Heart Bypass Surgery In Bangkok?

[TomBell]

I'm an American living in the Philippines and am in need (say the docs) of a triple or quadruple bypass surgery.

 

As this is all happening with pretty much zero dollars, I am working on getting some money together now..

 

My question (s) are:

 

Best place in Thailand to do it?

Best hospital in that area?

How much on average "all in" to get it done on average?

Im hoping to find a good deal on a GREAT medical team if I can. Anyone who has been through something like this?

[Nyezhov]

I had a stent at BNH in January, 2019 and was very pleased with the treatment I received from the Cardimetabolic lab at BNH and Dr. Jiranut. I assume that before being referred to a cardiac surgeon, you will need tests so you may wish to consult with them. I dont know whether they do heart surgery there, I was stented there though.

 

My other consulting intervention cardiologist was Dr Wacin Buddhari at Chulalongkorn Hospital. My understanding is that he was one of the consulting docs for very high personages.

 

Both of those Docs speak English and are US educated and certified. I think you will do better with a referral from a cardiologist vis a vis finding a surgeon on Thai Visa.

 

Good luck and god speed

[Nyezhov]

addendum: I would assume that one of the surgeons here http://chulacardiaccenter.org/en/services/cardiac-surgery/139 would ultimately be recomended. They seem to be the ones chest cutting over at Bumrumgrad too and have done heart transplants. But I would find a cardiologist first.

 

Mine was sort of an emergency and I originally went to Samitivaj in THonburi and was transferred to BNH. They dont do your type of surgery at BNH but I bet if you could have it done at Chula that would be a hell of a lot cheaper than the private places.

 

If I have a choice I want an American trained doctor. My doc in the states (Duke Univ) looked at my records and watched the surgery (on disc) and said the dudes there did an excellent job.

 

One of the mods here (cant remeber which one) has his finger on the pulse of medical care in Thailand and Im sure he will chime in.

 

Seriously dude, good luck, funkiness in the old ticker is some scary s**t. Like my plug was in the widowmaker.....

 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Nyezhov

[Cadbury]

There is a cardiologist at the Central General Hospital in Bangkhen, Bangkok. He does a GP locum there on a Saturday morning. Not sure of his name. 

A visit to him, including tests, stress ECG, some time back alerted me to the fact I needed some work doing on my heart. As I still have hospital insurance back in Australia I went there for more extensive (CT stress) tests and learned I needed a valve replacement and a double bypass. 

In a matter of days I was in a private hospital in Melbourne and and had an angiogram after which the procedure was carried out successfully. Doctors pre warned me, like they do all patients, there is an average patient, on the table, fatality rate of 2% for open heart surgery. 

I was in hospital for about 10 days. It takes about 3 months to fully recover. It cost me only AUD$500 insurance excess and I am guessing the bill paid by the insurers would have been between $80,000 to $100,000.

Chest pains have gone, I have more energy and all I need to do now is to get some fitness. My Melbourne surgeon told me I now have a heart which is 30 years younger than the rest of my body.

Two things:

1. you need to be prepared for post op recovery and you will need support for that. 

2. Like Nyezhov said, you need to see a cardiologist to get an opinion and recommendation.

Good luck

Edited August 16, 2019 by Cadbury

[Chicksaw]

Repost to the med subforum and wait for Sheryl to respond.

[moonseeker]

Wait for Sheryl to answer, she will give you accurate info or contact her by email. 

Better get the cash ready, TH is not cheap. 

Best of luck. MS>

[1FinickyOne]

4 hours ago, TomBell said:

Im hoping to find a good deal on a GREAT medical team

It seems so many people are in need of bypass lately... 

 

My father in law just had it in a Thai government hospital... he was in surgery for 11 hours and they said he is lucky to be alive. As stated above, 3 months is needed for recovery and he has the assistance of 4 devoted daughters. 6 weeks out and he still uses a walker to hobble around. I am also pretty sure the recovery meds will be expensive too.

 

I would definitely want a 2nd opinion, unless your symptoms are severe and obvious. Maybe you can get away with a stent. My stent done in a good private hospital in Thailand was $10k US... and I am pretty sure it is up 25% since then.

 

Good luck to you. 

[Nyezhov]

26 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

I. My stent done in a good private hospital in Thailand was $10k US... and I am pretty sure it is up 25% since then.

 

Good luck to you. 

Damn close dude, good call. Me, I  started 0830am ER in Samitivej, Ambulance to BNH, tests and echo and stent all finished in BNH by 15:30, two nights BNH, one night back at Samitivej. Gave them 20K cash in the ER, got the bill, worked them down line by line (got to watch the double charges), got another discount on top of that, grabbed some nice hugs from the milfy Samitivej accounting lady, gave them another 80K, had her sign the revised bill which I also signed and gave her my passport to show my good faith  until I could get back the next day with the rest of the cash. Total came to about $14 large USD.

