Urologie in Chiang Mai

[sanoek60]

Need top urologist to do biopsie of prostate.

I hear mixed feelings about Dr Bannakit...

How much will cost a biopsie and where? Have to pay out of own pocket!

Many thanks

[northernjohn]

I have not used any but here is the list from the above pinned topics. Maybe some one who has had experience with one of them or another will come along and relate it to you.

UROLOGY (Urinary/Reproductive)

Dr Pruk Kithirathrakan

Rajavej Hospital, 053 801999

Dr Jamroon Wattanasakult

Rajavej Hospital, 053 801999

Dr. Bunnakit

Sriphat, his own private clinic and occasionally at RAM

053 5394 6900/1

Sriphat is the private wing of the 2,300 bed Maharaj Nakorn Hospital - also known as Suan Dok

[Oscar2]

Dr. Bannakit did mine. can't say enough good things about him. cost - i forget now but probably 40K or somewhere in that range.

RAM. it's the only place that offers general anesthesia for the procedure. the good dr. says it is an uncomfortable and painful procedure w/o general anesthesia.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Oscar2

[Mooserj]

Had my prostate biopsy done by Dr. Bunnakit at RAM...a good experience and was about 25,000 baht. General anaesthetic so no discomfort...arrived about 830 and departed just after lunch on a Saturday.

[Oscar2]

Had my prostate biopsy done by Dr. Bunnakit at RAM...a good experience and was about 25,000 baht. General anaesthetic so no discomfort...arrived about 830 and departed just after lunch on a Saturday.

that sounds about right for the actual procedure. but i spent the night and needed a lot of tests the day before which brought the bill up another 10K. and the pre-op and post-op meds were quite expensive; about 5K as i recall. one was a brand new German antibiotic about 700 per dose.

[uptheos]

Dr. Bannakit did mine. can't say enough good things about him. cost - i forget now but probably 40K or somewhere in that range.

RAM. it's the only place that offers general anesthesia for the procedure. the good dr. says it is an uncomfortable and painful procedure w/o general anesthesia.

I don't know how accurate that actually is.

He did mine at Sripat under general anesthesia, but that was in 2007

The way doctors are moving from hospital to hospital, there could be other options though RAM is fine.

NB Go see him at his office and talk to him.

Edited June 3, 2016 by uptheos

[elektrified]

+1 for Dr. Bannakit. He did my biopsy at RAM also. I don't remember the price. Insurance paid most; but not all. I also had general anesthesia (Propofol) and no problems or discomfort whatsoever. I had the procedure around 9:00 and was on my way home by 14:00.

What he explained to me was that RAM was the only place that he could book an anesthesiologist. He said that at Sriphat it is not considered necessary (more of a comfort) and that anesthesiologists are on short supply there. So, the anesthesia could be bumped if there is nobody available due to more serious surgeries at the same time. 50/50 chance I believe he said. At SUan Dok no general anesthesia available for biopsy.

[sanoek60]

All in favor of Dr Bannakit ! How about Samitvej?

[fredge45]

+1 for Dr. Bannakit. He did my biopsy at RAM also. I don't remember the price. Insurance paid most; but not all. I also had general anesthesia (Propofol) and no problems or discomfort whatsoever. I had the procedure around 9:00 and was on my way home by 14:00.

What he explained to me was that RAM was the only place that he could book an anesthesiologist. He said that at Sriphat it is not considered necessary (more of a comfort) and that anesthesiologists are on short supply there. So, the anesthesia could be bumped if there is nobody available due to more serious surgeries at the same time. 50/50 chance I believe he said. At SUan Dok no general anesthesia available for biopsy.

The good Dr. B padding the bill yet again by insisting the use of RAM. You're right... I am no fan of him and his work.

[sanoek60]

I had appointment with Dr.Pruk (Rajavej hospital) yesterday,quite young Doctor very good in English.

He explained me that biopsy is done without general anesthesia there.

Cost around 10 K. All done in one hour.

The main question now is,who has experience with this Doctor ?

[Oscar2]

I had appointment with Dr.Pruk (Rajavej hospital) yesterday,quite young Doctor very good in English.

