Bangkok Hospital's Million Dollar Machine Making Patients' Heart's Beat Again

Bangkok Hospital recently acquired one of the state-of-the-art da Vinci surgical systems, a robotic appendage which allows precision of movement and a lower level of invasiveness than ever seen before in heart surgery.

Bangkok Hospital recently acquired one of the sought-after da Vinci surgical system machines for minimally invasive heart surgery, providing many benefits to surgeons, hospital staff and patients.

The da Vinci surgical system is a robotic system to filter, scale and then translate a surgeon's hand movements into micro-movements of surgical instruments. This means that the restrictions of human movement can be broken through to allow heart surgery to be less invasive and more accurate than ever before. The system has achieved clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Some of the benefits of the da Vinci surgical system recently acquired by Bangkok Hospital include:
• A shorter hospital stay for patients and faster outpatient recovery times
• Decreased postoperative pain
• Improved cosmetic outcomes
• Less blood loss and infection risk
• For surgeons, greater accuracy and confidence
• For hospitals, necessary surgery staff levels are lower

The system can cost around $1.5 million US dollars, making it out of reach of most Thai facilities. Bangkok Hospital is one of only 210 hospitals worldwide to have one of the cutting-edge machines.

Dr. Kitipan Visudharom, the director of the Heart Hosptial, sees the machine's acquisition as a natural part of the hospital's strategy: "We strongly believe that minimally invasive procedures are the way of the future. Yes, the da Vinci machine does represent a significant investment in infrastructure, but really we could not have gone without it."

Dr. Sujit Banyatpiyaphod is a vascular surgeon at Bangkok Hospital, and cannot wait to start working on the new da Vinci machine. "You often feel so limited by your hands as a surgeon. The da Vinci machine has so much potential, the potential of the human and the machine will combine to make a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts."

The system will be interoperable with either on-pump or off-pump coronary surgery. It can be used for mitral valve repair or replacement, ASD closure, and Bilateral IMA harvesting, among other procedures.

About Bangkok Hospital Medical Center:

Bangkok Hospital Medical Center (BMC) is one of the most technologically sophisticated hospitals in the world today. Located in Bangkok, Thailand, BMC is an expansive state-of-the-

art medical campus providing comprehensive medical care through multidisciplinary teams of highly trained specialists. With its four hospitals and broad range of specialized clinics, BMC is equipped with all of the diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. The center has received Joint Commission International accreditation and is known throughout the world for delivering world-class, award-winning healthcare.

For more information contact Chris E-Marketing Manager, Bangkok Hospital Medical Center.
Email: info@bangkokhospital.com

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Bangkok Hospital Medical Center (BMC) is one of the most technologically sophisticated hospitals in the world today.

Tags: heart surgery, Bangkok hospital, Thailand Hospital, da Vinci surgical system, surgical instruments, vascular surgeon, Bangkok heart hospital

Older Heart Patients Have Access to Affordable, Life Saving CABG Procedure at Bangkok Hospital

Bangkok Hospital, which has long been known for its affordable health care options, has extended one of its most popular cut-price packages, its Coronary Bypass Package, to include patients that were previously turned away. This gives US and European patients potential savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bangkok, Thailand , 30 December, 2008 – Bangkok Hospital has responded to popular demand with regard to its Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Package, making the low cost surgery available to hundreds of thousands more people worldwide.

The conditions which have changed with the new package by Bangkok Hospital are:
• Increasing of age limit for package from 60 years old to 70 years old
• Body weight can now be over 90kg
• Hematocrit must be greater than 33%, rather than 38%
• Contractablity of the pumping chamber can be as low as 30% - previously the limit was 40%
• Patients on anticoagulants and aspirin are now eligible
• Left main blockage patients can now access the package, if the blockage is not more than 90%.

The package is available from now until December 31, 2008.

The cost of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, or CABG surgery in the US can be up to $75,000. Bangkok Hospital is offering the new package at 590,000 THB, or around US$16,800 at current exchange rates. CABG surgery is performed on around 800,000 patients per year, worldwide. In many cases the surgery must be repeated within a year.

