vascular surgery in bangkok

[gamini]

I had contrast CT angiogram  done at the Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin. and have been diagnosed with artery blockage in both my lower legs. They said I had to go to Bangkok to have angioplasty or bypass. Bangkok Hospital quoted me a  too high price and I've had bad experiences with them overcharging.  Would Vejathani be cheaper.or possibly the private sector of Siriraj. What about Samitivej. At 88 and disabled I don't think I can manage having it done in a public hospital. Any advice would be appreciated
 

[Mel52]

I hope you’re ok. I had multiple invasive surgeries my last few years of my military career including back surgeries. I don’t know about vascular surgeries but the recovery period sucks. I hope you have insurance and access to one of the good hospitals. Some of my most invasive surgeries was actually in the middle of my military career for stage 3 cancer but I miraculously recovered from that within a year and got back into running marathons and back to work for me and I did alright. During the last year of my career though I started having lots of physical disabilities and I needed multiple invasive surgeries. Good luck I wish you good health.

 

 

 

 

[Mel52]

Government hospitals suck. You really need to have insurance and go to a private hospital where they’ll take good care of you. That’s what I do but I’m retired military. Are you a US military veteran? If so I can explain to you how they might be able to help you with insurance. You gotta take care of yourself and I don’t trust government hospitals here. I wouldn’t take my dog to a government hospital here it’s really sad. But the private hospitals are great and they’ll take care of you.

 

Talk to a moderator on here named Sheryl she might have some better advice for you regarding medical care. If you’re a military veteran let me know and I can tell you exactly what to do.

 

[Sheryl]

There are many excellent government teaching hospitals especially in Bangkok. But using them is not for the faint of heart and pretty much requires a Thai speaker at least initially -- lots of red tape (all of it in Thai), confusing beaurocracy, very long waits in very crowded and often quite uncomfortable conditions.

 

Siriraj private wing will cost less than Bangkok Hospital but not by a huge amounr. Maybe 15 - 20% less.

 

Samitivej would cost about the same as Bkk Hospital. Vejethani about the same as Siriraj private wing.

 

St. Louis Hospital and Bangkok Christian Hospital, both in the Silom area, might cost a little less but again not by much.

 

No matter what, if you do this as a private patient you are looking at probably over 250k baht. And that is assuming no complications.

 

Is a return to your home country for this possible?

 

 

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[oxysong]

"Any advice would be appreciated"   Mine would be forget Thailand,what you are wanting starts at 23000 baht..India     medifee.com    but at 88,doubts there

Edited July 2, 2019 by oxysong

[gamini]

7 hours ago, Sheryl said:

There are many excellent government teaching hospitals especially in Bangkok. But using them is not for the faint of heart and pretty much requires a Thai speaker at least initially -- lots of red tape (all of it in Thai), confusing beaurocracy, very long waits in very crowded and often quite uncomfortable conditions.

 

Siriraj private wing will cost less than Bangkok Hospital but not by a huge amounr. Maybe 15 - 20% less.

 

Samitivej would cost about the same as Bkk Hospital. Vejethani about the same as Siriraj private wing.

 

St. Louis Hospital and Bangkok Christian Hospital, both in the Silom area, might cost a little less but again not by much.

 

No matter what, if you do this as a private patient you are looking at probably over 250k baht. And that is assuming no complications.

 

Is a return to your home country for this possible?

 

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Sheryl said:

There are many excellent government teaching hospitals especially in Bangkok. But using them is not for the faint of heart and pretty much requires a Thai speaker at least initially -- lots of red tape (all of it in Thai), confusing beaurocracy, very long waits in very crowded and often quite uncomfortable conditions.

 

Siriraj private wing will cost less than Bangkok Hospital but not by a huge amounr. Maybe 15 - 20% less.

 

Samitivej would cost about the same as Bkk Hospital. Vejethani about the same as Siriraj private wing.

 

St. Louis Hospital and Bangkok Christian Hospital, both in the Silom area, might cost a little less but again not by much.

 

No matter what, if you do this as a private patient you are looking at probably over 250k baht. And that is assuming no complications.

 

Is a return to your home country for this possible?

 

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

Thanks very much Sheryl. Vejthani quoted BT 550,000 per leg. I have no insurance and I simply cannot afford it. I presume all the major Private hospitals  are about the same. The cost is only for angioplasty. There is no mention of stents or bypass surgery. It seems we are talking about millions of baht. I am 88 years old and wheelchair bound with a lot of other medical problems  So a government hospital would be a real hassle. Even getting  to Bangkok from where I live is a bit of a problem. My wife is not well so she could not come with me. But I'm wondering what would happen if I turned up at Siricha hospital emergency. I have a 30 bt health card which provides me with emergency treatment anywhere in Thailand. For nonemergency I would have to go all the way to Chiangmai which with my disability is very difficult and again I would face a lot of red tape. I have only used my health card once for a small emergency and I was treated very badly, not because I was a foreigner but because they told me they had to attend to all the other Thais first who were paying money instead of using their cards.

I really don't know what to do.  I have been living mostly in Thailand for 55 years. I have both UK and New Zealand citizenship but I don't know a soul in either country and have no relatives left. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated

 

[Sheryl]

To start with let's get clear on how on earth do you have a 30 baht card ?

 

Foreigners are not eligible for them.

 

???

 

If this was issued in Chiang Mai a few years ago for a fee of about 2600 baht it is no longer valid anywhere for anything.

 

The only way you could have a 30 baht card valid now would be if you had Thai citizenship. In which case you need only to change your tabian ban listing to be eligible for non emergency care locally.

 

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[oxysong]

Only practical solution would be to get back to NZ or UK as quickly as you can.  No help forthcoming,medically,that must be obvious.   Lie flat bed,business class non stop,with a partner to look after you,then social services into a care home

[gamini]

On 7/2/2019 at 5:41 PM, Sheryl said:

To start with let's get clear on how on earth do you have a 30 baht card ?

 

Foreigners are not eligible for them.

 

???

 

If this was issued in Chiang Mai a few years ago for a fee of about 2600 baht it is no longer valid anywhere for anything.

 

The only way you could have a 30 baht card valid now would be if you had Thai citizenship. In which case you need only to change your tabian ban listing to be eligible for non emergency care locally.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

How I got my 30 baht card is a long story so I will PM you.

A Thai doctor friend advised me to go to the emergency in Ramatibodi hospital claiming it was the best in Thailand. I went there on Friday and was very impressed , very streamlined and modern indeed. they were very overcrowded but the staff were incredibly efficient. Even though it was a long and uncomfortable ordeal of eight hours lying on a hard stretcher packed like sardines and nothing to eat or drink, they put me through a whole range of tests, including ultrasound x-rays heart tests, blood tests, in fact everything possible. The vascular surgeon saw me twice spending a total of more than an hour examining me and has arranged to operate on me at the main hospital on Wednesday. The cost will be less than half  what the private hospitals quoted. They did not consider the operation an emergency so I could not use my free healthcare card. The bill including doctors and specialist fees and all the tests and take home medicine came to under BT 3000.

The biggest problem was that no one spoke English, not even the nurses. I took my friend's Thai wife and my niece with me because my wife is not well. But they were pretty useless because they did not understand the nurses technical questions. You need to take a very well educated Thai with you.