He explained me that biopsy is done without general anesthesia there.

Cost around 10 K. All done in one hour.

The main question now is,who has experience with this Doctor ?

1. quite young (not much experience)

2. no anesthesia

what are you crazy? go see a competent, experienced pro like the one mentioned above. CMU Professor, lectures all around the world, practiced in USA, decades of experience.

google pain from prostate biopsy w/o anesthesia. some report it to be excruciating!

[sanoek60]

Doctor Pruk has also consultation @ Bangkok hospital in chiang mai.

His profile showing that he's doing urological surgery from 2008

[NancyL]

Prostate Biopsy Pain May Exceed (Local) Anesthesia:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/urology/prostatecancer/4107

Hubby went to Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok for his procedure when he had problems finding a doctor here who would use general anesthesia for this procedure. (This was a few years ago.) Cost was about 45,000 baht, but well worth it.

[sanoek60]

Prostate Biopsy Pain May Exceed (Local) Anesthesia:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/urology/prostatecancer/4107

Hubby went to Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok for his procedure when he had problems finding a doctor here who would use general anesthesia for this procedure. (This was a few years ago.) Cost was about 45,000 baht, but well worth it.

Thanks Nancy,I have read probably a few hundred different opinions.

It will never be painless but on a scale 0-10, 85 % gives a 5?

I can't imagine that if it was unbearable a hospital would do it without general anesthesia?

[uptheos]

Doctor Pruk has also consultation @ Bangkok hospital in chiang mai.

His profile showing that he's doing urological surgery from 2008

Yes, because Bangkok Hospital are struggling to get certain doctors, they bring them in from wherever they can.

If you live in Thailand follow the rule that just about everyone will advise you, including Sheryl on the health forum. Find the doctor you need and not the hospital.

You go to Bangkok Hospital and you will pay top dollar for...............well you figure it out.

Edited June 8, 2016 by uptheos

[uptheos]

I had appointment with Dr.Pruk (Rajavej hospital) yesterday,quite young Doctor very good in English.

He explained me that biopsy is done without general anesthesia there.

Cost around 10 K. All done in one hour.

The main question now is,who has experience with this Doctor ?

1. quite young (not much experience)

2. no anesthesia

what are you crazy? go see a competent, experienced pro like the one mentioned above. CMU Professor, lectures all around the world, practiced in USA, decades of experience.

google pain from prostate biopsy w/o anesthesia. some report it to be excruciating!

Well said.

[uptheos]

I have not used any but here is the list from the above pinned topics. Maybe some one who has had experience with one of them or another will come along and relate it to you.

UROLOGY (Urinary/Reproductive)

Dr Pruk Kithirathrakan

Rajavej Hospital, 053 801999

Dr Jamroon Wattanasakult

Rajavej Hospital, 053 801999

Dr. Bunnakit

Sriphat, his own private clinic and occasionally at RAM

053 5394 6900/1

Sriphat is the private wing of the 2,300 bed Maharaj Nakorn Hospital - also known as Suan Dok

I'm not saying that any of the doctors mentioned at Rajavej are not good, because I don't know.

What I will say is I can't recall seeing any thread on TV by anyone who has been treated by them.

I have however, seen a lot of posts by people who have been treated by and recommend Dr Bunnakit.

I guess you pay your money and take your chances.

[sanoek60]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

[Oscar2]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

and for another 5K you could have had the good Professor, anesthesia, and state of the art facility, helpful, friendly staff, no post-op discomfort, no pain meds. amazing what people will go through to save EUR 125!

[NancyL]

Yeah, when Hubby had his procedure done at Bumrungrad, he remembers no pain at all, even after the procedure. That's because there's something in the IV meds that create amnesia. It was a day procedure and they suggest I just wait back at our hotel, a couple blocks from the hospital and they'd call me when he was ready for me to come get him. When I returned to the hospital, they escorted me to a small room that was done up like a privte living room (lounge), complete with TV, lounge chairs and reading material. He was sitting there, fully dressed, drinking hot chocolate with a silly grin on his face mumbling something about how the place had pretty nurses and wonderful hot chocolate.

