Knee Surgery In Phuket - Where?

[suncat]

I am looking for the best(most competent?) surgeon/practitioner in Phuket when it comes to athletic injuries. I have a knee that is currently buckling under pressure, and it is preventing me from doing sports. Does anyone have any advice?

For the medical record:

When I was 15, I had a problem with my left knee after some football incident, and had to remove some of the meniscus. Since then I haven´t really had any problems at all with the knee at all until recently(I am 33 now). There is some slack in my knee somewhere, and possibly some unsupported grinding. Every time I do any activities, my knee usually swells up, and it´s not gonna get any better by itself I think.

I would like to see someone who can do a few scans and evaluate if there is any surgery that can be done. Thanks for any help!

[Macx]

There were several threads on knee surgeries. One of them might be about surgery in Phuket.

One thing I might point out is that the MRI machine they have at Bangkok Phuket International is really old. I was there 2 years ago for a check up scan on my knee. At the time of my visit, they had some problems with the machine, and I was put thru it not once, not twice, but three times. That was a helluva lot of time lying still in a cold room. Charged for one go, still price of everything was around 13k, including doctor examination.

I took the scans with me to two international hospital in BK where I was promptly told that the Phuket scans were no good, the machine old, the tech did a poor scan slice and so what the docs wanted to see wasn't on the scan. Price of MRI in BK is cheaper for newer machines. Hard to do diagnose without a good scan.

Good thing yours isn't an emergency. My advice would be to take the scans with you to several docs and interview them thoroughly.

[MaryWorth]

The doc at Phuket International Hospital is good, he is also friendly and doesn't mind questions. A friend had an MRI scan and then knee surgery done by him, meniscus was injured and needed a bit cut off by Arthroscopy. The doc even provided a copy of the video of the operation on DVD. 

It's the doc on the very right here. His office is near the entrance on the right hand side opposite the reception area. 

Name: Dr. Chansak Watcharong

Speciality: Orthopedic Surgery

Language: English, Thai

Qualifications: Medical School: M.D., Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand, 1996

Board Certification: Diploma of Thai Board of Orthopedics, 2003

I also went to him myself for a broken bone, and he is communicating well, explained the xray, and did the cast himself. 

[Felt 35]

Sports injuries demand a specific expertise and experience with athletes, sports and sports medicine.

Go slow and do a lot research before you let anyone use the knife on you. If not sure check it out abroad.

Good luck.

[suncat]

Thanks for the advice!

I think I will visit a few, as well as my standard physio and compare suggestions

[MyphuketLife]

The doc at Phuket International Hospital is good, he is also friendly and doesn't mind questions.

Name: Dr. Chansak Watcharong

Speciality: Orthopedic Surgery

Language: English, Thai

Qualifications: Medical School: M.D., Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand, 1996

Board Certification: Diploma of Thai Board of Orthopedics, 2003

I also went to him myself for a broken bone, and he is communicating well, explained the xray, and did the cast himself.

He comes highly recomended even by doctors from Bangkok Phuket.