Delaying Cataract Surgery - Any associated dangers?

[Letseng]

1 minute ago, sandyf said:

When I had the initial consultation, the consultant said that I would probably be ok for a few more years but he went on to explain that the longer it was left the less effective the procedure would be. I decided to go ahead straight away and the results were far better than I could have imagined, I have only ever need glasses for very small print.

I paid same price as Thais, came to about 40K overall for both eyes. That included 5K per eye to have the operation done by the CEO.

I can hear the skeptics polishing the keyboards but with a 10 week waiting list he hardly needed to promote the service.

The consultant I saw and carried out the procedures is the CEO of this hospital Dr Pornthep Pongtawigorn.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30357531

Was it in a government hospital? No private hospital does it for 40K for both eyes.

[Sydebolle]

Go and get it from the horse's mouth. Make an appointment with www.rutnin.com - a hospital dedicated to eyes - and eyes - only. See Dr Roy Chumdermpadetsuk, fluent English (bilingual) with an excellent sense of humour and decades of experience. He is one of the few medical experts giving unbiased advice, explains everything in layman's language and details and a professional in his own right. 

Rutnin Eye Hospital is on Asoke and they are as "generous" with their patients time as in most other private hospitals. The (nice) flip side of the coin however it, that once it is your turn, Dr Roy has all the time for you, irrespective of whoever is still waiting after you. 

Treated me successfully on my AMD (age-related macula degeneration) and accompanied me 3 ½ years in regular sessions and restored my eye sight to 100%. 

See him and he will answer all your questions on the subject; price wise Rutnin is on par/below the other hospitals like Samitivej, Bumrungrad etc. 

Good luck!  

[bra]

Maybe not applicable in Thailand but in my state in Australia an annual medical examination for a drivers licence is required when over age 75. As part of the medical an eye test is required and at my last eye test the optometrist advised that my cataracts had advanced to the stage that I would not pass the eye test next year. So I had cataract surgery and the result is  spectacular! I no longer need glasses for long distance vision and the requirement for glasses has been removed from my licence.

Even if it's not a legal requirement for driving I suggest Its better to have the procedure done for your safety and for others on the road. I could even pass my pilot licence medical now but I am a bit too old to fly again.

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

He passed a few years ago but it was maybe back in the early 2000's when he had his surgery. I think he did wear light sunglasses if I remember him correctly, as the lights were like you mentioned.

Yelliw tinted glasses (like for skiing) rather than usual sunglass tints are best. I have suffered ftom light glare/haloes at night for decades now   and use this when I must drive at night. If it is really bad, turning on light inside thd car also helps. But usually the yellow glasses are enough. 

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, Letseng said:

Doctor told me to get it done when I feel I  can't see comfortably anymore.

Hi. Many posters mention this. But do you ( and others ) mean not able to see well with prescription glasses?  Or just with your eyes only? That's what I'm confused about on this thread. 

[fredwiggy]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Yelliw tinted glasses (like for skiing) rather than usual sunglass tints are best. I have suffered ftom light glare/haloes at night for decades now   and use this when I must drive at night. If it is really bad, turning on light inside thd car also helps. But usually the yellow glasses are enough. 

I never asked him what he used besides knowing about the sunglasses, so I'm guessing he tried a few until he found a pair he could see well with and that cut down the glare from the lights. I have hunting glasses which allow you to see better in low light that would have worked well with him.

[thecyclist]

I waited for a year and a half after diagnosis, which came about 2 years after I noticed something was wrong 

It gradually got worse, and got it done when it started to really bother me. 

[unblocktheplanet]

4 hours ago, riclag said:

I had  both eyes done !The halo’s & spikes from the lights were brutal!

 

The Thai doctor mentioned the defect in terms of percentages . My right eye

was about 5 % affected as a result of the cataract! He said it wasn’t critical to have it done , most Thai’s wait till 20 %.

 

I don’t know how they can tolerate waiting until it gets 20%.

Where & how much, please.

[unblocktheplanet]

1 hour ago, alex8912 said:

Hi. Many posters mention this. But do you ( and others ) mean not able to see well with prescription glasses?  Or just with your eyes only? That's what I'm confused about on this thread. 

