Dr./Hospital for Hernia surgery in Sisaket/Ubon

[srowndedbyh2o]

I’m going to be needing surgery for an Inguinal hernia. I’ve had other surgery at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok and the outcome has been good, but I’m looking at alternatives a bit closer to home. I live in SiSaket, about 25-30 minutes outside the city. I’m not familiar with any surgeons out here. I know there is the SiSaket government hospital, and also a small private, newish ‘Princ Hospital’ in SiSaket. Ubon Ratchithani would also be doable. I’ve been to ‘Ubonrak Thonburi Hospital for a shingles vaccine. It appeared to be a decent, very busy hospital. I also stopped in at Ubon Rajavej Hospital once for a look, but the place was fairly empty. Not a great sign. Also, I’d like to use my U.S.-based health insurance, which I could do at BKK Hospital.

Has anyone had surgery for a hernia out in my area?

Thanks.

[Sheryl]

Using your US based insurance will be problematic at a government hospital.  Suggest you investigate whether Ubonrak Thonburi can  accept it on a direct payment (by the insurerl)  basis or not. If they can not  and you have to pay upfront (they might  not have a relationship with that insurer) , you should be able to get adequate documentation from them to claim reimbursement whereas even that is iffy at a government hospital and smaller upcountry private hospitals. (May have to handle the pre-authorization process yourself in such an instance).

[CanadaSam]

If you are having the hernia repair by "mesh" placement, it is not a minor operation (IMO) and you should really be in the best hospital possible.

 

For others, I have recently research costs for this operation, and was shocked to find the average rate in Thailand for hernia repair with mesh is close to $4000 and in India is only around $1000!

[srowndedbyh2o]

7 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Using your US based insurance will be problematic at a government hospital.  Suggest you investigate whether Ubonrak Thonburi can  accept it on a direct payment (by the insurerl)  basis or not. If they can not  and you have to pay upfront (they might  not have a relationship with that insurer) , you should be able to get adequate documentation from them to claim reimbursement whereas even that is iffy at a government hospital and smaller upcountry private hospitals. (May have to handle the pre-authorization process yourself in such an instance).

Thank you, Sheryl. My main concern would be the quality/expertise of the Doctor/Surgeon. I may just go back to Bangkok Hospital in BKK since I have a history with them, and they were able to get approval from my insurance for past procedures I’ve had done there. Unfortunately, that may take two trips to BKK since it takes so long to get the approval and payment guarantee from my insurance.

Would you recommend ‘open surgery’ or Laparoscopic surgery? I’m sure BKK Hospital will push for the more expensive Laparoscopic surgery. Maybe even the ‘Robotic/Laparoscopic surgery.

[srowndedbyh2o]

7 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

For others, I have recently research costs for this operation, and was shocked to find the average rate in Thailand for hernia repair with mesh is close to $4000 and in India is only around $1000!

Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok charges 287,500 for Laparoscopic Hernia surgery. That includes a two-day hospital stay.

[Sheryl]

34 minutes ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

Thank you, Sheryl. My main concern would be the quality/expertise of the Doctor/Surgeon. I may just go back to Bangkok Hospital in BKK since I have a history with them, and they were able to get approval from my insurance for past procedures I’ve had done there. Unfortunately, that may take two trips to BKK since it takes so long to get the approval and payment guarantee from my insurance.

Would you recommend ‘open surgery’ or Laparoscopic surgery? I’m sure BKK Hospital will push for the more expensive Laparoscopic surgery. Maybe even the ‘Robotic/Laparoscopic surgery.

Both will repair the hernia but laporoscopic  is an easier and faster recovery as there is less cutting through adjacent muscles etc.  However can be difficult to perform on patients who are obese or have a lot of adhesions from prior abdominal surgeries. 

 

Best thing to do is discuss with a  surgeon familiar with your specific medical history and physical condition. 

[TheFishman1]

I had a hernia repaired using the mess. I checked my Ram I think maybe I spent a day or two in there afterwards I don’t remember a while back, but I had no trouble with it. It was very reasonably priced and my insurance paid everything pre-authorized so I never really saw Bill, and the food was pretty good. I must admit TIT

[srowndedbyh2o]

15 hours ago, Sheryl said:

laporoscopic  is an easier and faster recovery as there is less cutting through adjacent muscles etc.  However can be difficult to perform on patients who are obese or have a lot of adhesions from prior abdominal surgeries. 

 

Best thing to do is discuss with a  surgeon familiar with your specific medical history and physical condition. 

Thank you Sheryl. I’m not obese. Actually a little on the thin side, and the only abdominal surgery I’ve had was at BKK Hospital when I had a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy about 6 months ago. The outcome of that surgery has been good. Haven’t felt this good in years. The only issue I had was the recovery period immediately after the surgery. I figured, ‘Four very small incisions, shouldn’t be that bad’. Well, I was in a lot more pain immediately after surgery than I anticipated, and urinating was very difficult due to the gas/inflation of the abdomen during surgery. 4-5 days after surgery I was able to take short, slow walks, but was still having pain/discomfort. I just took Ibuprofen and Tylenol.

[srowndedbyh2o]

5 hours ago, TheFishman1 said:

I checked my Ram...

Not sure what that means, or where you had the surgery done.

[Sheryl]

5 minutes ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

Not sure what that means, or where you had the surgery done.

I thimk he means Chiang Mai Ram Hospital. Not really relevant since you live in Buriram. 

[Luuk Chaai]

19 hours ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok charges 287,500 for Laparoscopic Hernia surgery. That includes a two-day hospital stay.

