Start With the Function You Have Lost, Not Just the Diagnosis
Hand tendon repair treats damaged tendons, and follow-up therapy may form part of the individual care plan. That single sentence hides the detail that matters most for communication: which tendon, which finger or thumb movement is affected, and what you can and cannot do with the hand now. A home clinician reading a referral that says only "tendon injury" cannot compare it with a China assessment. A China clinician reading a home note that says only "weak grip" cannot plan around your actual deficit.
Before you contact anyone, write a short functional description in plain language. For example: I cannot fully bend the index finger into the palm; I cannot pinch a key between thumb and index; I can lift a mug but not a full kettle. Add when the injury happened, whether there was an operation or splinting, and what has changed since. This is not a substitute for clinical assessment. It is the shared reference point that lets two teams discuss the same hand.
Ask your home team to confirm the functional description in writing if they can. If they cannot, send your own description and ask the China team whether it is specific enough for an initial review. A vague history is not a reason to delay urgent local care, but it is a reason to expect that the first remote opinion will be provisional.
What Records Actually Travel Well Between Teams
Records that travel well are the ones another clinician can read without your explanation. Operative notes, discharge summaries, clinic letters, imaging reports and therapy notes are more useful than a folder of unlabelled photographs. If you have imaging on disc or in a portal, ask whether the receiving team can access the images themselves, not only the radiologist's report. A report describes what one radiologist saw; the images let the China hand surgeon form an independent view.
For a tendon problem, the most useful items are usually the original injury description, any operation note, the current therapy plan if you are having hand therapy, and a clear statement of what your home team considers the remaining problem. If a record is missing, say so rather than filling the gap with your own interpretation. Ask the China team what they would need to make the review more specific, and ask your home team whether they can provide it.
Do not send a complete lifelong archive in the first message. A short summary plus the key documents is easier to route. You can share more after the first contact. The initial enquiry is free and is not a diagnosis or a promise of acceptance.
Ask How Surgery, Hand Therapy and Follow-Up Would Be Sequenced
The question that decides whether China care is practical is not only "can the tendon be repaired?" It is "what happens after the repair, and where?" Hand tendon repair is often followed by a therapy programme, and the timing and intensity of that programme are clinical decisions for the treating team. Ask the China team to describe, in writing, the sequence they would propose for your case: what happens before surgery, what happens during the admission, when therapy would start, how long you would need to stay in China for that therapy, and what monitoring or therapy would continue after you return home.
Then ask your home team a matching question: if the repair were done in China, what could they provide locally after your return? A hand therapist at home may be willing to continue a programme designed by the China team, but that depends on their own assessment, their scope of practice and their availability. Do not assume that any clinician will accept an overseas plan. Ask directly, and ask what information they would need from the China team to make that decision.
If the two sequences do not fit together, that is important information before you travel. It may mean a longer stay, a different setting, or a decision to have the procedure closer to home. None of those outcomes is a failure of the enquiry. They are the reason to ask before booking anything.
Put Your Questions in Writing and Ask for Written Answers
Spoken explanations in a second language are easy to misremember. Send your questions by email or a shared document, and ask for answers in writing. Keep the list short and specific. Good questions include: Which tendon or tendons do you consider involved, based on the records? What additional assessment would you need in person? What are the main alternatives to surgery in my case? What are the risks you would discuss with me before I consent? How would therapy be sequenced, and what would my home team need to continue it? What would you need from my home team before I travel?
Ask the China team to state clearly what is confirmed and what remains provisional. A records-based opinion is not the same as an in-person assessment, and it does not establish final eligibility or hospital acceptance. If a reply says "we can treat this," ask what that means in practice: an appointment request, a provisional plan, or a confirmed admission. Those are different stages, and you should know which one you have.
Ask your home team to reply in the same document where possible. A single thread with both teams' answers reduces the chance that each side is working from a different version of your history.
What a Reply Confirms, and What It Does Not
A written reply from a China hand surgery team can confirm that they have reviewed your records, that they consider a particular problem worth assessing in person, and what further information they would need. It can describe a provisional sequence of surgery and therapy. It does not confirm that you are suitable for a specific operation, that a bed or operating slot is available, that a particular surgeon will perform the procedure, or that your home team will accept the follow-up plan. Those are separate confirmations, and each depends on the treating clinicians and the hospital.
A reply from your home team can confirm what they are willing to do after your return, subject to their own assessment. It does not transfer responsibility to the China team, and it does not guarantee that the home team will agree with the China plan. If the home team says they cannot continue a specific therapy programme, ask what they can offer instead and share that answer with the China team before you travel.
Treat every reply as one step in a sequence. The useful question after each reply is: what is still undecided, and who needs to decide it?
If a Step Cannot Be Completed, Adjust the Plan Rather Than the Facts
Sometimes a record cannot be found, a home clinician does not reply, or the China team says the records are not sufficient for a remote view. The fallback is not to invent detail or to send a more confident summary than the evidence supports. Say what is missing, ask what can be done without it, and ask whether an in-person assessment would be more informative than further remote review.
If your home team cannot commit to follow-up, ask the China team what monitoring or therapy options they would propose for someone returning to a setting without hand therapy. If the China team cannot give a clear sequence, ask whether a different setting or a local assessment would be more appropriate. A recent injury needs local urgent care, not an overseas enquiry. Do not delay that assessment.
For elective assessment of an old or stable tendon problem, the practical next step is a short summary through the enquiry form, email or WhatsApp. An initial enquiry is free and does not require buying a proxy consultation. ChinaSpecialistCare can help with records, interpretation and specialist appointment requests where those are relevant, but clinical assessment, suitability and hospital acceptance remain with the treating clinicians.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.