 

Money well spent. They could have found me in a chair all swole up and smelly. Yuck. I had the AC off in the heat. Uggg. Maybe I would have popped and the place would have been a mess. Would have sucked to be my landlord.

 

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Damn close dude, good call. Me, I  started 0830am ER in Samitivej, Ambulance to BNH, tests and echo and stent all finished in BNH by 15:30, two nights BNH, one night back at Samitivej. Gave them 20K cash in the ER, got the bill, worked them down line by line (got to watch the double charges), got another discount on top of that, grabbed some nice hugs from the milfy Samitivej accounting lady, gave them another 80K, had her sign the revised bill which I also signed and gave her my passport to show my good faith  until I could get back the next day with the rest of the cash. Total came to about $14 large USD.

 

Money well spent. They could have found me in a chair all swole up and smelly. Yuck. I had the AC off in the heat. Uggg. Maybe I would have popped and the place would have been a mess. Would have sucked to be my landlord.

 

My stent was not emergency but from ICU back to ICU was 1 hour... I think putting the stent in was about 15 minutes... fully awake, did not feel a thing. 

 

I am sure all Millwall rejoices. 

[Nyezhov]

5 hours ago, kenk24 said:

My stent was not emergency but from ICU back to ICU was 1 hour... I think putting the stent in was about 15 minutes... fully awake, did not feel a thing. 

 

I am sure all Millwall rejoices. 

Wow I felt it when they inflated the balloon before putting in the stent. Chest pain to the max.

[highland66]

Thanks for the replies...I'm trying to help my buddy (the original poster) gather a few other bits of information to help him out. Specifically: 

[highland66]

(Sorry for the accidental double post.) Thanks for the replies...I'm trying to help my buddy (the original poster) gather a few other bits of information to help him out. Specifically: 

 

- I recently had some hand surgery done at Pattaya Bangkok hospital and received excellent care. To my surprise, my final bill was LESS than the amount they estimated it would be. Bumrungrad has a reputation for being fantastic, but expensive, and in my friend's case, gathering the funds for the bypass won't be easy. Any thoughts on whether he might receive the same level of care at Pattaya Bangkok hospital (for significantly cheaper) versus Bumrungrad? 

 

- For those of you who have had this procedure done in Thailand, would you advise my friend to book a plane ticket (he is coming from the Philippines), show up at the hospital, and figure on staying a week? Will this likely involve multiple appointments before they schedule the procedure, or could it be like my hand surgery, where I showed up in the morning, saw a specialist within a couple of hours, and had my surgery booked later that day? 

 

- Given the seriousness of the procedure, do you think he would instructed to stay in the hospital for a period of time, or could he get it done and fly back to the Philippines after a day or two? 

 

- Would his filipina fiancee be allowed to stay overnight in the room with him, or would she need to book a hotel? (Which would be another added expense...) 

 

I don't want to ask a million questions, but your first-hand experiences with this matter are hugely appreciated because as far as I know, it isn't possible to call the hospital in advance and get these types of questions answered. The more information we can gather before he gets on a plane, the better. Thank you! 

Edited August 17, 2019 by highland66
accidentally posted more than once, needed to fix it

[payanak]

14 hours ago, TomBell said:

Im hoping to find a good deal on a GREAT medical team if I can.

I can certainly understand your concerns but you need to try and apply a little common sense here.  If you were part of a GREAT team would you and your team be working at a discount?  Well ... would you?

Cost should be one of the lesser concerns in making your decision where and with whom to trust your life.  Unfortunately it is almost impossible for the consumer to make truly informed decisions on where to receive their health care.  Best of luck to you.

[SantiSuk]

2 hours ago, highland66 said:

(Sorry for the accidental double post.) Thanks for the replies...I'm trying to help my buddy (the original poster) gather a few other bits of information to help him out. Specifically: 

 

- I recently had some hand surgery done at Pattaya Bangkok hospital and received excellent care. To my surprise, my final bill was LESS than the amount they estimated it would be. Bumrungrad has a reputation for being fantastic, but expensive, and in my friend's case, gathering the funds for the bypass won't be easy. Any thoughts on whether he might receive the same level of care at Pattaya Bangkok hospital (for significantly cheaper) versus Bumrungrad? 

 

- For those of you who have had this procedure done in Thailand, would you advise my friend to book a plane ticket (he is coming from the Philippines), show up at the hospital, and figure on staying a week? Will this likely involve multiple appointments before they schedule the procedure, or could it be like my hand surgery, where I showed up in the morning, saw a specialist within a couple of hours, and had my surgery booked later that day? 

 

- Given the seriousness of the procedure, do you think he would instructed to stay in the hospital for a period of time, or could he get it done and fly back to the Philippines after a day or two? 

