Chinag Mai Hospital

[HarriB]

Hi there in Chiang Mai,

Hospitals in Pattaya and Bangkok seem to be way more expensive than Hospitals in Chiang Mai.

I am planning on coming to Chinag Mai and would like to know if anyone here has a recommendation for a good hospital

specializing in shoulder injuries.

I will need an MRI (Arthroscopic shoulder) and of course consultation. If I need surgery, does anyone here have experience with this kind of treatment in a Hospital in Chiang Mai?

I emailed Chiangmai Ram Hospital and here is the reply:

Greetings from Chiangmai Ram Hospital.

Regarding your e-mail, we would be very please to provide you the requested treatment. The cost of MRI Shoulder is 6,000 THB not including 2,500 THB for contrast. The estimated cost of Arthroscopic should (rotator cuff tear) is around 150,000 -200,000 THB (including doctor fee, room & meal, operative charge and medications)

The appointment for consultation with Dr. Wattanai Atthakorn, our orthopedic who is specialized in arthroscope, is needed. He usually comes to the hospital only on Sunday at 05.00 - 08.00 pm. Practically, Dr. Wattanai would like to check with the problem part and discuss about proper treatment for the affected part. Then he will let you know about the estimated cost of that treatment.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Thank you

HB

[dazzab]

HarriB,

I had arthrascopic surgery on my knee for a torn meniscus in May 2008 at CM Ram.

Pretty sure you wont find a hospital specialising in just shoulder injuries.

MRI was indeed 6,000 and the Operation was about 72,000 baht.

Surgeon was Dr Chanakarn and I have had no problems since.

I have his phone number if you need.

Hi there in Chiang Mai,

Hospitals in Pattaya and Bangkok seem to be way more expensive than Hospitals in Chiang Mai.

I am planning on coming to Chinag Mai and would like to know if anyone here has a recommendation for a good hospital

specializing in shoulder injuries.

I will need an MRI (Arthroscopic shoulder) and of course consultation. If I need surgery, does anyone here have experience with this kind of treatment in a Hospital in Chiang Mai?

I emailed Chiangmai Ram Hospital and here is the reply:

Greetings from Chiangmai Ram Hospital.

Regarding your e-mail, we would be very please to provide you the requested treatment. The cost of MRI Shoulder is 6,000 THB not including 2,500 THB for contrast. The estimated cost of Arthroscopic should (rotator cuff tear) is around 150,000 -200,000 THB (including doctor fee, room & meal, operative charge and medications)

The appointment for consultation with Dr. Wattanai Atthakorn, our orthopedic who is specialized in arthroscope, is needed. He usually comes to the hospital only on Sunday at 05.00 - 08.00 pm. Practically, Dr. Wattanai would like to check with the problem part and discuss about proper treatment for the affected part. Then he will let you know about the estimated cost of that treatment.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Thank you

HB

[HarriB]

HarriB,

I had arthrascopic surgery on my knee for a torn meniscus in May 2008 at CM Ram.

Pretty sure you wont find a hospital specialising in just shoulder injuries.

MRI was indeed 6,000 and the Operation was about 72,000 baht.

Surgeon was Dr Chanakarn and I have had no problems since.

I have his phone number if you need.

Hi dazzab,

It's good to hear that you had a good experience.

I assume Dr Chanakarn speaks english since you want to give me his phone number.

My Thai is good enough to order Som Tum and a beer, but explaining a shoulder injury over the phone

is not in my available vocabulary at this point in time.

I would love it if you can give it to me. If posting it here is not allowed...please PM with the number.

Thank you very much for your reply!

[dazzab]

pm sent Harri

[damian5000]

don't waste your money. go to mccormick

[dinthailand]

don't waste your money. go to mccormick

agreed, or lanna , or suanpuak more reasonable

ram always inflate for farang

[HarriB]

don't waste your money. go to mccormick

I am very open to suggestions but it's not that easy to find out about Hospitals in

Chiang Mai on the internet.

That's why I came to this forum to find out what other people's exeriences were.

Also not every hospital has MRI.

Thanks

[Blinky Bill]

don't waste your money. go to mccormick

agreed, or lanna , or suanpuak more reasonable

ram always inflate for farang

McCormick Hospital is good for the more simple stuff and road trauma, etc.. My lovely 17 year daughter was born there, strangely enough about 17 years ago. But for major surgery, I would not recommend it.

Does the McCormick Hospital have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging system?

Was that Suan Dok or Chang Puak Hospital dinthailand? I have never heard of the Suanpuak Hospital.

But I don't know everything.

Edited January 29, 2009 by Blinky Bill

[dazzab]

+1 on not having an op at McCormick.