Bangkok hospital Hua Hua ,,  last July   Double Inguinal Laparscopic with Mesh 490,348.68

 in the operating room @ 2pm   out @  12 noon next day

 

[srowndedbyh2o]

28 minutes ago, Luuk Chaai said:

 in the operating room @ 2pm   out @  12 noon next day

Wow. That was a long surgery!

 

Kidding aside, it’s great you were able to leave the next day.

Were you able to walk and drive ok by the next day?

At BKK Hosp. BKK, I was required to stay two days in the hospital after my Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, and quite honestly, I could not have left sooner as I was in so much pain and could barely even turn in bed, let alone walk. It was a week before I attempted to drive a car.

[IvorBiggun2]

 

[Bountyhuntr]

I had Open Surgery in UK nearly 15 years ago, and Laproscopic surgery on the other side at St Louis Hospital Bangkok with a Doctor that @Sheryl mentioned before. It cost 180k (Open surgery was quoted at 120k-130k). I went to government hospital first and the older doctor recommended NO mesh so I quickly left and went here.

 

The groin pain was non-existant compared to Open Surgery, but the small incisions made on the stomach still gives me discomfort when trying to lay face down / stretching. That's after over 3 months.

 

So both have good / bad.

Edited June 1 by Bountyhuntr

[Luuk Chaai]

12 hours ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

Wow. That was a long surgery!

 

Kidding aside, it’s great you were able to leave the next day.

Were you able to walk and drive ok by the next day?

At BKK Hosp. BKK, I was required to stay two days in the hospital after my Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, and quite honestly, I could not have left sooner as I was in so much pain and could barely even turn in bed, let alone walk. It was a week before I attempted to drive a car.

Sorry .  out as in discharged and on my way home @ 12    Must say fantastic job ,,     no problem walking sitting or sleeping ..   

plus I had the game warden ( wife ) watching my every move so I didn't do a hurry up and get back to my regular routine

 

ps,,  I attribute the high cost to Pacific Cross paying the bill ...

Be aware ,,  if you use the insurance,,,,,  you lose you 20% discount and get a recovery premium added on at renewal time 

 T.I.T

Edited June 1 by Luuk Chaai

[srowndedbyh2o]

16 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

Must say fantastic job ,,     no problem walking sitting or sleeping ..   

Thanks for the info. Hopefully, recovery of my Hernia surgery will go better than my Laparoscopic. Cholecystectomy.

 

16 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

ps,,  I attribute the high cost to Pacific Cross paying the bill ...

Be aware ,,  if you use the insurance,,,,,  you lose you 20% discount and get a recovery premium added on at renewal time 

 T.I.T

At BKK Hosp. BKK before my Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy surgery, I explained that my insurance was a U.S. based company, and it’s clearly stated on my insurance card. The nurse took my insurance card and then brought me a printout of the estimated costs, however as I was looking at the estimate she suddenly remembered I had  U.S. insurance. She then took back the estimate, left, and returned with a new estimate with an inflated price. She said the cost is higher when using U.S. insurance.

[Luuk Chaai]

5 hours ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

Thanks for the info. Hopefully, recovery of my Hernia surgery will go better than my Laparoscopic. Cholecystectomy.

 

At BKK Hosp. BKK before my Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy surgery, I explained that my insurance was a U.S. based company, and it’s clearly stated on my insurance card. The nurse took my insurance card and then brought me a printout of the estimated costs, however as I was looking at the estimate she suddenly remembered I had  U.S. insurance. She then took back the estimate, left, and returned with a new estimate with an inflated price. She said the cost is higher when using U.S. insurance.

sad part.. they don't even try to hide it

 

[SantiSuk]

As you can see I live in Sisaket province. In my 15 years here I have had experience of hospitalisation at Ubonrak and Rajavej in Ubon and recent experience of consultations with so-called specialists at Princ in Sisaket.

Ubonrak is the only one of those 3 where I would contemplate having an operation. Rajavej is OK for walk-in consultations with a peripatetic doctor - they have two who seem to do most of the work fielding walk-in consultations - one is a cardiologist (he's good at that, and also good on diabetes for my other half) and the other a neurosurgeon (untested by me in his specialist area but seemed a good knowledgeable guy generally. So, Rajavej is probably not much use there specifcally for hernias, though they possibly do have an arrangement that brings in a specialist surgeon either from the big Ubon Public Hospital Sapphasit or potentially from any hospital in Isaan or even Bangkok. In any case I found being hospitalised in Rajavej (for Covid 3 years ago) to be a pretty soulless experience with little face to face contact with nurses or doctors (maybe just a covid thing) -  the place looks/feels faded to me, as though It could be closed at any point. Ubonrak is much brighter and the staff are fine, meals are ok etc. I have not been impressed by the quality of supposed specialists at Sisaket's Princ hospital who were on various occasions recently lined up for me to consult about spine, colorectal and ENT issues.   

But first if you want to test out Ubon's capabilities you really need better local feedback about the capability of specific surgeons undertaking ingeunial hernia work in the city, with specifc emphasis on Ubonrak. I recommend that you join one or both of the Ubon expat facebook groups ("Ubon Expats"  and "Ubon Ratchathani") and pose your questions there.

Edited June 10 by SantiSuk
typos

[Sheryl]

Hernia surgery is not specialized. Any general surgeon can do an open hernia repair. Hernias and gall bladders are their bread and butter.

 

Laparoscopic hernia repair needs general surgeon trained  in laparoscopic surgery. 

[srowndedbyh2o]

18 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

I recommend that you join one or both of the Ubon expat facebook groups ("Ubon Expats"  and "Ubon Ratchathani") and pose your questions there.

Thank you. I'll have a look.