 

- Would his filipina fiancee be allowed to stay overnight in the room with him, or would she need to book a hotel? (Which would be another added expense...) 

 

I don't want to ask a million questions, but your first-hand experiences with this matter are hugely appreciated because as far as I know, it isn't possible to call the hospital in advance and get these types of questions answered. The more information we can gather before he gets on a plane, the better. Thank you! 

So how does your friend know he needs a triple bypass. Has he already had an angiogram or a coronary artery CT scan? If so does he have the plates/disc and cardiologist's recommendations?

 

If yes then he should (obviously) bring them with him to his eventually chosen hospital so that the cardio surgeon can determine what his plan of attack is and how long to schedule the actual surgery. Also bring EKGs', echocardiograms, blood test results. These would have to be done again if recent ones are not available - and will be donme again in the pre-prep day in any event.

 

He should schedule an appointment with a cardio surgeon before flying. Probably makes sense to have a phone appointment first as the surgeon may need to make adjustments to his existing meds for a period before surgery. It nmay be taht the surgeon would insist on seeing the patient phsically before being prepared to book surgery which could add a couple of days to the programme

 

Bumrungrad would be the place to go for quick response but it might cost ThB 1.2 million (based on my triple bypass there 2 months ago; I was quoted that amount but paid 1.3 million, having had some complications which extended my stay - my experience generally with Bum is not consistent with the Bum-sceptics on Thaivisa (most of whom have prpobably not used the place) in that that they are more likely to be under their estimate than over). Others posters on other threads have touted around costs as low as ThB 800k at other international hospitals but be aware that the quality of English from all the staff he deals with will probably be less fluent than at Bumrungrad and I don't believe any other hospital would have the resources to schedule a quick turnaround operation as at Bumrungrad. A bar friend of mine mentioned that a friend of his had a bypass at a naval hospital in Sattahip that cost only some ThB 300k. I have no further details on that! You can usually phone up Bum's excellent fluent English call centre and get a same day appointment with a genuine specialist (maybe next day for the surgeon). Bum have several experienced surgeons on their books, which increases the possibility of getting a quick response for the operation.

 

The programmed timing for my operation was:

Day 1 - pre-preparation (scans, blood tests, pharmacist visit) - stay in hospital overnight pre-operation

Day 2 - operation and stay in ICU

Day 3-4 - stay in ICU

Day 5-9 - recovery in hospital bedroom, including daily cardio-rehab (last 4 days including gym time)

 

Although I was released (after 11 days in my case, as I had to have extra treatment for arterial fibrilation - a not infrequent complication) I was advised not to fly for one week thereafter and not to drive for 6 weeks after the date of surgery. I believe this is standard.
 

One or two days after the operation he will not want to go outside his ICU room let alone fly to the Philipines !!! This is a serious operation which takes a few days to recover limited mobility (like going to the toilet) and a few weeks to get over the sternum pains - he has after all been cracked open like a nut and those ribs and associated nerves take time to knit together. That said it is tolerable with the pain-relief medication he will receive - morphine-level pain relief for a couple of days and 8 paracetemol a day for a couple of weeks (with the ability to call for something stronger on an as-required basis).

 

Hope this helps. There are other threads on bypass operations if you search.

 

Edit: No problem with a friend/relative staying with the patient in Thailand - in fact it seems to be welcomed. Can be uncomfortable for them in big shared wards but comfortable (sofas and bedding provided) in the single rooms you would likely buy in the international hospitals.

Edited August 17, 2019 by SantiSuk

[TomBell]

Santisuk, Thanks for that. Yes, I have a 6 week old Angiogram and failed angioplasty from the states where the doc said "lets try meds" (Translation "you don't have insurance or cash, so no bypass for you") And all the tests, workups, etc I can pass along to the docs in Thailand

 

The 800K to 1.3M figure is a LOT scarier than I had been hearing though, Looks like ill have to crank the begging even higher amongst family & friends..

[TomBell]

Also, anyone have any experience with Malaysia? I've heard good things, and potentially lower prices?

[Nyezhov]

4 minutes ago, TomBell said:

Also, anyone have any experience with Malaysia? I've heard good things, and potentially lower prices?

Dont cheap out on the ticker, dude, its the only one you got.

[TomBell]

12 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Dont cheap out on the ticker, dude, its the only one you got.

I agree 100%, Problem is, all this came with pretty much NO money on my part, so Im scraping up funds now. 

[lopburi3]

Suspect you should check out India as Thailand/Malaysia is not likely to be any cheaper than Philippines and likely more and Filipina would likely be able to communicate better as all will speak English.  India should be cheaper and is not that much further if flying from Philippines.  Calcutta would likely be the normal destination from this area.  

[Nyezhov]

8 minutes ago, TomBell said:

I agree 100%, Problem is, all this came with pretty much NO money on my part, so Im scraping up funds now. 

