kritsana77 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:47 pm That is why I am hiring an agency to go with me and may do my post operation care at home or an international clinic.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:58 am

daeum_tnaot wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:36 am

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:52 pm All I can say is that when we arrived at Calmette Hospital with an emergency apendicitis/ complication with peritonitis/ it was dealt with very professionally by the medical team, and the surgeons had done their training in French hospitals.
Calmette gets a lot of criticism, but I cannot fault them for the emergency procedure that saved a life in this case. It was weird because the doctors and surgeons were at international level, but the rest of the staff were totally TIC.
Sorry, I can't give you specific info on hernia operations, but I can tell you that they do have some good surgeons at Calmette. IME.

How did you/your family pay for this treatment?

Insurance paid, but it was incredibly cheap. The VIP room was about $70 a day for a one week stay, from memory, including nurses, drips and dressings. No food and no hot water. It was very basic. This was about ten years ago at least. I don't remember exactly, but it was very affordable, like about $1000, including the operation, (with anaesthetic ! it was cheaper without ),which was complicated by possible peritonitis. (And left a 6 inch scar to prove it.)

I do remember that we were the only barangs. ( Everyone else seemed to have three generations of family camping in their shared hospital rooms or sleeping in the gardens. Our 'VIP' room was one room, one patient. Lol, I have plenty of stories of how crazy it really was - hammocks and people cooking food over campfires in the hospital grounds.)

We paid about $100 upfront to the admin at the hospital when we arrived for the first examination and ultrasound, but it was a life or death emergency and the medical team were real pros. It took about 30 minutes from our arrival at the hospital to get the patient into the operation theatre, and there was no question of paying beforehand. I know that there's a lot of things not great about Calmette, but they operated first, and we worked out the payment via the insurance company later.
Frankly, it was a fking nightmare at the time, but the surgeons and doctors were great.

I'm sure that things have changed a lot since then, and these olden days memories might not be valid for the OP, (or the prices), but this is why I still have a great affection for Calmette Hospital and those who work there.

bossho wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 5:54 am Thanks for sharing AndyKK, thankfully I am now too fat and hairy to locate my scars for ye all.

Maybe do "field research" on who the best teams at Clammette and see if you can cherry pick your way into a good situation. I had this done about 5 years ago and it really kicked my body to hell directly after surgery and for two solid weeks of recovery. I had the front way, laparoscopic, done. All on Obamacare in Boulder, Colorado.

Thing is no one really told me what I was in for, I had just undergone my first ever surgery 90 days previous to this when I had my ACL replaced and the whole ACL thing was easy compared to the hype I had heard. Of course, ACL replacement sucks if you ski 100 days a year but this hernia thing and the surgery around it was really an exceptional kind of pain and the surgery and the recovery were noticeably harder to come back from in comparison.

No one, short of these two septuagenarian sages I had been gifted with as co workers back then, could diagnose and prepare me for what was coming. I had a crack Doc, who specialized in this region, but the first few days I felt gooey inside and then the black and purple testicles I was finally able to see 10 days after surgery had me calling into the crack Doc's office - its standard stuff they said. Par for the course.

I would not want to have this done by anyone not really not fully practiced at it. Personally, I 'd suck it up for a bit and wait out the current travel restrictions and go to Thailand or something. You can wear a girdle or something and watch yourself. I am pleased to hear that Calmette can deliver, but man, it seems spotty. The agency? I just flat out don't believe that sales pitch I believe you heard.

Please Kritsana77, share your experiences here around this whole affair, I am one thread of luck away from a similar fate any day now.

kritsana77 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:22 am Hello All,
Thank you very much for all of your input. Like I stated, Khmer/ Soviet saved my life when I burst my appendix and had peritonitis. But the post care was hell. BTW, I think the whole bill was 20 dollars with my NSSF card. That was for the shared room. I consulted with my local doctor and I had a consultation with the surgeon at Khmea International where he also works. He explained the whole mesh procedure and stated they can do it there. I am waiting on a cost estimate from them as I write this. I am extremely frugal person, but as some of you have explained, this is not an ordinary surgery. I lived in Thailand for 13 years and their social medicine program was excellent. I had a cracked femur and hip replacement and I was walking normally in two months. In fact, before I left I kept the insurance active for 15 dollars a month just for this kind of incident/procedure. Too bad about this whole pandemic thing. The surgeon said this is not blocked/leaking and I don't have to worry right away. He did suggest tight underwear. Where in the hell am I going to get a girdle? I am a boxer brief guy.
Thanks again everyone and I still have not had anybody want to get a buddy system/ team together. I am not talking about donating a kidney just some trusted individuals who we can call if you get hit by a tuk-tuk or motorcycle. I will keep you posted.