results of the surgery. He informed me that I would have to wear a plaster cast for the next 6-8 weeks after which time he would remove the pins and I would be able to begin physiotherapy to build up the strength and mobility in my wrist.

When I checked out of the hospital, I was pleasantly surprised by the price of my treatment. With the surgery and my 5 nights in the center the total was under $1500 USD. Upon leaving I scheduled my follow up appointment.

I was happy to get the cast removed after 7 weeks. And began the exercises that Dr. Lee taught me to help regain the mobility back in my wrist. I visited the hospital every month for check-ups to make sure there were no problems and after about 5 months of physical therapy I was ready to start climbing again..

I have nothing but positive things to say about my medical treatment at the East-West Neo Medical Center. I was treated as well, if not better, than I would have been in my home country of New Zealand. I understand the reservations some people may have about receiving surgery outside of one’s country, but with the proper research you will find that the standard of care in Korea is world class. I am now living in Australia and I am rock climbing every weekend thanks to Dr. Lee and the East-West Neo Medical Center.

Dr. Jae Hoon Lee, PhD is an Orthopedic Surgeon at East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyung Hee University. For more information please contact ljhos@khnmc.or.kr.


at our hospitals orthopedic center rivals any center in the world. The center performs many specialized surgeries including joint replacements for patients with hemophilia. The center offers expertise in all areas of orthopedics including rheumatology spine surgery sports medicine and Oriental Medicine and acupuncture.From Mr. Urs Meir


There is nothing worse for an athlete to be unable to do the sport they love. This is exactly what happened to me. I was an avid rock climber and due to a chronic and deteriorating condition called Kienbocks Disease in my left wrist I was told to stop climbing. This condition led me to the internet and I began researching the different procedures available to help regain the mobility in my left wrist.


At the time I was living and working in Korea and after some careful research I sought out Dr. Jae Hoon Lee. Dr. Lee is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in the wrist joint and is a professor at the East-West Neo Medical Center Kyung Hee University in Seoul. I was impressed with the knowledge and expertise of the doctor and the facilities of the hospital. I received rapid results on all of my tests and the staff was very helpful and sensitive to my concerns.


After the consultation the doctor recommended a vacuolated bone graft surgical procedure to help restore blood flow to the damaged bone in my wrist. The surgery is performed to relieve pressure on the lunate bone and to reestablish the blood supply to the bone. There are no other successful treatments for this somewhat rare condition.I booked my surgery to be done during my Christmas break in 2006. When I arrived at the hospital I was greeted by the international healthcare centers nurse who helped me get admitted into my two person room.


After checking into the room I was taken for a battery of pre-surgery tests and x-rays to ensure that I was healthy enough to undergo the procedure. After the tests a nutritionist came to visit me in my room to see if I had any special requests for the food I would be served during my 5 days in the hospital. I was comfortable in the room which had a large T.V and comfortable bed. The night before the surgery I was visited by the resident who came and explained the procedure again to me one more time.


I was a little nervous that night as I slept but my girlfriend was there with me and the hospital had provided a cot for her to sleep on in my room.In the morning I was prepped for surgery and wheeled to the surgery theater. The nurses where all extremely kind assuring me that everything would be all right Im sure they sensed my apprehension. When I arrived Dr. Lee spoke to me briefly about the surgery before I was given my anesthetic and the next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room.


There was a dull pain in my arm and I could see the pins through the bandages on my wrist. I was taken for x-rays immediately after I awoke and then up to my room. I spent the next four days in the hospital with my girlfriend. The nurses helped me with my medication and encouraged me to walk around the hospital. I was amazed that despite the number of people staying in the hospital it was very quiet and I was quite relaxed during my stay.


In my room I read books watched movies and surfed the internet on my laptop. Dr. Lee came to visit me on his rounds everyday during my stay and he was happy with the results of the surgery. He informed me that I would have to wear a plaster cast for the next 6-8 weeks after which time he would remove the pins and I would be able to begin physiotherapy to build up the strength and mobility in my wrist.


When I checked out of the hospital I was pleasantly surprised by the price of my treatment. With the surgery and my 5 nights in the center the total was under $1500 USD. Upon leaving I scheduled my follow up appointment.I was happy to get the cast removed after 7 weeks. And began the exercises that Dr. Lee taught me to help regain the mobility back in my wrist. I visited the hospital every month for check-ups to make sure there were no problems and after about 5 months of physical therapy I was ready to start climbing again..


I have nothing but positive things to say about my medical treatment at the East-West Neo Medical Center. I was treated as well if not better than I would have been in my home country of New Zealand. I understand the reservations some people may have about receiving surgery outside of ones country but with the proper research you will find that the standard of care in Korea is world class.


I am now living in Australia and I am rock climbing every weekend thanks to Dr. Lee and the East-West Neo Medical Center.Dr. Jae Hoon Lee PhD is an Orthopedic Surgeon at East-West Neo Medical Center Kyung Hee University. For more information please contact ljhos@khnmc.or.kr.

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