to those who past lung scar i need your thoughts on this

[S1mone 1]

Hello friends. I am a july filer and just got our noa2 on oct 28. Kinda anxious with the medical exam. Is there anyone who has past lung scar from the philippines whose medical exam got approved and hasnt undergone sputum and culture test? I just had my chest xray from Makati Med and it says that I have no significant result chest findings and that my sputum tests in Makati Med are all negative from AFB. I just would like to know if the result they would see the same result as in Makati medical do I still need to undergo sputum test? Or is it as good as normal chest result? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K1 Process to Phil. Regional Forum~

~Inquiry is country-specific~

[six7one 17]

SLEC will require their own Chest X-Ray at their own facility. Everything depends on the SLEC CXR. Tests at another facility will give you a hope of being clear or not. Lots of threads on this topic here in VJ.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Hello friends. I am a july filer and just got our noa2 on oct 28. Kinda anxious with the medical exam. Is there anyone who has past lung scar from the philippines whose medical exam got approved and hasnt undergone sputum and culture test? I just had my chest xray from Makati Med and it says that I have no significant result chest findings and that my sputum tests in Makati Med are all negative from AFB. I just would like to know if the result they would see the same result as in Makati medical do I still need to undergo sputum test? Or is it as good as normal chest result? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

St. Luke's will do their own x-rays. You can bring your medical records along, they may be helpful, but not sure I would be holding my breath.

[jhammin 4]

Hello friends. I am a july filer and just got our noa2 on oct 28. Kinda anxious with the medical exam. Is there anyone who has past lung scar from the philippines whose medical exam got approved and hasnt undergone sputum and culture test? I just had my chest xray from Makati Med and it says that I have no significant result chest findings and that my sputum tests in Makati Med are all negative from AFB. I just would like to know if the result they would see the same result as in Makati medical do I still need to undergo sputum test? Or is it as good as normal chest result? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Been there done that. lol. I believed u still gets Sputum. Dont worry ull be fine! 2months waiting is not that bad! If you have TB before and got cured the scar is still in there. SLEC is very strict. Youll see.

Goodluck!

[S1mone 1]

Thank you all for your responses. So all applicants who have past lung scar may it from PTb or other pulmonary infection and even if the result has no significant findings on chest still has to undergo sputum test.

[apple21 953]

I had pneumonia in 2009. The doctor found "dots" on my right lung and I was put in antibiotics. I got better but I haven't done any follow-up chest xrays since then. I did advance medical at SLEC last year because I was afraid that the "dots" would still appear, thankfully they were no longer there. No sputum for me.

Good luck!

Edited October 31, 2014 by apple21

[S1mone 1]

I had pneumonia in 2009. The doctor found "dots" on my right lung and I was put in antibiotics. I got better but I haven't done any follow-up chest xrays since then. I did advance medical at SLEC last year because I was afraid that the "dots" would still appear, thankfully they were no longer there. No sputum for me.

Good luck!

Thank you friend for your response. Hopefully my case is also the same. Thanks again

[Al422 221]

I hear that SLEC xray machines are very high resolution, picking up things a lot of other xray machines miss. So anothre xray machine clearing you does not mean SLEC will clear you too.

All you can do is go there and see what happens.

Good luck to you.

[Natanloupan 11]

My wife had scars on her x-ray at St. Lukes and needed the sputum . The delay was 2-3 months for the results . This was a number of years ago and when we met she went to the medical and no sputum was needed . Her x-ray was totally clear infact and the doctor was amazed over it . If possible as others have suggested do the medical early and do bring the x-rays you have with you . Delays in the journey are rough to deal with , but do try to remain positive and plan ahead such as going early to the medical . My wife was a nervous wreck going back to the medical and it was a breeze for her . Hopefully the outcome will be the same for you as well .

[chillin4me 15]

Hello friends. I am a july filer and just got our noa2 on oct 28. Kinda anxious with the medical exam. Is there anyone who has past lung scar from the philippines whose medical exam got approved and hasnt undergone sputum and culture test? I just had my chest xray from Makati Med and it says that I have no significant result chest findings and that my sputum tests in Makati Med are all negative from AFB. I just would like to know if the result they would see the same result as in Makati medical do I still need to undergo sputum test? Or is it as good as normal chest result? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

HI,

My mom had to undergo all through that. She had her SLEC medical exam May 2014.

