Knee Replacement

[Lost in LOS]

My knees are gone, intensive sports and arthritis have taken their toll on them. I have put it off for years trying everything, doing everything but with lots of pain, but now my knees are bowing, and that is very bad if not taken care of soon. I must get both done at the same time to straighten them properly. I have spent days on the internet researching it but really hard to get good info other than the doctors/hospitals credentials. Since I live in Pattaya for the last 8+ years I would prefer to have it done here. I am meeting with two surgeons from BPH to talk with them, but I will do Bangkok if it will be better. Right now they have a great deal at BPH, but cost is not the main issue, doing it right without complications is my major goal.

Anyone have any experience here with knee replacement, or know of someone who had it done. Any info would be great. I have many friends that had it done, but not in Thailand, so I do understand the procedures, now I just have to find a really good doctor. There are hundreds of them, and I read their qualifications but as we know, some are good and some not so good.

any help will be greatly appreciated

thanks

Sheryl has recomended someone to me, and I am going to see him, and see how we get along, he seems very good. I appreciate her help beyond thanks. I would love to know anyone here that has personal experience that has had their knee replaced in thailand, an on the ground report is always helpfull. It seems like the knee posts are not very current and things change

thanks to sheryl and anyone else that can help

[Sheryl]

Suggest you do a search in this forum as there have been many prior threads on this (none done at BPH though).

[dthomasss]

I can highly recommend Dr. Montien Sirisuntornlak at Phyathai Hospital in Sriracha. He did my hip replacement a year and a half ago and he is well known for his skill level as an orthopedic surgeon along with offering quality patient care. Feel free to contact me. I did a lot of research and met with him several times before making my decision. My recover period for amazingly fast, and I have been pain-free since the procedure.

[Lost in LOS]

Suggest you do a search in this forum as there have been many prior threads on this (none done at BPH though).

Thanks, I must be doing something wrong becasue the threads I find are years old. I search knees, knee replacement etc. thanks for the help

[Lost in LOS]

I can highly recommend Dr. Montien Sirisuntornlak at Phyathai Hospital in Sriracha. He did my hip replacement a year and a half ago and he is well known for his skill level as an orthopedic surgeon along with offering quality patient care. Feel free to contact me. I did a lot of research and met with him several times before making my decision. My recover period for amazingly fast, and I have been pain-free since the procedure.

I will check on him, thanks

[Lost in LOS]

thanks for everyones help

I cannot find someone who had it done here just hips

I have an appointment with 2 docs from BPH, if that doesnt go well I will make appointment with Bumengrads recomended doctor

[Valentine]

thanks for everyones help

I cannot find someone who had it done here just hips

I have an appointment with 2 docs from BPH, if that doesnt go well I will make appointment with Bumengrads recomended doctor

I was told 3 to 4 tears ago I have osteoarthritis & no cartilage in my left knee & that I would need a replacement. After walking around for about 1 1/2 years with a peg leg & often painful I now walk fairly normally without pain. I have not had a knee replacement. I damaged my knee playing rugby when I was 21 & the doctor at the time warned me I would have problems when I was older. Feel free to PM if you would like some more details.

[pitchag]

I had my complete knee replacement at Bangkok Pattaya and could not be happier, great hospital great surgeons and fantastic nursing care. The after care was was very good the same surgeon who did the op also did the after care checking wound and removing stiches

[chubby]

this problem is the same everywhere, no one keeps or release stats on "success", or what "success" is, one primary risk, is the components getting infected, but I don't know if picking a hospital vs. a doctor would help, I believe bumrangrad is the only JCAHO hospital in thailand fwiw ; http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/13/big-med

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Re JCI accreditation, attached a scan from a brochure Bumrungrad was handing out at the 4th of July gig here. Turns out there's several hospitals with their rating.

In addition, there's 44 hospitals in Thailand listed here:

http://www.jointcommissioninternational.org/about-jci/jci-accredited-organizations/?c=Thailand

Mac

[Lost in LOS]

I had my complete knee replacement at Bangkok Pattaya and could not be happier, great hospital great surgeons and fantastic nursing care. The after care was was very good the same surgeon who did the op also did the after care checking wound and removing stiches

which doctor did you use?

[fdimike]

I had both my knees replaced using computer assisted minimimum invassive surgery at Vejthani Hospital on Lad Praow Rd. Dr Chumroomkiat was the surgeon and I couldn't say enough good things about him, his team of surgeons and the nursing staff there. The hospital is just large enough without being too big ie Bumrungrad. Post surgery care was outstanding to include having me up walking with a walker a day after the surgery. I chose Computer Assisted knee replacement after doing a considerable amount of research on the subject. The conclusion was that this type of knee replacement was much more accurate which would lead to a longer life span for the implant.

