Cataract / Lens Replacement Surgery

[moonseeker]

Anybody with a surgeon recommendation other than in BPH? Pattaya International maybe? If I can't find here I will travel to Rutnin Eye Hospital in BKK. Looking for a Dr. that at least takes the time to explain me properly the pros & cons in a rather difficult situation. Thank you. MS>

Edited May 27, 2015 by moonseeker

[ThaiBob]

Go to Rutnin, that's where I go.

[lopburi3]

Any large hospital have vision care centers with doctors that can explain your options - basically it is up to you when to do if no other medical complications (when you feel uncomfortable with you vision). But as you indicate issues Rutnin might be your best choice as they are very experienced

Having had this done at Vejthani this year, and wife having done a year earlier, have some experience. About the only normal option is the replacement lens type - do you want to spend the extra for correction and maybe not have to use glasses for reading or are you willing to use the most tested single vision lens (which some make choice of near in one eye and far in other). As surgery has more than 99% chance of success it does not require the most expensive facility, unless you always must have the best or have serious issues. Price will vary (this is done free for many unable to pay in much of the world) - we paid 36k per eye for normal lens and believe that can go up to about 100k at most expensive (and more if special lens).

A big difference after operation is (at least for me) colors - much more clear and vivid - after one eye done could see how much tan/brown cast was being caused by my old eye lens - also much less light required so you will likely want to wear sunglasses more often.

[WaywardWind]

I had a complete physical at PIH last week and the eye doctor there indicated that my cataracts had developed to the point where surgery was recommended. I have consistently used PIH since coming here 4 years ago, but since we are dealing with my eyes, Rutnin is my first choice.

I have my initial eye consult at Rutnin with Dr. Roy (based on recommendations from folks here on previous threads) next Tuesday morning, and will come back and post an update afterwards.

[Longtooth]

I had a complete physical at PIH last week and the eye doctor there indicated that my cataracts had developed to the point where surgery was recommended. I have consistently used PIH since coming here 4 years ago, but since we are dealing with my eyes, Rutnin is my first choice.

I have my initial eye consult at Rutnin with Dr. Roy (based on recommendations from folks here on previous threads) next Tuesday morning, and will come back and post an update afterwards.

You got it! I had Dr. Roy at Rutnin for both eyes. Perfect hospital and doctor. I told him after the surgeries that if I could see any better I would have "X-ray Vision"! This is now years later, still perfect.

[loppylugs1]

I'm more than probably going to get this done ,this time around. About 3 years ago it was borderline,now most defiantly past the point,but not in Thailand but Goa in India Eye Multi Specialty hospital Mapusa,state of the art equipment and surgery techniques.

Throw in a few more procedures while there bowel cancer, prostate screening,heart echo tested etc. good job done,way below Thailand pricing

[WaywardWind]

I had a complete physical at PIH last week and the eye doctor there indicated that my cataracts had developed to the point where surgery was recommended. I have consistently used PIH since coming here 4 years ago, but since we are dealing with my eyes, Rutnin is my first choice.

I have my initial eye consult at Rutnin with Dr. Roy (based on recommendations from folks here on previous threads) next Tuesday morning, and will come back and post an update afterwards.

You got it! I had Dr. Roy at Rutnin for both eyes. Perfect hospital and doctor. I told him after the surgeries that if I could see any better I would have "X-ray Vision"! This is now years later, still perfect.

Yes, he seems to be the go-to guy according to folks writing here.

If the X-ray vision isn't too much more expensive, I may go for it...heh...

[jonnyscot]

Sorry for butting in here but how many years are the eyes expected to stay good as a general rule,

I just scraped thru my seaman medical a couple weeks back, doctor noted early cateracts in both eyes and stigmatism in my left eye, I've worn contact lenses -2.00 strength for distance for many years but just this last year I see my close vision deteriorating (when the lenses are in I mean ) before close and far vision were ok with the lenses

[WaywardWind]

As I said above I had an appointment with Dr. Roy at Rutnin Eye Hospital on Tuesday.

