I interrupt the latest Thai girlfriend horror story thread with this inquiry:

Does any body know the cost of a Appendectomy (Appendicitis) or Lithotripsy (kidney stones that can't pass) operations in Thailand? I am trying to get a understanding of ACTUAL costs for operations. I had a Appendectomy in the U.S. and it cost $25,000 USD. My Lithotripsy operation in the U.S. was very complicated and I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days. The cost was near $50,000.

I wanted to compare to Thailand costs as I am looking for health insurance and I am trying to get a idea of how much coverage I should get. How much is it a day to stay in the hospital, say over night? I know there are lots of variables, but what if you just had a broken leg and just had to lay there for two weeks?

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I consider Appendicitis, kidney stones, enlarged prostate, broken bones, infections, severe sore throat to be common issues and I hope somebody has some real life experiences with costs in Thai hospitals with these issues.

And I just want to thank every body again for all the information I have received on the forum. This forum is kind of funny with some real experts and some crazy characters.

You might want to read Bumrungrad web site as they have a rather complete listing of costs - they will be at high end of hospitals but believe accurate for that facility and if buying insurance I would want it to cover that hospital just in case have to use it.

http://www.bumrungrad.com/en/realcost-thailand-surgery

I agree Bumrungrad is one of the best hospitals in south east Asia. And most all the doc's speak english as well. I had a colonoscopy done there and if i remember right was less than 500 dollars which included a biopsy and polyp removal hey as long as they were in there. And the hospital does not smell like a hospital is one of the cleanest places i have seen as far as looking clean. Would highly recommend it

Costs will vary greatly by hospital. The referenced Bumrungrad site will give you an idea of costs at top end private hospitals.

However, no way should you base your level of insurance cover on such relatively low cost procedures or on compartatively mild problems.

Think instead of what a massive heart attack or stroke followed by a month or more of ICU treatement and cardiac or neurosurgery would cost...or of a major accident with multiple internal injuries, months in the ICU, multiple surgeries and then rehab.

Per incident cover should not be less than 5 million baht IMO.

thanks, i am looking for a good hospital.

this link has all the costs at bumrungrad. I did not know about that hospital before.

real costs:

http://www.bumrungrad.com/en/realcost-thailand-surgery

For comparison, here's one at Vibhavadi Hospital:

-- 26 June 2007 Vibhavadi Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder) b109,550 $3,341.49

Mac

Costs have gone up considerably since 2007 pretty much everywhere so may be closer to US $5K at that hospital now.

But as mentioned it is not a simple appendectomy that one needs to worry about, but rather catastrophic accidents/illness that can run into the millions of baht

Last year my wife took seriously ill whilst I was working in Europe. After toughing it out for a few days, her sister took her to hospital in Korat, just in time apparently. Appendectomy (total cost with 5+ days in hospital) cost 25,000 Thb.

geordiel

Private or government hospital?

Mac

Mac. To be honest Im not sure which hospital as I was overseas at the time. She was firstly in the nearest hospital Phimai, then moved to Korat due to the advanced state of appendicitis. I will ask her and get back to you. I do know the cost though as I paid it and was pleasantly surprised.

In comparison, on a lighter note: last year I had to have an emergency appendix removal at Luang Prabang, Laos government hospital after all flights to Thailand were fully booked for that afternoon Your typical, large provincial hospital with dogs, chickens and people lying on the floor. I remember having to make a split decision and asking the Chinese surgeon, in acute pain and and increasing panic, if he was really able to perform this procedure in this hospital . Reluctantly signed the papers, was wheeled into a very clean modern surgery 30mins later, all surgeons and nurses super friendly and with good English language. Spent 4 nights recovering as in patient...total costs of surgery, medicine and VIP (ehum..!) room came to THB 6000!

Ultrasound investigation and thyroidectomy cost me 200k at Bumrungrad.

I was quoted 70k at Ram, the most expensive hospital in CM.

(Chose Bumrungrad only because a CAT scan in CM had showed lumps in my lymph nodes too and it looked very dangerous at the time)

From what I can gather you can divide Bumrungrad cost by 3 to get typical costs in a decent quality provincial hospital.

Ram and Maharat room price 1500 per night (that's baht not $!!

Full health checks inclusive blood work ultrasound X-ray consultation everything about 6000 bt

So is Ram the best hospital in CM? Is that the whole name? Ram hospital?

ok wait i found it cm ram hospital. so is it the best?

There is no one consistently "best hospital". All of the private hospitals have doctors of varying levels of competency, from excellent to very poor.

In CM generally speaking the best range of specialists can be found at Sri Pat, a semi-private wing of the government university hospital. However some of these same docs also work at private hospitals like Ram, and the latter are more convenient to use in terms of language, waiting times, red tape etc.

Always choose the doctor, not the hospital. having sufficient insurance cover for treatment at the most expensive private hospitals will give you the widest range of options in that regard.

My friend just had an appendectomy for ฿22,000 @ Kalasin Government Hospital. I recently had a motorbike accident and had three operations to fix a broken shoulder, leg (in two places) and toe that was almost ripped off my foot. Cost for everything including 8 nights in a ward was ฿37,000. A little later I had to have a squamous cell carcinoma tumor removed. Cost including one night in the hospital ฿6,500, these were at the government hospital in Kuchinarai, Kalasin. Next week I start 5 days a week for 6 weeks of radation treatments at Ubon Ratchathani Cancer Centre. Cost ฿23,000. Keep to the government hospitals and costs are very resonable. I almost forgot 3 years ago at the Kalasin Hospital I had a cataract operation on my right eye, with a single focus lens the cost was ฿18,000.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Wow appendectomy at Kalasin less than a thirtieth the price in US.

Just to say agree wholehearted with Sheryl about Ram and Sripat, but yes the Ram is a much more comfortable experience. The Sripat,is in fact part of the larger Maharat Hospital and it shows.

I remember having a consultation there, nurse standing holding the door open and loads of noise coming in from the large numbers of people jut outside. This is never the case at the Ram.

Must say both consultants I saw were the real McCoy but the surgeon had a waiting list of a month for something that he himself said should not wait.

Seems to me with doctoring you will always and everywhere get a percentage of iffy....not to say egregious....diagnoses or treatment. This percentage seems to be higher here than the West and I would say one needs to be.medically aware and intelligent, which for many people is not the case well then it's all down to information-gathering (such as here on TV)........and of course surrendering to kismet.

I usually use the Ram because my wife works there and I get everything set up on a plate and I know some of the doctors and staff but i would have no qualms about changing my hospital or doctor according to the importance and type of the problem.