A friend of mine had a knee replacement at Srinakrin Hospital in Khon Kaen but was unable to walk normally (pain free) even years after the surgery. I recommended he ask Dr Chumroonkiat to look it over. The result was a determination the the implant was incorrctly installed. A new implant was used and the man is now walking normally again.

[chubby]

was your a total knee or a partial ? i'm not aware they can do total knee with minimal invasiveness

I had both my knees replaced using computer assisted minimimum invassive surgery at Vejthani Hospital on Lad Praow Rd. Dr Chumroomkiat was the surgeon and I couldn't say enough good things about him, his team of surgeons and the nursing staff there. The hospital is just large enough without being too big ie Bumrungrad. Post surgery care was outstanding to include having me up walking with a walker a day after the surgery. I chose Computer Assisted knee replacement after doing a considerable amount of research on the subject. The conclusion was that this type of knee replacement was much more accurate which would lead to a longer life span for the implant.

A friend of mine had a knee replacement at Srinakrin Hospital in Khon Kaen but was unable to walk normally (pain free) even years after the surgery. I recommended he ask Dr Chumroonkiat to look it over. The result was a determination the the implant was incorrctly installed. A new implant was used and the man is now walking normally again.

[fdimike]

Both knees were total knee replacements. I believe there are only two hopsitals in Thailand offering computer assisted knee replacement. Vejthani and Bangkok Hospital. I chose Vejthani because they offer a bio on their doctors. Dr Chumroomkiat was a pioneer in this kind of surgery in Thailand. He has since moved to Bumrungrad Hospital to train the doctors their on this type of surgery. However, he still operates at Vejthani Hospital for those who prefer Vej to Bum.

[Bernard Flint]

Have a look at the new Pattaya city hospital, on soi bukhaw, they have been advertising for knee and hip replacements for about 190,000 baht i think. Obviously if you have private healthcare that covers BPH go for that.

[rodknock]

i had both total knee replacement done in 2010 in the states. surgery was not bad. did surgery on a monday, had me out of bed tuesday walking and tuesday afternoon shipped to a rehab. facility for 3 weeks. after went to physical therapy. had second knee done 2months after first.

you need to get a mind set for the physical therapy that you are going to work hard at getting recovered.

to this day i go in the pool where i live and still do exercises for my knees every day and walk forward and backwards 1 hour. water exercises are the best.

this may sound funny, but the worst part of knee replacement was wiping your butt after.

[Lost in LOS]

thanks for all the comments on here. I used many of these for my questions to the docs. getting my operation done saturaday moring, the doc thinks it will be a partial and that is what he is planning on. He told me when the knee is open he will check the other side and if it doesnt look good enough he will change to a full knee replacement, I gave him permission if thats the case, there will be two experienced docs doing the replacement.

[Sheryl]

All the best, and let us know the outcome.

[dddave]

Both knees were total knee replacements. I believe there are only two hopsitals in Thailand offering computer assisted knee replacement. Vejthani and Bangkok Hospital. I chose Vejthani because they offer a bio on their doctors. Dr Chumroomkiat was a pioneer in this kind of surgery in Thailand. He has since moved to Bumrungrad Hospital to train the doctors their on this type of surgery. However, he still operates at Vejthani Hospital for those who prefer Vej to Bum.

would you mind revealing the bottom line cost of your surgery?

[hhgz]

"the worst part of knee replacement was wiping your butt after."

I have never been able to wipe my butt with my knee.

[fdimike]

My Computer Assisted total knee replacement ran me around 400,000THB. Computer assisted surgery is more expensive but should last longer as the alignment is markedly better. I have medical insurance so the cost was not really a factor. I see that Vejthani Hospital has a special promotion package of 150,000THB for NON computer assisted surgery which includes the hospital stay and all associated costs.

[Lost in LOS]

This is my almost two week update, for those interested and for those thinking about it. Sports and arthritis wore my knees and I have been waling bone on bone for a couple of years. I was stubborn but when my friends were telling me how bad my knees were bowing, I knee I could wait no longer so I did it. Here is my full update, day 13

I am posting this to thank those who helped me and for those considering knee replacement. I could not find any current people have it done in Thailand, only years ago other than changmai, not an option

I preferred going to BPH since they are professional and I personally never had a problem there in 8 years, and I live in the area which was good if I had a problem and to go visit the doc, all good. I interview both their knee surgeons personaly and did a lot of Internet research as well as talked to a couple of hospitals in Bangkok concerning procedures and surgeons. I decided on Dr Sukree, from BPH. He had a lot of experience and training in Thailand, as well as out of country. He seemed very interested, took new x-rays, and checked my knees, explained how the operation would go, and the timetable. He showed me a couple of x-rays of other knees he did, both before and after, the before looked just like mine. He thought a partial would work, but said when the knee was open, if the rest of the bone did not look good then he would do a full. I gave him a go for both options. He also showed me a top quality knee implant, from the US, that he would use, all good.

