For anyone who is interested:

Bumrungrad does not seem to be much cheaper for some kinds of surgery than the University of Tokyo Hospital. I need to have a tumor removed from my right vocal cord and received estimates for the job. The tumor was doscovered by Dr. Thana at Bumrungrad using small mirrors to inspect my throat. I have had the laryngoscopy done here in Japan at the University of Tokyo Hospital. I have some very nice photos of my tumor now. The 95,000 to 120,000 Baht price ($2,500 - $3,157) I was quoted to have the operation done at Bumrungrad seems a bit expensive since the University of Tokyo Hospital will do the operation for 400,000 yen ($3,390). I'm not certain that the Bumrungrad costs would come in at the upper end, but if they did, they would only be $233 lower than at University of Tokyo Hospital here. The only problem here is that you have to wait for a few months. I haven't checked at hospitals in various countries, but Bumrungrad isn't appearing too competitive right now. Do you think Bumrungrad's prices are competitive with other hospitals in Asia?

I think it depends on how long a patient is hospitalized.

The room, the nursing fee, the tests etc. can add up to much more than the actual surgery fee if one has to stay in the hospital for a few days. I think in this area Thai hospitals can be more competitive than hospitals in more developed Asian countries because of lower labor costs.

If you need such surgery, I highly recommend Aikachon Hospital in Kamphaeng Phet. Here the service is superb, the facility clean and the staff will baby you back to health in no time. You can expect to pay less than half of other large Bangkok facilities with the level of expertise being the same. No! I do not work for them, but recently had an abdominal surgery and spent a week there. Total price, surgery, the room, medication, Lab tests, X-Rays and all amount to 26,000 Baht. If you want more facts PM me!

If you need such surgery, I highly recommend Aikachon Hospital in Kamphaeng Phet. Here the service is superb, the facility clean and the staff will baby you back to health in no time. You can expect to pay less than half of other large Bangkok facilities with the level of expertise being the same. No! I do not work for them, but recently had an abdominal surgery and spent a week there. Total price, surgery, the room, medication, Lab tests, X-Rays and all amount to 26,000 Baht. If you want more facts PM me!

I would be interested to know on what basis you claim that the level of expertise at Aikachon Hospital is the same as the large Bangkok facilities.At first sight such a claim would seem absurd but I am guessing you have a medical background and have done a careful analysis of qualifications and track record of Aikachon physicians in comparison with those of the famous Bangkok establishments.

I got comparative quotes from Bumrungrad and Samitivej for shoulder orthoplasty; virtually the same, if you allow for the fact that Samitivej will have me stay at St. Louis for recovery. I'm choosing Samitivej because I already knew my doctor's qualifications from the website; not so with Bumrungrad.