My normal glasses--presbyopia & astigmatism do not improve the blur now. Taken to wearing no glasses at all but sun-glare is brutal.

[unblocktheplanet]

3 hours ago, Letseng said:

Was it in a government hospital? No private hospital does it for 40K for both eyes.

Even Clulakongkorn is 25k for each eye.

[unblocktheplanet]

3 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Go and get it from the horse's mouth. Make an appointment with www.rutnin.com - a hospital dedicated to eyes - and eyes - only. See Dr Roy Chumdermpadetsuk, fluent English (bilingual) with an excellent sense of humour and decades of experience. He is one of the few medical experts giving unbiased advice, explains everything in layman's language and details and a professional in his own right. 

Rutnin Eye Hospital is on Asoke and they are as "generous" with their patients time as in most other private hospitals. The (nice) flip side of the coin however it, that once it is your turn, Dr Roy has all the time for you, irrespective of whoever is still waiting after you. 

Treated me successfully on my AMD (age-related macula degeneration) and accompanied me 3 ½ years in regular sessions and restored my eye sight to 100%. 

See him and he will answer all your questions on the subject; price wise Rutnin is on par/below the other hospitals like Samitivej, Bumrungrad etc. 

Good luck!  

Rutnin is expensive & no inpatient for insurance purposes. But their service is outstanding. What 'treatment' can you get for AMD?

[riclag]

19 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Where & how much, please.

Just so you know the Dr speaks very good English . He has a very clean & 

professional looking procedure room!

 He charged me 70k bht for the right eye  & 60k for the left eye! He has done the procedure many times .

 

I had a astigmatism so he used a special lens!

 

 

Sakon Nakhon city

 

 

 

 

[Sydebolle]

25 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Rutnin is expensive & no inpatient for insurance purposes. But their service is outstanding. What 'treatment' can you get for AMD?

 

26 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Rutnin is expensive & no inpatient for insurance purposes. But their service is outstanding. What 'treatment' can you get for AMD?

Compared to Europe they are on the lower end of the scale despite top equipment and professional staff on the entire front.

AMD can, if diagnosed earlier enough, be treated/reversed with monthly, six-weekly and ultimately bi-monthly treatments of (expensive) medication which must be administered in a sterile operating theatre at the hospital. Alternatively, a skilled expert, can try to apply sclerotherapy of capillary blood vessels in the back of the retina. This is done with a low energy laser procedure. In my case Dr Roy could help me and I shall be thankful for his endeavours for the rest of my life. 

The costs however are another thing. But while many have ample cash for snooker halls and beer, they turn stingy once it comes to health insurances. I opted for the second and thank the Lord for that. 

[Sheryl]

57 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Rutnin is expensive & no inpatient for insurance purposes.....

Not sure what you mean. 

 

Rutnin has inpatient facilities.

 

But there as elsewhere, cataract surgery is usualky a day durgery.

 

Most hospitalization-only insurance policies cover day surgeries. 

[transam]

On 3/19/2025 at 3:22 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

Thanks for that. I was about to post something similar. I assisted at many cataract operations and nothing I saw indicates necessity to be done soon as possible.

If it was me, I'd put it off as long as possible.

Why.........?

[GammaGlobulin]

I would say that there could be problems associated with delaying cataract surgery.

Just my guess, maybe involving deterioration of the visual processing centers of the brain.

 

We know that if we cover monkey eyes, from birth, with PING PONG balls....

The tiny creatures never develop visual acuity...after the balls are removed.

 

So, this is a thought.

 

 

[ravip]

5 hours ago, alex8912 said:

Hi. Many posters mention this. But do you ( and others ) mean not able to see well with prescription glasses?  Or just with your eyes only? That's what I'm confused about on this thread. 

With prescription glasses, if you are using.

[ravip]

It seems the mono focal lenses are than the Multifocal and Extended Depth of Focus Lenses, if you are driving in the night.

 

Anyone with first hand experience on this? -  Mono focal lenses VS the Multifocal and Extended Depth of Focus IOL (intraocular) Lenses.