The place was very busy. Arrived at 09:30 for 10:00 AM appointment. After registering, they conducted a series of tests, and examinations including photos of the interior of my eyes, which took me through 1:00 PM before I got to see the doctor. He explained in great detail that I had cataracts in both eyes, as well as an astigmatism in my left eye. He spoke excellent English and left no question unanswered. He explained the process as surgery on day one (lasting 20-30 minutes) a check for infections on day two, then waiting about a month until the eye healed before proceeding with the second eye. He was careful to stress that the timing of the surgery was patient driven, not doctor driven - he went so far as to say that a doctor should not really recommend surgery.

We then met with the assistant about costs:

Mono Focal lens - 60,000-65,000 THB. Most common replacement, but may or may not eliminate the need for eyeglasses, either for distance or reading..

Multi Focal lens - 90,000-95,000 THB. Would eliminate the need for glasses, but could take longer to the patient to adapt.

Multi-toric lens - 130,000-150,000 THB. Would eliminate the need for glasses and deal with astigmatism.

Finally finished up at about 2:30 PM. Cost for the consult and all the tests, etc., was 3,660 THB.

The place was spotless, and there were dozens of staff. Quite a bit of waiting between the tests, etc. Because they had dilated my pupils to conduct some of the tests, it was a bit awkward when we wnt outside, even with very dark sunglasses. I was very glad I wasn't driving.

Now I just have to decide which way I want to go with this, and when I can dedicate two months to schedule the two surgeries.

[Roger Lee]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

[loppylugs1]

- he went so far as to say that a doctor should not really recommend surgery.

Ive had this before off a doctor too. He wearing glasses giving a talk on the subject,says it all really

[i claudius]

Go to Queen Sirikit navel hospital in Satahip, far cheaper and you get doctors from all major hospitals working there a few days a week ,

[ThaiBob]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

They are good but on the high end of the scale if that is important to you. A friend just had both eyes done, two nights in the hospital, 160,000 baht for the mono focal. Typically cataract surgeries are done in pairs, I had to wait many years for the cataracts in one eye to "catchup" with the other eye.

[fritzzz25]

My father just had cataract surgery yesterday. PLEASE ensure that your doctor knows if you have ever taken the medication called "Flo-Max" or the generic name of Tamsulosin. My father had used it in the past prior to his prostate cancer surgery. This drug is known to cause issues with cataract surgery. My father did inform his surgeon of his use of it, however he was one of the very few who end up with a complication from the surgery. He now needs to see another surgeon who specializes in correction of this issue that my father ended up with.

From wikipedia - Ophthalmologic: Patients taking tamsulosin are prone to a complication known as floppy iris syndrome during cataract surgery. Adverse outcomes of the surgery are greatly reduced by the surgeon's prior knowledge of the patient's history with this drug, and thus having the option of alternative techniques

Not to try to scare anyone, just putting it out to anyone who has ever used this medication (even only ONE dose) in your lifetime and undergoing cataract surgery.

[lopburi3]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

They are good but on the high end of the scale if that is important to you. A friend just had both eyes done, two nights in the hospital, 160,000 baht for the mono focal. Typically cataract surgeries are done in pairs, I had to wait many years for the cataracts in one eye to "catchup" with the other eye.

That is a very high cost and normally such surgery is not done at the same time on both eyes - should be time to be sure healing is OK before doing the second eye - if you are blinded in one eye you might have second thoughts as to timing of another operation.

Also it does not normally require any stay in hospital - believe this was only because blind if both eyes done together? Although government hospitals often do have you stay from reports.

Will repeat my operations at Vejthani in Bangkok total cost were 36k each eye for mono lens so 160k sounds very expensive. But I did not stay in hospital and had 2 weeks between operations.

[ThaiBob]

The BHP charge is only slightly higher than Rutnin and the lens are German imports not Thai or Chinese. The patient had a heart condition thus the need for hospitalization. Surgeries done on different days.

[moonseeker]

Report.....

My friend, who I posted for, had an initial check-up and offer from Bangkok Pattaya. As we did not feel comfortable with the Dr.'s changing explanations and offers and staff being really pushy to sign up for surgery immediately, we paid the check-up and left.