Studies have revealed a sharp increase in demand for CABG surgery from older patients, from around 2% to 30% in men over 65, and 16% to 45% in women over 65.


The package includes:
• Use of the operating room
• Cardiac Care Unit room for 2 nights, and a standard single room for 5 nights thereafter
• Surgeon's fees
• Anesthesiologists fees
• Cardiac rehabilitators fees
• Blood cross-matching

Dr. Kitipan Visudharom, the hospital director is pleased to be able to offer the life-saving package to a wider audience. "While we can help every cardiac patient, the fact that there is now a cut-price option for those who need the money most - retirees and those with more complicated conditions - makes me very happy".

About Bangkok Hospital Medical Center:

Bangkok Hospital Medical Center ( BMC ) is one of the most technologically sophisticated hospitals in the world today. Located in Bangkok, Thailand, BMC is an expansive state-of-the-art medical campus providing comprehensive medical care through multidisciplinary teams of highly trained specialists. With its four hospitals and broad range of specialized clinics, BMC is equipped with all of the diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. The center has received Joint Commission International accreditation and is known throughout the world for delivering world-class, award-winning healthcare.


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For more information contact Chris E-Marketing Manager, Bangkok Hospital Medical Center.
Email: info@bangkokhospital.com

Tags: Heart Patients, Bangkok Hospital, Bypass Package, CABG surgery, Coronary Bypass Package

Bangkok Hospital Providing Answers for Infertility Patients, at Affordable Rates

Bangkok Hospital is now providing a low cost option for investigative laparoscopies, the most commonly performed surgery in the US.

Bangkok Hospital has now begun providing low-cost packages for the most commonly performed surgery in the US, the laparoscopy, giving thousands more people the opportunity to make big savings on their medical bills.

The new package is for gynecologic investigative laparoscopies. These are most often performed for the 10-15% of all couples who experience fertility issues.

The package is availablefor the special price of 50,000 THB, or around US$1,400 at current exchange rates. This price is valid from today until December 31, 2008.

The price of the investigative laparoscopy package includes:
• Fees for doctors and nurses
• Use of the operating room and convalescent room, as well as an inpatient room for 24 hours.
• Anesthetic, medicines and other medical supplies
• Lab examinations
If any additional expenses are incurred, for example a longer stay is required; a 15% discount will be applied to the actual cost for the patient.

Investigative laparoscopies are required for hundreds of thousands of routine procedures every year. They are used to help determine the cause of infertility and whether an ectopic pregnancy has occurred, are used for assessing endometriosis and any other chronic pelvic pain, for peritoneal disease and also for complaints during pregnancy.

Dr. Vitoon Chinswangwatnakul and Dr. Hathai Kunaprayoon , two of the Laparoscopic surgeons at Bangkok Hospital, expects that the package will be taken up opportunistically by people stopping over in Bangkok. "The short procedure time and hospital stay, along with the fact that this is one of the most common procedures performed in a hospital, makes this a great opportunity for those who were already visiting Thailand for other reasons."

"We look forward to helping large numbers of people cut down their routine medical expenses," they continued.

Bangkok Hospital also provides similar low-cost packages for follow-up laparoscopic surgeries that may be required, including laparoscopic tubal ligation, laparoscopic minor surgery and laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy packages.

About Bangkok Hospital Medical Center:

Bangkok Hospital Medical Center (BMC) is one of the most technologically sophisticated hospitals in the world today. Located in Bangkok, Thailand, BMC is an expansive state-of-the-art medical campus providing comprehensive medical care through multidisciplinary teams of highly trained specialists. With its four hospitals and broad range of specialized clinics, BMC is equipped with all of the diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. The center has received Joint Commission International accreditation and is known throughout the world for delivering world-class, award-winning healthcare.

For more information contact Chris E-Marketing Manager, Bangkok Hospital Medical Center.
Email: info@bangkokhospital.co

Tags: Bangkok Hospital, Medical Center, Hospital in Thailand, medical care, Surgery Patients