A one-stop joint replacement centre has opened at Thammasat University Hospital (TUH), promising to deliver affordable and less painful joint surgery.
The 200-million-baht recently inaugurated centre is the only comprehensive joint surgery centre offered by a state-run medical facility, according to Surapon Nitikraipot, the hospital chairman.
Joint replacement involves state-of-the-art Da Vinci surgery, a robotic-assisted procedure performed with high precision that provides reduced post-surgery pain.
Mr Surapon said the centre, supervised by a team of specialists and medical personnel, makes joint replacement more affordable. It has set a target of doubling its joint replacement surgery capacity, currently at 1,000 cases a year.
It also strives to be a leading joint replacement centre in Asia, he added.
"We provide a premium service where patients can be discharged in two to three days, given a fast recovery after surgery which causes only minimal pain," the hospital chairman said.
The surgery fee will also be much lower than the rates charged at privately run hospitals. The only requirement is that patients pay the surgery fee in cash in advance of the treatment and they can be reimbursed by the state or from a government welfare programme later.
Nattapol Tammachote, TUH assistant director of infrastructure management and a medical professor specialising in knee and hip replacements, said the deployment of the US-developed Da Vinci tech is helpful.
The system is aided by a computer X-ray which gives a three-dimensional image of the joint to be replaced. The visual clarity helps to cut the possibility of error when zeroing in on the surgery area and lessen physiological tremors produced by human hands.
Surgery carried out by a specialist tends to have a wider margin of error, he said. "It's because doctors can see in a two-dimensional format. They must also rely on their surgical experiences to navigate the procedure," he said.
In addition, the Da Vinci technology can assist specialists in mapping out the surgery and selecting the right joint replacements that suit the patients, Dr Nattapol said.
With the minimally invasive technology, patients can recover sooner and spend less time in hospital, he added.
Each instrument is priced at about 60-70 million baht. The TUH charges about 150,000–300,000 baht for joint replacement surgery, compared with a similar procedure costing 400,000–700,000 baht at other hospitals.
Paruhat Tor-Udom, TUH director, said that less painful surgery and a fast recovery period would encourage more people to consider having joints replaced.