ENT / Maxillofacial surgeon in BKK

[nami]

I have a jawbone cyst of about 2 cm that has to be removed. It seems like an infection has been going on there for years right under a lower molar which had root canal done years ago. The surgeon proposed to do a enucleation, basically a hole in the jawbone to extract the crap inside and check it at the lab, under full anesthesia during 1h and remain 2 days in the hospital: 130-160k was the estimated cost quoted. This was from the, probably, most expensive hospital in Bangkok.

 

Good thing is that the surgeon is also an MD and proposed to bill it as ENT instead of dental so that my insurance would cover part of the cost. Still, I think that the cost is high for such an operation. I would like some recommendations for good but cheaper surgeons in Bangkok. I would definitely prefer if he/she is MD so at least I can get some coverage from my current policy.

 

Thanks!

[teddog]

Instead of BKK ask your Q on the internet putting in Calcutta instead,2 hours /5000 baht away, be surprised if the bill comes to one tenth of the prior quote,bread and butter to those doctors this condition

[Sheryl]

130-160k for surgery under anesthesia with 2 days in hospital is not high by today's costs in a private hospital. Shopping around at other private hospitals is at only going to reduce costs very slightly. To get a meanigful reduction you would need to go to a government hospital. That will be dramatically less but you may have to pay up front as they often do not have direct billing arrangements with insurers. They also tend not to be good about providing the documentation insurers require so a risk you might not get reimbursed. If you have a list of hospitals from your insurer that has direct billing wirlth them check to see if any are government hospitals.

 

India will certainly cost less but if this is a Thai based insurance it may not cover you there. And of course there are travel costs and various inconveniences involved and probably not worth it in your csse for what you willl be paying out of pocket.

 

As an aside, if your insurance would cover only part of a 130-160k bill for jaw surgery it does not sound like you are adequately insured. It is hatd to imagine a policy with that low a level of cover. Are you sure of this? What is the maxim per event or per year cap on your benefits? (Do not go ny what it shows fot surgery on your schedule of benefits, that is only part of the total reimbursement).

 

This is not a simple "bread and butter" condition ot procedure and wherever you decide to go, take care to get a board certified maxillary facial surgeon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nami]

Thanks for the replies @Sheryl @teddog.

 

The India thing is another idea but I would certainly rather fly back to my own country and have it done for free hehe.

 

Regarding the insurance, it's just a employee based insurance. It's pretty basic: 60k per surgery + 42k for derivated hospital expenses (this seems like medication and follow up visits afterwards) I definitely have to increase this, luckily this time it's just a cyst on the jaw...

 

I was even thinking about going to one of those dental clinics. Actually I did and the dentist referred me to the surgeon. My 2 concerns here are that this would be dental and not covered by insurance and that the cyst is pretty close to the nerve and I am afraid of a less experienced surgeon damaging it and leaving me with permanent chin numbness. Besides that the surgeon I met was confident that I could keep the tooth; others have told me to remove it or redo the root canal.

 

I guess the first step is to check what this insurance actually covers. It would be nice to find another ENT surgeon for like 90k, paying extra 30k after the insurance covers the 60k is not that bad.

 

Thanks again, regards

[VocalNeal]

How about? Go to Madihol Dental hospital ( more correctly Madihol University Faculty of Dentistry) and get a number from them. It is a teaching hospital so maybe less for the actual procedure?

Edited August 21, 2017 by VocalNeal

[Sheryl]

It will cost less there if they are willing to do (lots of very good reasons to go with a maxillofacial surgeon not a dental surgeon - including possible bad cosmetic outcome). But then his insurance won't pay.

 

30K out of pocket for this is really not much and hardly worth flying to India to avoid IMO.

 

You can get that amount down a little i,.e,. by maybe 5 maximum 10K by shopping around, but not more than that and you have to consider if you want to do that when it sounds like you have found a surgeon you are comfortable l with and communicate well with. If you do want to shop around among private hospitals try this doc at Vejthani https://www.vejthani.com/doctors_detail.php?DoctorCode=92003