PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT
Please wear loose clothing to assist in the examination of the affected area.
FAQ
1. How long is the wait time for consultation?
Approximately 3 months.
2. How long is the surgical wait time?
Approximately about 2 - 3 months for knee arthroscopy, 4 - 6 months for ACL and shoulder surgery, and 5-6 months for joint replacements. The long wait time is due to limited operating time at the hospital due to limited provincial government funding (Updated March 2018).
3. What types of surgeries does Dr. Chiu performed?
Common elective surgeries performed include arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, acromioplasty, labral repair, hip replacement, knee replacement, knee arthroscopy, meniscal repair, cartilage repair, and ACL reconstruction.
4. Where is the surgery performed?
Usually at Langley Memorial Hospital, occasionally at Delta Hospital or Jim Pattison Centre.
5. Post-Surgical wound care.
Keep the incision dry for the first 7 days. Change the dressing once daily starting on the 2nd day after surgery. Do not remove the white strip tapes across the incision. Do NOT wash or wet for the first week. After the first week, you can gently wash with soap and water and then pat dry and cover with dressing. After the first week, when the dressing is completely dry after 24 hours of use and the incision is no longer draining, the dress can be discontinued and the incision left open to air.
6. Getting proper knee x-rays.
Please ask your family doctor or the x-ray technician to do standing or weight-bearing x-rays of the knee. This type of x-ray helps obtain more accurate assessment of the degree of arthritis.
8. Things to consider when opting for private MRI
Patients who choose to have private MRI often don't realize that MRI machines come in different strengths and thus different quality of images produced. The higher the Tesla (T) rating of the MRI, the better the image produced. E.g. 1.5 T gives higher quality image than 0.5 T rating. A high quality image improves the accurate of the diagnosis. We recommend using MRI machines that have 1.5 T rating or higher. 1.5 T MRI machines are the standard in public hospitals.
(Note: We do not have any financial interest or relation with any of these facilities. All the following information are approximate and were obtain from the respective MRI facility websites or by phone.)
HIGH QUALITY MRI:
Facility
MRI strengthLocation Cost
MRI strengthLocation CostAccess MRI 1.5 T Surrey $875
1.5 T Surrey $875CMI 1.5 T Vancouver $895
1.5 T Vancouver $895CML 1.5 T Burnaby $875
1.5 T Burnaby $875False Creek MRI 3.0 T Vancouver $800
3.0 T Vancouver $800Fraser Valley MRI 1.5 T Abbotsford$750
1.5 T Abbotsford$750Med Ray Imaging 1.5 T Coquitlam ?
1.5 T Coquitlam ?Surrey MRI 1.5 T Surrey $595
1.5 T Surrey $595Priority MRI 3.0 T Richmond$800
3.0 T Richmond$800UNINSURED SERVICES
There are charges for insurance forms and medicolegal letters according to the British Columbia Medical Association guidelines.
Please check with the office regarding the fee for any specific item.
Figure 1. Regular or supine x-ray showing no joint space narrowing of the knee.
Figure 2. Standing x-ray of the same knee showing significant medial joint-space narrowing, indicating moderately severe medial arthritis.
