The Medical System in Costa Rica - Another Approach

I have previously blogged about having a fairly large basal cell carcinoma lesion removed from my back three years ago. I decided to do this so people would know some of the options one can follow when navigating the medical system here - not because I wanted sympathy. That BCC was on my back before we moved to Costa Rica in 2011. In fact, it was misdiagnosed in Canada and dismissed as “just something that occurs as you age” by a third rate Doc-In-The-Box. At that time, we couldn’t even find a family doctor - the few that were still practicing were not taking on new patients.

So about two years ago, here in Costa Rica, a red spot appeared on my upper left eyelid. I thought it was an insect bite but it never went away and it kept growing - mole? wart? A few weeks ago, Lance said “You should have that looked at, it’s quite visible”.

So I made an appointment with Dr. Fu Lin Yu Tseng, a dermatologist that Lance had previously seen for contact dermatitis. He works for the Caja in the mornings and has private appointments in the afternoons. His office is in Clinica Helenica, very close to Grecia’s hospital. He looked at my back to check for lesions - said benign, benign, benign and sprayed them with liquid nitrogen. He looked at my left eye and said, that is basal cell carcinoma - picked up his phone and got me an appointment with the eye surgeon in the same medical building.

I saw Dr. Mario Barrantes Dominguez three days later. He did a complete eye exam, looked at the lesion and said he could remove it. The surgery was scheduled for five days later.

I chose to go the private route this time because of timeliness. In Costa Rica, private medical care is surprisingly reasonably priced compared to other countries. My appointment with Dr. Fu Lin cost  CRC 50,000 (about $90 USD). Dr. Dominguez’s initial consultation was also CRC 50,000 and that included the complete eye exam.  The surgery cost was CRC 520,000 (about $930 USD) - it took about an hour. The 20,000 was for the resection and biopsy. I also had a follow up appointment the next day - no charge. The clinic has its own fully equipped operating room. Dr. Dominguez also had an assistant helping him. After removing the lesion, my left eye no longer resembled my right eye and he reshaped that one so my face would be in sync.

The stitches come out in two weeks. Meanwhile, I resemble the Bride of Frankenstein! This is a reminder to everyone - see a dermatologist once a year for a full body checkup - especially if you live close to the equator as we do. I’ve obviously been remiss in following my own advice.

You don’t want to look like this!