Sure CM Ram ain't the cheapest, but I've had two operations there in the last 5 years and both went extremely well.

Personally I'd rather spend more money to get the best job.

And if you have health care its a non-issue.

don't waste your money. go to mccormick

agreed, or lanna , or suanpuak more reasonable

ram always inflate for farang

McCormick Hospital is good for the more simple stuff and road trauma, etc.. My lovely 17 year daughter was born there, strangely enough about 17 years ago. But for major surgery, I would not recommend it.

Does the McCormick Hospital have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging system?

Was that Suan Dok or Chang Puak Hospital dinthailand? I have never heard of the Suanpuak Hospital.

But I don't know everything.

[Mapguy]

There is probably no difference among radiologists or technicians between Chiang Mai Ram and Suan Doc's Special Medical Service Center (www.cmed.cmu.ac.th). Several docs practice at both hospitals. Chiang Mai is a small town, so docs have to move around to make a living. SMSC was opened up especially for a place for CMU Medical School docs to have a practice. Chiang Mai caters to expats. SMSC would like to see more.

Generally, SMSC is cheaper and provides more specialists, but that doesn't mean that you can't find good docs elsewhere in town.

I would hazard the guess that costs here can run about half those in Bumrungrad, but equivalent care.

[dinthailand]

+1 on not having an op at McCormick.

Sure CM Ram ain't the cheapest, but I've had two operations there in the last 5 years and both went extremely well.

Personally I'd rather spend more money to get the best job.

And if you have health care its a non-issue.

don't waste your money. go to mccormick

agreed, or lanna , or suanpuak more reasonable

ram always inflate for farang

McCormick Hospital is good for the more simple stuff and road trauma, etc.. My lovely 17 year daughter was born there, strangely enough about 17 years ago. But for major surgery, I would not recommend it.

Does the McCormick Hospital have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging system?

Was that Suan Dok or Chang Puak Hospital dinthailand? I have never heard of the Suanpuak Hospital.

But I don't know everything.

SUAN DOK

[HarriB]

HarriB,

I had arthrascopic surgery on my knee for a torn meniscus in May 2008 at CM Ram.

Pretty sure you wont find a hospital specialising in just shoulder injuries.

MRI was indeed 6,000 and the Operation was about 72,000 baht.

Surgeon was Dr Chanakarn and I have had no problems since.

I have his phone number if you need.

dazzab,

Thanks a lot for the email and ph# of

Cr. Charnakarn

Here is a copy of his reply

Thanks for e-mail me. Regarding your shoulder, first not every injury needs surgery. It would be good if we can get the MRI done (if needed). There are 2 ways. First you can have it done at Pattaya and then get me the results or the second choice, you can come to Chiangmai and then I can exam and mey be request to do MRI here. The only time I will not be in Chiangmai is during Feb 6-9 and then March 18-24. I usually have my clinic every Monday and Friday from 5.30-8.00 PM at Rajavej hospital and Feb 11 and 25 at 6PM at Chiangmai Ram hospital. So you can choose the best time for you. you can also give me a call before coming to Chiangmai to make sure that everything is OK. My number is 089-636-xxxx.

It's refreshing to hear that He is considering other options then surgery.

That's why I am checking out Chiang Mai. The quotes for the MRI and for possible surgery in Pattaya are twice of the quotes from CM.

When I went to Pattaya Bangkok Hospital (5***** hotel) the doctor was talking about surgery before He saw even the x-rays.

Nice to know that someone doesn't just want to see me on the surgery table.

I will be going to CM on Sunday, get my MRI done, consult with Dr. Charnakarn and see what my options are.

Please add to this tread if you have had any experience with arthrascopic surgery in CM.

Also, what do you think of Rajavej hospital?

Thank you

Edited January 30, 2009 by HarriB

[HarriB]

There is probably no difference among radiologists or technicians between Chiang Mai Ram and Suan Doc's Special Medical Service Center (www.cmed.cmu.ac.th). Several docs practice at both hospitals. Chiang Mai is a small town, so docs have to move around to make a living. SMSC was opened up especially for a place for CMU Medical School docs to have a practice. Chiang Mai caters to expats. SMSC would like to see more.

Generally, SMSC is cheaper and provides more specialists, but that doesn't mean that you can't find good docs elsewhere in town.

I would hazard the guess that costs here can run about half those in Bumrungrad, but equivalent care.

The quotes I got from Bumrungrad was twice the amount that Chiang Mai Ram quoted me.

So, yes you are right and reading a lot of tread about Hospitals, Hospitals in Chiang Mai seem to have more caring Docs and staff.