Next day we went to Dr. Nattawat @: http://www.pattayaeyecenter.com/

This Dr. comes highly recommended and his CV shows a lot of experience. He speaks good E and we liked him immediately, also the clinic is much simpler than BPH. Also his staff very friendly. He had several patients there and seemed quite busy. The Dr. expalined all options in Detail and mentioned that 1 eye was so "bad" that the chances of not having to use glasses again were somewhat reduced.

My friend had both eyes done 2 days ago for cataracts and bad astigmatism with the newest model multi-focals on the market, a type that was not even mentioned @ BPH. We can't comment on the result yet, but treatment & surgery was flawless and friendly. Cost compares probably 20% below BPH.

We had Rutnin Hospital in mind, but my friend preferred to get it done locally. Regards. MS>

Edited June 4, 2015 by moonseeker

[lopburi3]

The BHP charge is only slightly higher than Rutnin and the lens are German imports not Thai or Chinese. The patient had a heart condition thus the need for hospitalization. Surgeries done on different days.

I am not sure any IOL is made in Thailand. I do know both my lens were supplied by Abbott USA-California-Santa Ana as they are registered items.

[ThaiBob]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

They are good but on the high end of the scale if that is important to you. A friend just had both eyes done, two nights in the hospital, 160,000 baht for the mono focal. Typically cataract surgeries are done in pairs, I had to wait many years for the cataracts in one eye to "catchup" with the other eye.

That is a very high cost and normally such surgery is not done at the same time on both eyes - should be time to be sure healing is OK before doing the second eye - if you are blinded in one eye you might have second thoughts as to timing of another operation.

Also it does not normally require any stay in hospital - believe this was only because blind if both eyes done together? Although government hospitals often do have you stay from reports.

Will repeat my operations at Vejthani in Bangkok total cost were 36k each eye for mono lens so 160k sounds very expensive. But I did not stay in hospital and had 2 weeks between operations.

That's a great price. On the high end is Bumrungrad, about 95,000 for one lens on a outpatient basis.

[Roger Lee]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

They are good but on the high end of the scale if that is important to you. A friend just had both eyes done, two nights in the hospital, 160,000 baht for the mono focal. Typically cataract surgeries are done in pairs, I had to wait many years for the cataracts in one eye to "catchup" with the other eye.

Thanks for the response, I was quoted 76,000 baht for the super lens which does near and far correction. Said the procedure takes about an hour. I've had two surgeries done at BPH both excellent outcomes, but was curious about the eyes.

[lopburi3]

The actual procedure will likely only be about 10 minutes on OR table but time is required prior to operation to dilate eyes (and that can take some time - mine was so slow it lost my place in OR queue even after an hour of drops).

[moonseeker]

To compare cost need to compare apples/apples, a specific lens. Major difference in type and brand. But more important than price is experience of Dr. performing surgery. MS>

[Jingthing]

Bumrungrad now has more advanced technology, femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery (the cuts are made by laser) for cataract surgery. It is more expensive. Arguably the accuracy is superior and recovery issues are even less than standard methods.

This is maybe more significant.

It is my understanding that with these new machines, astigmatisms can be corrected using the laser at the time of the cataract surgery. That done, the issues of using astigmatism correcting lenses change.

I suppose you might be able to do this, get single focus lens, not need to wear glasses for everyday (astigmatism correction), but need glasses for reading.

To me it is normal for older people to need reading glasses. But needing glasses all the time, that's a pain in the arse.

Rutnin I think has the machines but it's not clear to me if they are using them yet or not. Not mentioned on their websites. Bumrungrad is heavily promoting.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Jingthing

[Roger Lee]

The actual procedure will likely only be about 10 minutes on OR table but time is required prior to operation to dilate eyes (and that can take some time - mine was so slow it lost my place in OR queue even after an hour of drops).

Where did you have your eyes worked on at?

[lopburi3]

Vejthani Hospital here in Bangkok.