She had history of active TB 20yrs ago, TB will leave scar to your lungs forever. So before her medical exam at SLEC we already know about it. She went to her own Pulmonologist/Doctor to have chest x-ray and sputum exam, x-ray saw the scar which is expected, sputum came back negative of TB. So she flew to Manila to have SLEC medical exam brought all her past x-rays and medical report from her doctor, 1st day of ME came back with a bad news that she had to undergo sputum exam, we kinda expected this but as I researched about the process it will delay the immigration process by 2months and it is very frustrating. But we don't have a choice but comply with their rules. (SLEC won't honor any other medical reports and laboratory results even from St. Luke's hospital) Then she had the 3-day sputum exam, then on her 4th day, she was given instructions for the next steps which is the date when she needs to call for the results of the sputum exam and it was around 2month after that day (July 2014), and if she receives a call within the 2month period it mean she is positive with TB. Fortunately the day that she needs to call SLEC came without a call from them, I was the one who called them for the results. They don't really give the result over the phone but instead they will give you schedule (date and time) to when you need to come in and finish the medical exam. So she went to SLEC on her schedule, talked to SLEC doctor, told her to have a follow up medical exam once she arrives in the US. Sputum exam is negative and she continued the rest of medical exam process. After all that process, we have to reschedule the interview in the US embassy, so I called USEM and scheduled the interview to the earliest available which is 5days after her medical exam. Interview was approved. POE: August 2014. It was September 2014 we received a call from the County health department regarding my mom's Tb results. (USCIS or Homeland security might endorsed her case to them) My mom had to undergo X-ray and sputum exam again. Results are the same with SLEC results and right now she just needs to do physical exam with the doctor here.

I think the key in the process is to have a lot patience and positive thinking, it will take time and may cost a lot but it is all worth it. Good luck to you.

[S1mone 1]

My wife had scars on her x-ray at St. Lukes and needed the sputum . The delay was 2-3 months for the results . This was a number of years ago and when we met she went to the medical and no sputum was needed . Her x-ray was totally clear infact and the doctor was amazed over it . If possible as others have suggested do the medical early and do bring the x-rays you have with you . Delays in the journey are rough to deal with , but do try to remain positive and plan ahead such as going early to the medical . My wife was a nervous wreck going back to the medical and it was a breeze for her . Hopefully the outcome will be the same for you as well .

Thank you so much for your response. I am hoping for the best. But if I had to undergo the sputum test I am also okay with that 2 months is not that long enough. Thank you again!

HI,

My mom had to undergo all through that. She had her SLEC medical exam May 2014.

She had history of active TB 20yrs ago, TB will leave scar to your lungs forever. So before her medical exam at SLEC we already know about it. She went to her own Pulmonologist/Doctor to have chest x-ray and sputum exam, x-ray saw the scar which is expected, sputum came back negative of TB. So she flew to Manila to have SLEC medical exam brought all her past x-rays and medical report from her doctor, 1st day of ME came back with a bad news that she had to undergo sputum exam, we kinda expected this but as I researched about the process it will delay the immigration process by 2months and it is very frustrating. But we don't have a choice but comply with their rules. (SLEC won't honor any other medical reports and laboratory results even from St. Luke's hospital) Then she had the 3-day sputum exam, then on her 4th day, she was given instructions for the next steps which is the date when she needs to call for the results of the sputum exam and it was around 2month after that day (July 2014), and if she receives a call within the 2month period it mean she is positive with TB. Fortunately the day that she needs to call SLEC came without a call from them, I was the one who called them for the results. They don't really give the result over the phone but instead they will give you schedule (date and time) to when you need to come in and finish the medical exam. So she went to SLEC on her schedule, talked to SLEC doctor, told her to have a follow up medical exam once she arrives in the US. Sputum exam is negative and she continued the rest of medical exam process. After all that process, we have to reschedule the interview in the US embassy, so I called USEM and scheduled the interview to the earliest available which is 5days after her medical exam. Interview was approved. POE: August 2014. It was September 2014 we received a call from the County health department regarding my mom's Tb results. (USCIS or Homeland security might endorsed her case to them) My mom had to undergo X-ray and sputum exam again. Results are the same with SLEC results and right now she just needs to do physical exam with the doctor here.

I think the key in the process is to have a lot patience and positive thinking, it will take time and may cost a lot but it is all worth it. Good luck to you.

Thank you so much for your reply. It is very helpful. I just hope that all results are negative. I am okay to wait for two months i think thats better than not to see my fiance at all. Thanks again.