The silly grin continued while I guided him back to the hotel, on foot. And there he asked for more hot chocolate. (in Bangkok!) The guy was obviously not feeling any "discomfort" after his prostate biopsy.

The next day he had no recollection of the pretty little lounge room where I met him after the procedure and only a faint memory that he drank a warm drink at the hospital, not that he turned into a real pig drinking hot chocolate both at the hospital and back at the hotel.

[Oscar2]

Yeah, when Hubby had his procedure done at Bumrungrad, he remembers no pain at all, even after the procedure. That's because there's something in the IV meds that create amnesia. It was a day procedure and they suggest I just wait back at our hotel, a couple blocks from the hospital and they'd call me when he was ready for me to come get him. When I returned to the hospital, they escorted me to a small room that was done up like a privte living room (lounge), complete with TV, lounge chairs and reading material. He was sitting there, fully dressed, drinking hot chocolate with a silly grin on his face mumbling something about how the place had pretty nurses and wonderful hot chocolate.

The silly grin continued while I guided him back to the hotel, on foot. And there he asked for more hot chocolate. (in Bangkok!) The guy was obviously not feeling any "discomfort" after his prostate biopsy.

The next day he had no recollection of the pretty little lounge room where I met him after the procedure and only a faint memory that he drank a warm drink at the hospital, not that he turned into a real pig drinking hot chocolate both at the hospital and back at the hotel.

sounds like they gave him a tad too much Propofol! the only thing i don't remember is the 25 minutes the good doc did the biopsy. the propofol is weird stuff. the minute they open the valve on the IV and it enters your bloodstream you go under, and within a couple of minutes of closing the valve, you wake up. i woke up as they were wheeling me into the recovery room. never felt any pain or discomfort.

[Oscar2]

dupe

Edited June 29, 2016 by Oscar2

[uhhh ohhh]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

And how long does it take for the results.....about 1 week?

[uhhh ohhh]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

And how long does it take for the results.....about 1 week?

[uhhh ohhh]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

And how long does it take for the results.....about 1 week?

[uhhh ohhh]

Sorry for multiple posts. It kept saying error?

[cheeryble]

OP may or may not be aware that USPSTF, the US body which advises on health policy, has for the last couple of years recommended no PSA testing for......well read it yourself.......the rationale may be pertinent to your decision making process including about biopsy depending on the reason biopsy was recommended.

http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/UpdateSummaryFinal/prostate-cancer-screening

The College of Urologists went apoplectic but a year later agreed the reasoning was sound......and probably lost a lot of work.

Edited June 29, 2016 by cheeryble

[MadMac]

Geriatric hospital. Hang Dong Rd. Still a secret.

[Oscar2]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

And how long does it take for the results.....about 1 week?

it takes one week.

[sanoek60]

For whom it may concern:

I had my biopsy done yesterday by Dr.Pruk in Rajavej hospital.

Thumbs up for this Doctor!

Is it painful? Sometimes a little but more of the discomfort and the pressure.

You hear the clicking noise of the biopsy gun every time when they take a sample out,I had 12 in total.

It takes about 25 minutes,after that you stay in recovery room for one hour.

You feel the most pain after the process,but it's bearable with a painkiller.

About the hospital :

In my opinion :

Operating room out of date and staff not really helpful,also nobody can speak English.

For serious matters better choose a different hospital.

Dr.Pruk also works in sriphat hospital and Bangkok hospital.

Total cost was 20th.

and for another 5K you could have had the good Professor, anesthesia, and state of the art facility, helpful, friendly staff, no post-op discomfort, no pain meds. amazing what people will go through to save EUR 125!

Before you judge me as a cheap charly I can assure you that I spend a week in IC unit in your state of the art facility RAM and it's far from perfect!

They only updated the hospital with new paint and a few new looks.

The only hospital in chiang mai that is State of the Art is Bangkok hospital,but sadly they don't have the good Doctors.

I have a health insurance company who I pay 2800$ yearly,but sadly enough they don't cover the biopsy!

When I lived in Bangkok i had check ups in Bumrungrad and Samitvej so I know a bit about hospitals.

By the way I'm feeling fine now,no pain or discomfort so there are more good Doctors than only the good professor...