He did the operation while I was asleep, my choice, and I woke up with a full knee replacement, he said the rest of my knee was not good enough for a partial. I was on a knee-bending machine next 3 days, bending up to 90%, with minor pain. I was walking on a walker in two days. After 4 days in hospital, he had me go home with a walker, some medicine, and said do little exercise and walking, and only with a walker. I was impressed when he gave me his personal email and phone number, if I had a problem. I did very light, very little exercise as he wanted the wound to heal. He had me come back in one week to look at the wound, which was stapled, said it looked great and applied another waterproof bandage. One more week of the same, limited walking with walker, limited exercise, lying down with leg raised and icing it. I came back on day 13 to take out the staples; I asked if I could leave the walker home, yep, all good. Walked to my friends truck, he was absolutely shocked, and off to the hospital. The staples came out, no pain, some new dressing for 4 days for the staple punctures to close, then I can go swimming. I can now do the exercises he gave me and do some walking without the walker. Great experience, with the hospital, with the surgeon Dr Sukree, and my new knee. On the way home, I stopped in a restaurant and had a great meal, my first time out in two weeks.

I will wait about 3 weeks to get my other knee done. My knees were bent badly, and now one is straight, and the other will soon follow

This is an update for anyone thinking about a knee operation, I had so much trouble, and an overload of info, finding the right surgeon, hard to do. I lucked out and found a great one

My Doctor

my xray befored surgery

during operation

xray after operation

staples after operation

staples out today

right leg now straight, left leg still bowed

410,000

[Lost in LOS]

4 week today, all good with the knee, rode my bicycle 5 kilometers today. some pain and swelling but otherwise, all good

[Sheryl]

Thanks for the update. Glad it all went well!

[chubby]

fwiw, CPM s are not used anymore, deprecated, of course, hard to argue with orthopods, but it sort of shows one is not up with things, TKRs now don't use staples anymore either, just glue, which i think improves things overall ; most TKRs seem to be happy stories, main thing is why is your flexion range , and will you get to 120 ? and how long will you take codeine

[Lost in LOS]

fwiw, CPM s are not used anymore, deprecated, of course, hard to argue with orthopods, but it sort of shows one is not up with things, TKRs now don't use staples anymore either, just glue, which i think improves things overall ; most TKRs seem to be happy stories, main thing is why is your flexion range , and will you get to 120 ? and how long will you take codeine

I think I am doing 120.....yep, knee hurts and swells still.....but I am walking and my leg is now straight

staples......hmmm guess this looks really bad...........

you seem to be an unhappy fellow, bad knee operation?

[fdimike]

Lost

I would take things slowly on the bike. I've had both TKR and am a touring cyclist. The first knee has held up just fine but the scond one done about 18mos ago has failed for no apparent reason. No infection, no problem with alignment etc. The only thing the docs can come with is I started back touring too soon. The failure rate is about 2% much of which is due to unknown reasons.

I am now 6 weeks post revision surgery and am about to begin cycling about 5 -10kms. Revision surgey is much more involved and more painful which could be due to the much stronger implant which has a 6" stem into both thigh a lower leg bones. I've got about 120deg of movement in the knee now.

I would give the new knee more healing time before tackling the other knee.

JMHO

[i claudius]

Reading here I see that most knee and hip

problems are due to sport or exercise ,luckily my knees and hips

are fine,but then I always took the advice of Oscar Wilde," when I feel the need for exercise ,I lay down until the feeling goes away" hope your operation goes ok

Edited August 9, 2015 by i claudius

[Lost in LOS]

Lost

I would take things slowly on the bike. I've had both TKR and am a touring cyclist. The first knee has held up just fine but the scond one done about 18mos ago has failed for no apparent reason. No infection, no problem with alignment etc. The only thing the docs can come with is I started back touring too soon. The failure rate is about 2% much of which is due to unknown reasons.

I am now 6 weeks post revision surgery and am about to begin cycling about 5 -10kms. Revision surgey is much more involved and more painful which could be due to the much stronger implant which has a 6" stem into both thigh a lower leg bones. I've got about 120deg of movement in the knee now.

I would give the new knee more healing time before tackling the other knee.

JMHO

Wow. I have some pressure but bending knee okay, bike ride limiited to 5K for a month, then will up it a couple of more, and so on

How loing do you suggest between operations?

My operated knee is 1/2" longer now, but I have added that to a paif or sandles and a pair of shoes and I can walk okay.

[Thaidi007]

Hi Lost in LOS

As a result of your recommendation, my husband had a consultation with Dr Sukee yesterday for a total knee replacement, and his operation will be on May 26.

We are travelling around SE Asia for a few years and have our Thailand Retirement Visa, and as we aren't that familiar with Pattaya, I wonder if you could recommend a decent area for us to hang around for 4 weeks approximately. Thanks Di