From tests today an added benefit has been peripheral vision - now testing as normal on CVT test - very different than before. Also today pressure test was 12 in both eyes (double checked with both eye-drop and air) - take daily medications for many years to keep it below 18 and 14-16 was best it ever got. Have no idea why that has changed but will take it.

[thaisabai]

Report.....

My friend, who I posted for, had an initial check-up and offer from Bangkok Pattaya. As we did not feel comfortable with the Dr.'s changing explanations and offers and staff being really pushy to sign up for surgery immediately, we paid the check-up and left.

Next day we went to Dr. Nattawat @: http://www.pattayaeyecenter.com/

This Dr. comes highly recommended and his CV shows a lot of experience. He speaks good E and we liked him immediately, also the clinic is much simpler than BPH. Also his staff very friendly. He had several patients there and seemed quite busy. The Dr. expalined all options in Detail and mentioned that 1 eye was so "bad" that the chances of not having to use glasses again were somewhat reduced.

My friend had both eyes done 2 days ago for cataracts and bad astigmatism with the newest model multi-focals on the market, a type that was not even mentioned @ BPH. We can't comment on the result yet, but treatment & surgery was flawless and friendly. Cost compares probably 20% below BPH.

We had Rutnin Hospital in mind, but my friend preferred to get it done locally. Regards. MS>

totally agree with Dr. Nattawat. had my left eye done for cataract and came out perfect. speaks perfect English and the girls at the reception are extremely friendly. Had a Toric lens implanted but Dr. Nattawat told me when I decide to do my other eye, a Toric lens is not necessary.

and best of all, if you live in Pattaya, saves you several trips to Bangkok (pre-check, surgery, one day after check, 2 weeks after check, 1 month after check).

thaisabai

[jonnyscot]

Can anyone comment on the expected lifetime of those lens implants? Although I understand it may be dependant on several factors,

Thanks

[Jingthing]

They are intended to be in there for life!

[NeverSure]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

They are good but on the high end of the scale if that is important to you. A friend just had both eyes done, two nights in the hospital, 160,000 baht for the mono focal. Typically cataract surgeries are done in pairs, I had to wait many years for the cataracts in one eye to "catchup" with the other eye.

If you have monofocal lenses I believe you are talking about one lens for seeing up close and the other for distance? This works well for contact lenses and for lasik surgery but the results aren't so promising for lens implants.

I have that with lasik surgery and the results are incredibly good. My right eye is corrected for distance and the left for close up work. The brain's function makes vision additive as it looks for the sharpest focus and I never notice that one eye is "dragging."

The results with lens implants aren't nearly as good and there is a better solution called interocular multifocal lenses. These lenses are capable of actually focusing at different distances which really good and young natural eyes can do. Here's something to read on the subject if you'd like.

LINK

Edited June 10, 2015 by NeverSure

[NeverSure]

I'm considering getting one of my eyes done at Pattaya Bangkok Hospital.

Has anyone else had any experiences with these folks? They seemed very professional and knowledgable.

They are good but on the high end of the scale if that is important to you. A friend just had both eyes done, two nights in the hospital, 160,000 baht for the mono focal. Typically cataract surgeries are done in pairs, I had to wait many years for the cataracts in one eye to "catchup" with the other eye.

If you have monofocal lenses I believe you are talking about one lens for seeing up close and the other for distance? This works well for contact lenses and for lasik surgery but the results aren't so promising for lens implants.

I have that with lasik surgery and the results are incredibly good. My right eye is corrected for distance and the left for close up work. The brain's function makes vision additive as it looks for the sharpest focus and I never notice that one eye is "dragging."

The results with lens implants aren't nearly as good and there is a better solution called interocular multifocal lenses. These lenses are capable of actually focusing at different distances which really good and young natural eyes can do. Here's something to read on the subject if you'd like.

LINK

I'm very sorry. You said mono focal and I went to monovision which is the dual focus. It's monovision that gives far and near vision when it works right. It's used in contact lenses, lasik surgery and to a lesser extent IOLs. It's the new multifocal IOLs I linked to.

Sorry for the brain fart. The linked multifocal article is still a valid option.

Cheers