Back from May-June Europe Trip - mostly France.

[anethum]

$20 is highway robbery for removing stitches.
The fee reflected the assessment for complications such as infection.

Not in the USA!

My friend was concerned that there might be an infection, and I specifically asked the doctor about that, so you're absolutely correct. The doctor assured my friend that the color which had concerned my friend, was perfectly normal, and that everything was healing properly.

The thing which was amusing was that up until the very end of the consultation, I had been translating English->French and French->English for both my friend and the French doctor. Then, the last couple of sentences out of the doctor's mouth were spoken in decent English directly to my friend. I never had asked him if he spoke English, and I suspect he found our visit somewhat amusing. Anyway, my French is quite good so I was happy to translate.