Eye specialist or "Eye Clinic" - Recommendations?

[roban]

Any recommendations are welcome.

I assume, I need a cataract op.

Thanks in advance.

[lopburi3]

The best know facility is located in Bangkok and called Rutin Eye Hospital - it has been in operation for many decades, previously as a clinic and now also as a hospital.   There price would likely be mid-range for most things but they are well equipped with very experienced staff.  Would recommend them in fact you do not know what may be wrong and if you need IOL operation(s) and can not afford there you could consider other options after having that knowledge.  Exam and testing should not be that expensive.

 

If you want done in Pattaya expect it would have to be one of the major hospitals but others should be able to provide information.

[BruceMangosteen]

Pattaya Eye Clinic, behind Big C Extra on Pattaya Klang. Good Doctor, reasonable prices. This Doctor used to practice at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and Pattaya International Hospital. Dr. Nat, something like that. He's the only one and the hours are limited so search this or go by. 

[seasia]

Website link for  Eye Centre mentioned by Bruce, parts in Thai but does give opening hours, contact number, directions etc.

 

As well as procedures.

 

http://www.pattayaeyecenter.com/

 

No personal experience, keep meaning to go for a proper eye check up/test.

[moonseeker]

http://www.rutnin.com/eng/

 

The only place I would consider. Good luck. MS>

[i claudius]

If you have transport , go to the Queen Sirikit hospital in Satahip , i have been to all those mentioned here in Pattaya and especially the guy behind big c ,who told me i needed a cataract operation within a few weeks and that i had a small one in my other eye , wanted 52 k to do it .

i then went to Queen Sirikit(who by the way have the doctors from major private hospitals ,who have to work so many days a week there) i f you dont mind waiting in line in a nice air conditioned hospital ,then no problem , two years ago i went there saw a doctor (who by the way is the eye specialist at a major private hospital and has a private practice) after extensive tests i was told i had a very small cateract in one eye , and that the other eye was clear , she also told me i had pressure in both eyes , not very high but i needed drops which  the hospital supplied (half the price of farcino) now after many 3 monthly checks my eye pressure is normal , my one eye with a cataract will need to be operated on within the year at a far lesser price than 52k .

I have nothing but praise for this hospital ,it is modern clean as good as most NHS hospitals in the UK ,but do not expect to be seen within 5 minutes ,

[sandgroper2]

If you consider your sight it priceless, go to Rutnin, if you think its worth less than 52K, go elsewhere. Ive had two ops at Rutnin, both detached retinas. One of the worlds best.

[tontraveller]

6 minutes ago, sandgroper2 said:

If you consider your sight it priceless, go to Rutnin, if you think its worth less than 52K, go elsewhere. Ive had two ops at Rutnin, both detached retinas. One of the worlds best.

I was recommended laser treatment at one of the local hospitals during yearly body check-up.

Upon 2nd opinion at Rutnin Bangkok, doctor there told me there was absolutely no need for that..

That was 7 years ago....Still no need for that..

[BKKdreaming]

Hi

 

any idea on the cost of a full eye exam at Rutnin ?

 

Thanks

[lopburi3]

Have not used Rutnin for anything but CVFT tests recently but suspect cost will be about the same as a moderate priced private hospital; as a guess under 2k.  Even a high priced hospital would likely be low four figures.

[BruceMangosteen]

25 minutes ago, tontraveller said:

I was recommended laser treatment at one of the local hospitals during yearly body check-up.

Upon 2nd opinion at Rutnin Bangkok, doctor there told me there was absolutely no need for that..

That was 7 years ago....Still no need for that..

 

That's an amazing story. My father used to tell me to use my own common sense when making medical decisions, not to rely only on Doctors. This becomes especially true when the Doctor has financial motivations to perform procedures. We all want the best medical care possible but one must be careful when so much money and profit is involved in the decisions making. 

[roban]

thanks guys for the great infos so far.

I don't care too much about the examination costs, since I am insured, but more about the competence/"money-making-attiude" of the doc's..

Seems the way to go, at least for an examination, is Rutnin.

Do I need to make an appointment, or just visit them?

 

PS: makes me wonder that nobody recommends BPH?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tontraveller]

1 hour ago, roban said:

thanks guys for the great infos so far.

I don't care too much about the examination costs, since I am insured, but more about the competence/"money-making-attiude" of the doc's..

Seems the way to go, at least for an examination, is Rutnin.

Do I need to make an appointment, or just visit them?

 

PS: makes me wonder that nobody recommends BPH?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best to make appointment, check their website for that.