Anyways I am just about finding out first hand.

[noise]

Any help is highly appreciated. Thank you HB

You left yourself open,assuming what I have to say helps. Long winded, but here are my experiences and opinions.

I have gone to Ram several times, initially for a similar shoulder problem. I walked in around 8:30 am on a Monday morning, a busy time, established my identify and payment method, started a record, and was sent over to Ortho. I saw Dr. Tusaphorn, who speaks excellent English, after waiting less than an hour (not bad for a walk in on Monday morning). After a couple of visits (all during the day both with and without appointments and very little waiting) for the same problem, I decided to get an MRI even though the doctor was confident he knew what the problem was. He agreed and did not feel threatened; he knew it would just confirm his diagnosis. I was escorted downstairs and got the MRI without having to wait or make an appointment for another day (may have just been lucky that day). It confirmed that, like the doctor said, I did not need surgery.

ASIDE: Ram has someone escort you to each location even if you know where to go.

I later had a foot problem that was responding slowly and, when questioning why, Dr. Tusaphorn said it was a very slow healing problem but added I could get an ultrasound if I wanted to pay for it. I opted for the ultrasound and got it, again without having to wait or come back another day. It, too, confirmed the doctor's diagnosis. I just have trouble accepting that age is making me heal slower that I used to.

I like Ram; I can walk in and see a doctor during the day. Or I can call and make an appointment for a date and time that is convenient for me. I can question and they take the time to answer.

I do not want to go some clinic at 6 pm run by someone after they finish their full time job. I have to take my mother-in-law to those and, even though the doctors are CMU medical schools teaching surgeons, they look like they are simply there to make money; push the patients through as fast as possible, make them buy their drugs from the clinic, don't waste time with talk and lengthy explanations (they subtly resist when I show up and ask probing questions trying to pin them down on the whys and wherefores).

Someone mentioned Suan Dok, the CMU medical school hospital. I also take the MIL there because she get free medical care there. Even when we opt for the paid special services clinic, an appointment may be 9 am Sunday morning with 100 of her closest friends and neighbors. I do not appreciate spending 2-3 hours waiting for a 15 minute visit when there is an appointment.

And because it is an assembly line with so many people scheduled, I find the diagnosis and treatments are superficial in that the approach is step by step, doing the quick easy treatments first. For example, the MIL went in with a new problem. The doctor, a specialist, did not review her record and did not check to see what 10 drugs she takes on a daily basis. "I know what your problem is; take these pills." Next visit: hmmmm, maybe a blood test required. Next visit: next step. The only reason he even takes 15 minutes was because I was asking questions each time.

Nuff said. Many people like Suan Dok. The doctors/surgeons are all on the CMU staff and talented. I just don't like the assembly line approach and having to wait for a 5 or 6 pm clinic to see a specific doctor during the week.

FOOD FOR THOUGH: If you come up here only for treatment, you might save money in the long run by going to Ram and getting treated quickly.

[PeaceBlondie]

I guess this is the same joint surgeon Dr. Chanakhan in Chiang Mai who operated on my shoulder at Sripat, in 2006. He was willing to do for me what the specialists at Samitivej in Bangkok seemed unable or unwilling to do. He has a clinic at Rajivej. He is brilliant, his English is excellent (lived in Michigan many years), his bedside manners assuring. He might do it at Sripat for 10K less. But he might do the consult starting at Rajivej (I had to wait four hours with the general public for my original consults).

Good luck. The man is a very experienced shoulder specialist.

[dazzab]

HarriB,

I forgot to say I had an MRI 3 weeks ago on my other knee that was giving me some gip, Doc Chanakarn checked out the results and reckoned an operation was not needed. Good to know that your not going under the knife just for the $$$$$$

[HarriB]

You guys are great!

I appreciate all your posts.

You here at TV forum pay more attention to my injury, give more advice, and dare I say, spend a lot more time writing than the paid "professional" at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital did examining my shoulder. How can you trust someone with a knife when He doesn't make you feel like He cares?

Dr. Charnakarn replied to a second email and He already spent more time with me than the Doc at PBH and that cost me a little under 5,000 Baht. I won't mention his name though (Dr. Werayut). The most care I got there was at the cashier.

Not only does Dr. Charnakarn reply to emails, but in each email He urges me to call him if I need to. Plus two posters here give him thumbs up from experience and if there is a good sign, than that is it.

I have a good feeling about Doc. Charnakarn and I will post my experiences with him here next week so that the next person with a similar injury can read and make a decision on how to choose a doctor by testimonals.

Edited January 30, 2009 by HarriB