Hey all!

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to which hospital in bangkok has the best digestive system/liver clinic.

A dear friend was diagnosed with Chronic liver disease, and may require a liver transplant in the future, depending on just how severe the damage to his liver is. I was wondering if anyone could help direct me to the best liver specialist here in Bangkok so that a treatment plan can be panned out for him.

It would be great if any of you could recommend a Hepatologist, and mention where they consult at.

I have seen a hepatologist in Bumrungrad hospital, and she's been great so far; however, in my friends case, his condition is definitely more complex, as he has even recently been admitted in the hospital with hepatic encephalopathy, and so would require extensive evaluation.

Also; another question; can foreigners get a liver transplant done here in Bangkok? Does anyone possibly know which hospitals have had the best success with this surgery?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Before answering -- what is the financial situation? Does he have insurance? As this will be very expensive in a private hospital.

Hi Sheryl;

He doesn't have insurance but is ready to bare all necessary expenses..

Primary concern is consulting the best expert in the field, and getting thoroughly evaluated at a good hospital.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Top hospitals for liver transplant:

Chulalongkhorn Univ Hosp

-Tertiary level govt hospital affiliated with a major teaching hospital. The first to do liver transplants in Thailand. Being a government hospital, much less expensive than private but a lot of red tape and need a Thai speaker to help one navigate the system. The doctors speak English but not the admin, nursing staff as a rule. They have an after hours private channel for seeing their specialists, but it is necessary to go in person first and make an appointment (at least, I have yet to hear of anyone succeeding in doing so on the phone) and waits can be long. The “after hours” private clinic is on the 13^th floor of the main OPD building.

Bangkok Hospital – has a dedicated liver transplant center and team.

- High standard international private hospital. Expensive, but easy to navigate, can make appointments online or by phone.

At Bangkok Hospital, the doctor to see is Prof. Rungsan Rerkmitr. It may also be possible to see him at Chula through their after hours clinic (not sure). Prof. Rungsan is a GI specialist and can management every stage of liver failure. For actual surgery, if it comes to that, Dr. Somsit Tancharoen at Bkk Hosp. At Chulalongkorn, also try to see Prof. Rungsan. For actual surgery, they have a team of surgeons he would refer you to. They have done the most transplant of anyone in Thailand, but that is still not all that many compared to other countries. There is no restriction on farangs getting transplants vs. Thais, it is based on the extent of the disease, but availability of donors is a big constraint. For live liver transplant (i.e. transplant of a part of the liver of a living donor), by law the donor must be a relative. For cadaver donation, there is a very long wait. If coming from abroad anyhow, your friend would do well to consider this hospital in Taiwan which has done far more cases than anyplace in Thailand http://www.clchen.org.tw/english/e_index.htm -- 1,193 cases as of 2013 with a very high survival rate. This was the first place in Asia to perform the procedure. In Taiwan as in Thailand, living donor transplants are limited to relatives.

Is there any transplant work carried out in hospitals on the Eastern Seaboard, like Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya, or the Samitivej and Phayathai hospitals in Sri Racha? Or is it strictly a Bangkok specialty?

Bangkok

Bangkok

A pity for people living outside the capital, but thanks anyway.