On recommendations, it is not allowed to name any hospital in negative way

[i claudius]

RUTANIN is a world class hospital,but it is such an ordinary everyday operation ,done in half an hour ,it is carried out in most hospitals in the world ,so no need for scaremongering,

Sent from my ASUS_T00J using Tapatalk

[roban]

1 hour ago, i claudius said:

RUTANIN is a world class hospital,but it is such an ordinary everyday operation ,done in half an hour ,it is carried out in most hospitals in the world ,so no need for scaremongering,

 

I know, but atm I only suspect it might be a cataract.

So I'll need a reliable diagnosis first.

[WaywardWind]

I second the recommendations to consider Rutnin.  I had cataract surgery for both eyes 4-5 months ago (a month apart) and it went just fine.  The results are amazing.

 

I used Dr. Roy Chumdermpadetsuk based on recommendations from TV, and he was just great.  Educated in the US, speaks perfect English, takes the time to explain the procedures, the options as concerns different lenses, etc.

 

You can make an appointment through their website. They have both inpatient and outpatient capabilities.

[i claudius]

Believe me ,you get a full battery of tests at the Queen Siraket it is the navy hospital,the eye surgeon there and the equipment is 1st class,and I certainly care about my eyes

Sent from my ASUS_T00J using Tapatalk

[WaywardWind]

7 hours ago, tontraveller said:

I was recommended laser treatment at one of the local hospitals during yearly body check-up.

Upon 2nd opinion at Rutnin Bangkok, doctor there told me there was absolutely no need for that..

That was 7 years ago....Still no need for that..

I had the same experience at Rutnin: a local hospital recommended immediate cataract surgery and when I went to Rutnin, Dr Roy told me to wait for at least a year, which I did.

[KittenKong]

In Thailand I have found it best to get several opinions from different specialists before doing anything. It's surprising how often they disagree.

[KittenKong]

I wonder if this topic would not be better answered in the medical forum? "Sheryl" in there has a lot of specialised knowledge of doctors and hospitals and medical techniques, as do some others. I suppose that the question will already have been asked there more than once. Certainly if you are prepared to consider going to Bangkok (which you should be) then the question is not really limited to Pattaya.

[wpcoe]

If I were having "surgery" done on my eyes, and I apply that to anything that involves working on the innards of an eyeball, I would only have it done at a hospital.

 

IMHO, clinics are fine for more minor non-invasive procedures,  but whenever someone is cutting in to any body part I feel much more secure knowing the full facility of a hospital is available in an instant if the need arises. Things like reaction to an anaesthetic and unexpected/uncontrollable bleeding come to mind.

[Jingthing]

Cataract surgery is usually done without general  anaesthetic and I've never heard of a person bleeding out from the tiny cut made in that very common procedure. 

[sandgroper2]

On 26/09/2016 at 0:56 PM, roban said:

thanks guys for the great infos so far.

I don't care too much about the examination costs, since I am insured, but more about the competence/"money-making-attiude" of the doc's..

Seems the way to go, at least for an examination, is Rutnin.

Do I need to make an appointment, or just visit them?

 

PS: makes me wonder that nobody recommends BPH?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BPH could not detect my detached retina, rutnin did. However, I have heard good reports about them to do with other eye problems.

[roban]

On 26.9.2016 at 9:59 AM, i claudius said:

If you have transport , go to the Queen Sirikit hospital in Satahip .....

I have nothing but praise for this hospital ,it is modern clean as good as most NHS hospitals in the UK ,but do not expect to be seen within 5 minutes ,

 

To get a first opinion, before visiting Rutnin next week for a second one, I drove to the Queen Sirikit hospital Sattahip this morning.

Arrived there at 9.00 am, but needed 15 min. to find a parking spot (This hospital is really gigantic).

Registered, to get a "hospital card", but at the "eye clinic section" were ~100 people waiting and the girls told me, that I'am too late, to get a waiting number.

You need to arrive there a 7.00am, to get a number.

 

But the girls "recommended" an eye specialist in Pattaya and I guess, this might be probably, the aforementioned doc near BigC Extra? (I attached a picture of the docs business card).

 

 

 

 

[Motown239]

All of my visits to Rutnin regardless of having an appointment, I spent the entire day waiting to see the specialist.

Therefore, when I need a second opinion, I will visit Rutnin.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[i claudius]

13 hours ago, roban said:

 

To get a first opinion, before visiting Rutnin next week for a second one, I drove to the Queen Sirikit hospital Sattahip this morning.

Arrived there at 9.00 am, but needed 15 min. to find a parking spot (This hospital is really gigantic).

Registered, to get a "hospital card", but at the "eye clinic section" were ~100 people waiting and the girls told me, that I'am too late, to get a waiting number.

