(Dec 3) I WAS injured in a rugby match in October and had to be stretchered off with my right leg swollen. I was subsequently taken to the A&E facility at the National University Hospital (NUH), where I told staff I had heard cracks when the injury occurred.

On being X-rayed, I asked the radiologist about the injury and was told that my ankle was all right, but I had suffered a fracture in the shin area. I was then told to wait for a doctor.

The doctor, however, told me I did not have any fracture and the cracks I heard probably came from my ligaments. I was not shown the X-ray and was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. I was given painkillers and crutches to walk; and an appointment with an orthopaedic specialist at Jurong Medical Centre two weeks later.

When the specialist saw the X-ray - which was sent directly to him - he told me I had indeed suffered a fracture. He pointed out the crack on my tibia on the X-ray.

In the two weeks after the injury, I had been moving around on crutches without the injured leg being immobilised. Fortunately, the fracture was not aggravated.The specialist sent me for another X-ray, and when it confirmed the crack, my leg was put in a cast.

Are doctors at accident and emergency units not trained to spot such cracks? Also, don't patients have a right to see their X-rays?

Muhammad Abu Sufian Hanafi