 

 

 

 

[scorecard]

On 3/19/2025 at 12:27 PM, camper star said:

me, my eyes are always watery and at the night the bicycle nights really blind me that as i pass them up i slow down

 

There's night driving eyeglass lenses that help to much reduce that glare. Suggested by OPSM (highly professional eye testing and glasses company all over Australia).

 

It did strongly reduce the headlight / streetlight glare.

 

Also makes TV picture much clearer.  

[GinBoy2]

On 3/18/2025 at 11:46 PM, Sheryl said:

Cataracts should be removed once they impair your vision enough to interfere with daily life. This is often many, many years after first  diagnosis. 

I agree with this.

 

My last eye exam last month basically said that I have early stage cataracts, but that has been the same for the past several years.

 

My eye doctor says nothing unusual for my age and until it gets problematic for my vision, she looks forward to seeing me next year

[sandyf]

21 hours ago, Letseng said:

Was it in a government hospital? No private hospital does it for 40K for both eyes.

I would have thought it was obvious from the link.

"Located in Samut Sakhon province, Banphaeo Hospital (Public Organisation)"

[sandyf]

18 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Even Clulakongkorn is 25k for each eye.

This is page 3 of my invoice and you can see I paid 18K, aftercare came to about 2K. I paid an additional 5K for using the premium clinic.

The normal charge at this hospital at the time was13K, Thais were allowed 6K if doing on the social or could pay the difference for the better lens.

[unblocktheplanet]

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

This is page 3 of my invoice and you can see I paid 18K, aftercare came to about 2K. I paid an additional 5K for using the premium clinic.

The normal charge at this hospital at the time was13K, Thais were allowed 6K if doing on the social or could pay the difference for the better lens.

Possibly the rates have gone up in five years. This is for both eyes, correct?

[Letseng]

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

I would have thought it was obvious from the link.

"Located in Samut Sakhon province, Banphaeo Hospital (Public Organisation)"

I saw it  later on. Apologies for asking.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Possibly the rates have gone up in five years. This is for both eyes, correct?

I said  in my first post I was about 40K for both eyes.

Yes, quite likely the rates have gone up. When I had the second eye done they were just starting to build a new department. 

However when their normal price was 13K per eye, the private hospitals were about 3 times plus.

[transam]

Just now, sandyf said:

I said  in my first post I was about 40K for both eyes.

Yes, quite likely the rates have gone up. When I had the second eye done they were just starting to build a new department. 

However when their normal price was 13K per eye, the private hospitals were about 3 times plus.

I paid just under 40K for both eyes at a Thai Military hospital about 5 years back, that is with a x2  overnight stay...

[sandyf]

13 minutes ago, Letseng said:

I saw it  later on. Apologies for asking.

Thanks for coming back,  not many would.

You have my apology if post appeared a bit short.

[sandyf]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

I paid just under 40K for both eyes at a Thai Military hospital about 5 years back, that is with a x2  overnight stay...

Quite. I would have been 26K plus 5K for the 2 nights if I hadn't used the CEO.

My wife's uncle had both eyes done at once and he booked a room.

It doesn't need to be a major outlay.

[ignis]

Price is confusing.

 

9 years ago price at a Private Eye Hospital from the Surgun herself - all in was 70,000 baht for both eyes

 

Last December at Chula Hospital  the price for the surgery was  15 - 16,000 baht per eye... dig a bit deeper = + Hospital fees + Nurse Fees + the Lens replacement.... Did not speak to the Sugen so not 100% price on the type of Lense but as a estimate told 25 - 30,000 baht per eye  = Surgery + Lense + Fees + next day follow up visit

[donmuang37]

On 3/19/2025 at 11:58 AM, transam said:

In my case, it just got worse, I left it to a time when I really couldn't do anything, even driving, so it was over many years.

I had both eyes done, after I thought, I should have had this done years ago, a new life.

 

I had worn glasses all my life, from the age of around 10, which I hated, after the new lenses were installed, I now only use glasses for reading and PC work.........

Agree with Transam, I waited until I was having difficulty driving.  Had both eyes done the same day because I needed general anesthesia and didn't want to go under twice.  Anesthesiologist and ophthalmologist agreed. Excellent results; could drive without glasses for the first time in my life.  Should have done it sooner.