You need to arrive there a 7.00am, to get a number.

 

But the girls "recommended" an eye specialist in Pattaya and I guess, this might be probably, the aforementioned doc near BigC Extra? (I attached a picture of the docs business card).

 

 

 

 

 

 

HI

this is not him ,but it could be the other doctor that is there , my one also has a clinic on Pattaya Klang but further down ,if you want to discuss anything just pm me , i know that when i went to enrol with the hospital first time i did not go till the afternoon , now that i am a patient ,when i have my appointment i turn up at 6.30  a m on the day and get in the line in the first batch ,i know it seems like a drag , but believe me it is a great hospital , my wife has spoken to quite a few people there and they swear by it , one other thing ,they do not massively overcharge for drugs , my eye drops are imported from America and far cheaper than you can buy in a chemist and as a "falang" we get charged 50% extra lol

[sungod]

Just spent an hour and a half waiting for a doctor 'who was just on his way, anytime now' Purposely booked the first appointment of the day, but had to leave due to other commitments, so never got in the door to say if the doctor was any good. From what i have heard, you should only consider this hospital if you are unemployed or taken a day off work, take a 24 hour ration pack and sleeping bag to be on the safe side.

 

 

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, sungod said:

Just spent an hour and a half waiting for a doctor 'who was just on his way, anytime now' Purposely booked the first appointment of the day, but had to leave due to other commitments, so never got in the door to say if the doctor was any good. From what i have heard, you should only consider this hospital if you are unemployed or taken a day off work, take a 24 hour ration pack and sleeping bag to be on the safe side.

 

 

 

Could you clarify which hospital you mean?   as both Rutnin in Bkk and Queen Sirikit in Sattahai[p are under discussion in this thread.

[sungod]

Rutnin 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I went to Rutnin today for the first time and had an appointment scheduled with one of the often-recommended Rutnin eye doctors here. And I must say, I wasn't very pleased with the experience at Rutnin or the visit with the doctor.

 

For starters, I had a 1 pm appointment, arrived early, did all the preliminaries, and was sitting outside the appointment room ready and waiting by about 12:45 p.m. The doctor arrived to the room about 1 pm. And then the staff proceeded to call at least 8-10 other patients to his room until they finally got around to calling me in about 2:15 p.m., 75 minutes after my scheduled appointment time.

 

Afterward, very politely, I spoke with a customer service supervisor there about my unhappiness over that. And the supervisor acknowledged that they have had, and have, ongoing problems with long wait times past scheduled appointments and get a lot of patient complaints about that. She said they're working on trying to remedy that problem, but the working part sounded kind of vague and unspecific of the kind that usually leads to nothing.

 

As for the doctor visit, I called and made the appointment with the particular doctor telling the staff I was having an eye problem with an eye infection and/or conjunctivitis. They made the appointment. When I finally got to see the doctor, after doing the standard kind of visual eye exam, the doctor said my problem was conjunctivitis, and then proceeded to tell me that they're a different kind of specialist and that for my problem, they'd need to refer me to a different doctor at Rutnin, who wasn't available at the time of my visit.

 

So, as one caution, the doctor in question may be a good eye surgeon and a skilled doctor, but he apparently doesn't see himself as someone to treat all eye conditions. And while I certainly can't argue with that judgment, I kind of wish the Rutnin staff would have told me that when I called to schedule the appointment and before they kept me waiting 75 minutes past my appointment time.

 

The reason I'm mentioning this here is Sheryl several times has recommended this doctor as a good, farang-friendly eye doctor. And the doctor probably is. But that may not always be a good option for the patient if the doctor is only willing to treat certain eye conditions, and a pretty common one like conjunctivitis apparently doesn't fit into the doctor's list. Obviously, I would have rather Rutnin had directed me to the right doctor the first time round.

 

But that aside, on the issue of doctor communication, one other annoying aspect of the encounter was during the exam, we had some discussion (initiated by me, not him) about the potential different things that can cause conjunctivitis. I was concerned I might have a bacterial infection and that could be the cause, because I've had two positive eye cultures showing bacteria. But after looking at the culture reports, the doctor said the doctor didn't think my case was bacteria related, but then said nothing to me about what the doctor did think was the cause. Absolutely nothing.

 

So then after the exam/appointment is finished, I'm sitting outside waiting for my bill paperwork and one of the nurses comes up and hands me a printed medical certificate with the diagnosis "allergic conjunctivitis" -- something the doctor never verbalized to me as a diagnosis/cause during the exam. Thus, we had no opportunity to talk about what kind of things might be causing the allergic response.

 

All in all, a pretty disappointing first experience there.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK