Gallbladder Surgery

[winner]

I had a bad attack the other night and the doctor came and saw that it was stones in the gallbladder. I am heading out to check on my options for surgery. Has anybody had it here in Bangkok? Where? Were you happy with the facility and (since I am paying for it) How much did it cost?? Any help--even second hand information will be appreciated!

Mike

[lanny]

Shortly after moving to Bangkok, 5 years ago, I had a gall bladder operation at Bumrungrad. I thought the staff was well qualified and the service was great. Without insurance, I had to pay the bill myself -- about THB 130,000.

Now, I think I might go to Bangkok Nursing Home (BNH). They seem just as competent and provide good service in the outpatient departments. And, they are somewhat less costly than Bumrungrad.

[BambinA]

i dont know about the price ..but just know there re 3 ways to approuch

1 ultrasound for destroy that stone

2 laparoscope with special technique

3 bdominal incision

anyway.. whatever u choose the way to be treated.. i hope u feel better soon

dont forget to escape fatty food

[Sheryl]

I had a bad attack the other night and the doctor came and saw that it was stones in the gallbladder.  I am heading out to check on my options for surgery.  Has anybody had it here in Bangkok?  Where?  Were you happy with the facility and (since I am paying for it) How much did it cost??  Any help--even second hand information will be appreciated!

Mike

I haven't had that particular procedure but have had other surgery (and friends who have had) at Pahayathai 2 Hospital which is much less exensive than places like Bumrungrad etc and should be fine for a procedure such as this as it is quite common. You can email them at [email protected] or call 02-617-2424. Be sure to ask if they do the laparascopic procedure as this is much easier on the patient -- very small incision and quick discharge from the hospital.

Another posdsibility, where I have had friends have surgery, is Chao Phyra Hospital over across the river near Siriraj.

Both Phayathai and Chao Phyra are very friendly, medium-sized hospitals of good quality popular with middle class Thais. They do not have the range of services, amenities and technology that the giant international places like Bumrungrad do but for gallstones you don't need that, and the price will be a fraction of those places.

With a laparoscopic approach you're probably looking at just 1 night in the hospital, and minimal post op pain.

Bring all your test results along to avoid the need for repeating them.

Asd for cost -- very roughly, something in the range of US one thousand all inclusive would be my guess, if at the hospitals mentioned above.

[Mighty Mouse]

i dont know  about the  price ..but just know there re  3 ways to approuch

1 ultrasound for  destroy that stone

2 laparoscope with special technique

3 bdominal incision

A qualified vet should be able to do the job fairly cheap.

[BambinA]

i dont know  about the  price ..but just know there re  3 ways to approuch

1 ultrasound for  destroy that stone

2 laparoscope with special technique

3 bdominal incision

A qualified vet should be able to do the job fairly cheap.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Tomissan]

I had a bad attack the other night and the doctor came and saw that it was stones in the gallbladder.  I am heading out to check on my options for surgery.  Has anybody had it here in Bangkok?  Where?  Were you happy with the facility and (since I am paying for it) How much did it cost??  Any help--even second hand information will be appreciated!

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

take a look through previous threads. There are alternatives to surgery and shock treatment to eliminate the stones. They worked for me and I posted them for the benefit and relief of others. Sugery for me was out of the question. If you can't find the thread pm me and I'll let you know how to gid rid of the stones, naturally.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) has become one of the most common procedures performed to treat kidney stones. An external device is used to generate high energy sound waves aimed at the site of the stone to shatter it. This procedure is performed under general anesthesia and may need to be repeated several times before the stone is completely shattered. Internal bruising is common and blood may appear in the urine. Doctors also warn of internal injuries that can occur from the shattered fragments. (this treatment is available in Thailand for approx. 60,000 baht/4 years ago)

Ureteroscopic Stone Removal is another common procedure that attempts to physically capture the stone through an invasive technique. The urologist inserts a tube up the urethra, through the bladder to the actual site of the stone. At that point the doctor may use laser to break the stone apart of simply capture the stone with a basket device. Patients describe this procedure as extremely uncomfortable. Risks from this procedure include punctured urinary tracts and tissue damage. Stones that do not break up may even require more aggressive surgery.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PNL) is a more invasive and risky procedure that involves making an incision in your back and tunneling to the stone within the kidney. This procedure permanently damages kidney tissue to some extent and cannot be performed many times. Recovery time is a lot longer than other procedures and this type of surgery has a higher chance of post-surgical infections.

Expectant Management (Wait-and-See) is probably the most common approach and relies on misinformation that if you wait long enough the stone will pass. Research shows that this rational leads to thousands of emergency room visits every year. A stone is a rapidly mineralizing clump that grows as more urine pours through the kidneys. By waiting longer you allow the chemical process to keep pace and proceed to grow the stone. The result is either a stone that is extremely painful to pass or too big to move

Edited December 14, 2005 by Tomissan

[winner]

I had a bad attack the other night and the doctor came and saw that it was stones in the gallbladder.  I am heading out to check on my options for surgery.  Has anybody had it here in Bangkok?  Where?  Were you happy with the facility and (since I am paying for it) How much did it cost??  Any help--even second hand information will be appreciated!

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

take a look through previous threads. There are alternatives to surgery and shock treatment to eliminate the stones. They worked for me and I posted them for the benefit and relief of others. Sugery for me was out of the question. If you can't find the thread pm me and I'll let you know how to gid rid of the stones, naturally.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) has become one of the most common procedures performed to treat kidney stones. An external device is used to generate high energy sound waves aimed at the site of the stone to shatter it. This procedure is performed under general anesthesia and may need to be repeated several times before the stone is completely shattered. Internal bruising is common and blood may appear in the urine. Doctors also warn of internal injuries that can occur from the shattered fragments. (this treatment is available in Thailand for approx. 60,000 baht/4 years ago)

Ureteroscopic Stone Removal is another common procedure that attempts to physically capture the stone through an invasive technique. The urologist inserts a tube up the urethra, through the bladder to the actual site of the stone. At that point the doctor may use laser to break the stone apart of simply capture the stone with a basket device. Patients describe this procedure as extremely uncomfortable. Risks from this procedure include punctured urinary tracts and tissue damage. Stones that do not break up may even require more aggressive surgery.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PNL) is a more invasive and risky procedure that involves making an incision in your back and tunneling to the stone within the kidney. This procedure permanently damages kidney tissue to some extent and cannot be performed many times. Recovery time is a lot longer than other procedures and this type of surgery has a higher chance of post-surgical infections.

Expectant Management (Wait-and-See) is probably the most common approach and relies on misinformation that if you wait long enough the stone will pass. Research shows that this rational leads to thousands of emergency room visits every year. A stone is a rapidly mineralizing clump that grows as more urine pours through the kidneys. By waiting longer you allow the chemical process to keep pace and proceed to grow the stone. The result is either a stone that is extremely painful to pass or too big to move

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Guys thanks for the helpful replies. I think the one above is thinking of kidney stones not gall stones. Any more information out there would be appreciated!

[Tomissan]

Guys thanks for the helpful replies. I think the one above is thinking of kidney stones not gall stones. Any more information out there would be appreciated!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Quite right, although the gall bladder & kidneys are both connected to the urinary tract so any remedy ingested will pass through the bladder as well as kidney's.

Myself, I would try inexpensive alternatives before getting cut open, but again, that's just me.

Here's a concoction you can make at home. http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com/liv...idney_flush.htm

Whoops!!! I just noticed that the topic of your discussion is "GallBladder Surgery", not alternative remedies.....sorry, wrong place for my response(s)....

Edited December 14, 2005 by Tomissan

[h90]

check carefully on ultrasonic. just a story: at university a guy sit near me, when we learned about the treatments and he told me that his father is making such surgeries, but tries to avoid ultra sonic, because less money than with the knive.....

don't know if true or not, I just got it told like that and post here what I heared......

I had a bad attack the other night and the doctor came and saw that it was stones in the gallbladder.  I am heading out to check on my options for surgery.  Has anybody had it here in Bangkok?  Where?  Were you happy with the facility and (since I am paying for it) How much did it cost??  Any help--even second hand information will be appreciated!

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[leisurely]

Must take issue with the poster who said that the gall bladder and the kidneys are joined to the urinary bladder! In whose body?

I had cholecystectomy by laparoscopy in the uK. I had been suffering (and I mean suffering) pancreatitis. The whole thing from beginning to end was one day. I had the surgery around noon and was discharged the next day. I would firmly advise against open chole, the scarring is hideous (a great crescent around your body) and the recovery period is anything up to a week as an inpatient. Just make sure that you check how many of the procedures the surgeon has performed.

Good luck.

[h90]

taking that quote: "Quite right, although the gall bladder & kidneys are both connected to the urinary tract so any remedy ingested will pass through the bladder as well as kidney's."

English is not my language but in my translation, the gall bladder is not connected to the urinary tract (I am pretty sure for Austrian and German people, but don't know maybe in other countries people are pluged together a little bit different).

[Mighty Mouse]

I would firmly advise against open chole, the scarring is hideous (a great crescent around your body) and the recovery period is anything up to a week as an inpatient. Just make sure that you check how many of the procedures the surgeon has performed.

Good luck.

Agreed, however if the gall bladder is in an advanced stage of deterioration and/or too difficult to deal with laparoscopically, the choice is with the surgeon not the patient.

[Sheryl]

I would firmly advise against open chole, the scarring is hideous (a great crescent around your body) and the recovery period is anything up to a week as an inpatient. Just make sure that you check how many of the procedures the surgeon has performed.

Good luck.

Agreed, however if the gall bladder is in an advanced stage of deterioration and/or too difficult to deal with laparoscopically, the choice is with the surgeon not the patient.

All the more reason not to delay..that and the risk of complications such as pancreatitis.

He/she needs to have the stones removed. Laparascopic procedure best if he/sehe is a good candidtae for it, surgeon can advise.

[Krub]

I have had my gallbladder removed 2 years ago because of stones forming inside it.

The choice was not to get rid of the stones by ultra sound because it is only done for kidney's stones not gallbladder's.

The big danger apart from the stones making the gallbladder inflamed (which is when yu know there is a problem but this can be quite easily be dealt with antibiotics) is if teh stones are not big enough, they risk blocking the duct going from the gallbladder to the digestive system which would then result in a gallbladder bursting meaning very dangerous immediate surgery which is not always available 8similar to an appendicitis bursting).

There are methods (long term) to reduce teh sizes of the stones and eventually getting rid of them by drinking some natural medecine and herb teas but it does not work always and takes a long time and there is the risk of smaller stones blocking the ducts.

I chose to have surgery after a 1 year wait and another inflamation attack.

It was done by opening 3 very small holes in the andomen to insert instruments (knives, camera, etc) by the surgeon who permformed the operation looking at a screen.

I was told there are more dangers of complication by only removing the stones than removing the whole gallbladder and the removal of the gallbladder has very little impact on digestive function after removal.

The operation took a few hours where the abdomen is blown up for easy access by the surgeon....

I stayed 4 days after operation in hospital

Sorry it was not in Thailand so cannot comment on the cost

Life without a gallbladder means more trips to the toilet with softer stools especially after drinking alcohool or eating fatty food.

Apart from that only pluses

Good luck with whatever you decide to do but the risk of inflamation and bursting far from 1st class hospital care made teh decisoon easy for me (after a year of pose....)