Go to the states, clutch your chest in the ER and just suck up the cost. Promise to pay them $100 a month. No one in the US gets turned away for an emergency, and they dont hold ya hostage either.

[Sheryl]

Stents are not comparable to bypass and the latter requires different type of doctor (cardiothoracic surgeon).

In a private hospital in Thailand this will run about 600k baht assuming no complications. Maybe 150k in a govt hodpital but there will be long waits and red tape and you need a Thai speaker to help you navigate and due to the waits you'll have more hotel bills.

Both private and govt hospitals you'll have significant hotel costs post op as it will be at least 2 weeks before you can fly.

Taking travel, hotel etc costs into account I would think it would not save money vs having it done in the Philippines...

As you are going to travel anyhow I would suggest India (private hospital) rather than Thailand, much less expensive....assuming you cannot go back to your home country and get it done there under Medicare or national health service.

This is not something you want to delay. If you need this you are at immminent risk of a major heart attack.

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

[IraqRon]

Well Tom this is hard to say, but with no money to your name maybe you should just bite the bullet and accept that your days are numbered and go peaceably into the nite.  Do you think yoour friends. etc. should spend their limited funds to prolong your life?

[SantiSuk]

Airlines would not carry you if they knew and a UK cardio specialist advised me not to travel to the UK. By the way my Thai bill was a helluva lot but in line with UK private health costs - I know that cos my UK insurer paid 98% of the bill and only pays up to levels capped by their schedule of costs that have been agreed by UK insurers with UK health providers. Us would be twice the cost for private care I think.

[SantiSuk]

Imminent risk of a heart attack Sheryl? Bit strong if his cardio has set him up with the right protective drugs - Plavix, Cloppidogrel etc? Agree he should want to do it quickly nonetheless.

[Nyezhov]

53 minutes ago, IraqRon said:

Well Tom this is hard to say, but with no money to your name maybe you should just bite the bullet and accept that your days are numbered and go peaceably into the nite.  Do you think yoour friends. etc. should spend their limited funds to prolong your life?

Thats a pretty <snip> up thing to say.

[highland66]

4 hours ago, payanak said:

I can certainly understand your concerns but you need to try and apply a little common sense here.  If you were part of a GREAT team would you and your team be working at a discount?  Well ... would you?

Cost should be one of the lesser concerns in making your decision where and with whom to trust your life.  Unfortunately it is almost impossible for the consumer to make truly informed decisions on where to receive their health care.  Best of luck to you.

Obviously no one wants to "cut corners" on a critical heart operation to try to save themselves some baht. But this is a situation where he will be able to raise a fixed amount of money. (Let's say, $20,000 USD.) Would he most likely get the same end result at Bumrungrad hospital, as he would at a hospital like Pattaya Bangkok? If the same procedure at Bumrungrad (with its five-star luxurious reputation) would cost $30,000, and it would cost $19,000 at Pattaya Bangkok, then what? This would be a question for someone who has undergone the procedure somewhere besides Bumrungrad. At any rate, all input is much appreciated.  

[Nyezhov]

1 hour ago, SantiSuk said:

Airlines would not carry you if they knew and a UK cardio specialist advised me not to travel to the UK. By the way my Thai bill was a helluva lot but in line with UK private health costs - I know that cos my UK insurer paid 98% of the bill and only pays up to levels capped by their schedule of costs that have been agreed by UK insurers with UK health providers. Us would be twice the cost for private care I think.

I was on a no fly for 30 days. I was on a no lifting more than 5 pounds for two weeks (more of a femoral artery thing). No ladies or even a wank either. Walking was ok. Couldnt even carry a camera though.

[highland66]

1 hour ago, IraqRon said:

Well Tom this is hard to say, but with no money to your name maybe you should just bite the bullet and accept that your days are numbered and go peaceably into the nite.  Do you think yoour friends. etc. should spend their limited funds to prolong your life?

Was this really "hard for you to say?" Somehow I doubt it. 

[zorrow424]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Suspect you should check out India as Thailand/Malaysia is not likely to be any cheaper than Philippines and likely more and Filipina would likely be able to communicate better as all will speak English.  India should be cheaper and is not that much further if flying from Philippines.  Calcutta would likely be the normal destination from this area.  

$2000 there

[Nyezhov]

2 hours ago, zorrow424 said:

$2000 there

One of the problems with India is that all the well trained Doctors go to the USA. 40000 of them.

 

Indian hospitals are sketchy.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-medicine-education-specialrepor/special-report-why-indias-medical-schools-are-plagued-with-fraud-idUSKBN0OW1NM20150617

 

I repeat to the OP. If you havent the funds and are stable enough to fly, get to ghetto LA and head for an emergency room and clutch your chest. Its basically free then, offer them $100 a month.

 

Remember...they have to fix you.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Nyezhov