Plan
The order of operations before you travel — records, remote review, written quote, and the questions that must be answered in writing first.
The planning phase determines most of what follows. Two things matter more than anything else: the imaging has to arrive in a format a clinician can actually read, and the quote has to be itemised before you commit.
Records: get the images, not the report
A written radiology report is a summary written for the doctor who ordered the scan. It answers that doctor's question. When you ask for a review of your case, what is needed is the underlying image data.
- Ask the imaging provider for a DICOM export on disc or via a secure download, not a PDF and not a printed film.
- Request the report and the images together, and check the disc actually opens before you leave the department.
- Include prior imaging where you have it. Comparison against an older scan is often what changes an opinion.
- Carry a current medication list, allergy list, and any operative notes from previous surgery.
Remote review: what you are actually buying
A remote review is a clinician reading your images and reports and writing down what they see, what they would do, and what they would not do. Its scope and the clinician-patient relationship depend on the service and jurisdiction; confirm both with the provider.
Ask what you will receive. A useful output is written, specific, and names the findings it is based on. "Surgery is recommended" is not a review.
The quote: itemised, in writing
Before booking, get the estimate as a line-item list rather than a single figure. The point is not to negotiate; it is to find out which numbers are firm and which are estimates that depend on what the surgeon finds.
Questions to have answered in writing
- Who is the treating clinician, and who else will be in the operating theatre?
- How many nights of inpatient care are included?
- What is the plan if intraoperative findings differ from the imaging?
- Who do I contact after discharge, and in which language?
- Will I receive a discharge summary in English?
Articles in this section
Planning orthopaedic surgery in China: a preparation checklist
What actually has to happen between deciding on surgery and boarding the plane — records, remote review, an itemised quote, and a visa that fits the recovery rather than the operation.