A man in Fujian, China has gone viral after undergoing five different medical procedures within just five days during a rare period of medical leave, in what netizens have dubbed an “efficient but extreme” health overhaul.
The man, identified by his online username “Left Ear Old Bear”, shared his experience on Chinese social media platform Douyin, attracting widespread attention for his unusual approach to tackling multiple health issues at once.
He reportedly suffered from left ear hearing loss and decided to undergo cochlear implant surgery ahead of the May Day holiday period. Taking advantage of his limited time off work, he opted to address several other medical conditions during the same hospital stay.
Over the five-day period, he underwent cochlear implant surgery, a gastroscopy, removal of two wisdom teeth, haemorrhoid surgery, and nasal turbinate reduction.
His decision to combine multiple operations was driven by the difficulty of obtaining extended leave from work and the fact that he was already scheduled for general anaesthesia, leading him to “solve all problems at once”.
The unusual “surgical marathon” quickly went viral online, with netizens joking that he had “maximised efficiency” and “won big in life”. Some even commented humorously on how he seemed to have made full use of pain medication and recovery time.
However, the man later admitted that the experience was extremely painful. He said the wisdom tooth extraction made eating difficult, haemorrhoid surgery caused severe discomfort during bowel movements, and nasal surgery affected his breathing. He also noted that adjusting to the cochlear implant was initially uncomfortable.
Despite the humour online, many netizens also raised concerns, suggesting that such a concentrated series of surgeries should have required more careful medical assessment rather than being done within such a short timeframe.
