Cataract operation

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gerryh
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Cataract operation

Postby gerryh » Mon Oct 16, 2017 5:57 pm

My wife needs a cataract operation. Seems it could be a long wait to get it done on the Spanish health service.
Any ideas of typical costs to have it done privately?
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby firsttango » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:50 pm

Gerry, my mother had a cataract op four years ago. Initial appointments were in Velez Malaga at Clinica Hidalgo Pasaje Pintor Francisco Hernández, 5, in Vélez-Málaga. Tel 952 50 33 14. From memory the initial consultation and tests were €60 where she was put on a course of drops to reduce pressure in the eye. When eventually it was decided she needed the surgery it was done in their clinic in Torremolinos and the cost was €1250. She was in and the op took about 20 minutes then you have to wait for a few hours to see that all went ok. Big bandage on the eye for a week with drops and then drops for another few weeks. But as I said that was four years ago things have probably moved on from then and possibly the prices may have reduced. But it was a virtually pain free procedure.

https://www.clinicahidalgo.es/

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby Miro » Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:00 pm

I've known two people who had cataract operations performed on the Spanish health service within about a couple of months of being referred. Both were treated as out-patients, all very efficient & straightforward. Have you been told it will be along wait, or are you assuming?!
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gerryh
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby gerryh » Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:55 pm

Miro wrote: Have you been told it will be along wait, or are you assuming?!
It took nearly a year to get an appointment to see the eye specialist. She said that the vision was not below the 40% mark, with glasses, so they wouldn't consider an operation.
Go away and come back when your eyesight gets worse.
My wife recently had a medical to renew her driving licence.
Only just passed the eyesight test.
Time to go private. We are with Prevision Medica, hoping they will cover the cost of the operation unless they decide it was a pre existing condition before we took out the policy.
If they don't cover the cost then I will pay.
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Gerry
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby El Cid » Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:33 pm

There is a superb eye surgeon in Malaga who I have been seeing for 10 years for an old problem. He has done a number of cataract ops for friends. He is on the Prevision Medica list. He was recommended to me by my optician as the best in Malaga. He speaks perfect English

Thoroughly recommended.

OPTHALMOLOGIST José Luis González De Gor Crooke
Oftalmológo
C/Arquitecto Blanco Soller 2,2 Izq
29005 Málaga
Spain
‭952 213247‬

That’s in a side alley just off the big piazza at the top of Calle Larios.

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby BENIDORM » Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:29 pm

Gerry,
I was surprised to note that your wife has had a long wait for appointments and possible operation with the health service.

I don't have any personal experience, however a British friend told me that they had very quick service with appointments and operation, (4 months -start to finish ).
And I've had a chat with a Spanish friend who has just had the op. and had a similar time wait and is already booked in for the op for the other eye.
Perhaps you could investigate the possibility of changing Doctor ??
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Gordon.

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby gerryh » Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:16 pm

Thanks for your replies.
My wife's first cataract operation was done by the Spanish Health Service.
The cataract in her other eye has got progressively worse and needs an operation.
Last time she saw the eye specialist, a different one to the one she saw for her other eye, she said it wasn't bad enough to justify an operation.
I think it might have been a case of "she has already had one operation, our budgets are stretched, she isn't totally blind in that eye, she will have to wait"
Saw the eye specialist at Clinica Rincon, or Vithas Salud as the new signs outside say, last week.
He said it needs an operation and he will do it on 8th Nov.
Of course he doesn't have to worry about budgets.
Unfortunately Prevision Medica won't cover the cost as we declared a cataract as a pre existing condition when we took out the policy.
So I shall be paying. €2000 all inclusive for the operation.
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Gerry
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby casita-bonita » Sun Oct 22, 2017 5:25 pm

Did you have a consultancy with an alternative clinic/ophthalmologist? From my prostate cancer experience Rincon see you as an open wallet from which they extract as much money as possible in as short an amount of time as possible. Also distinctly unimpressed with their facilities. Having learned from the experience they are near the bottom of my list for anything medical.
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby gerryh » Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:20 pm

No didn't see any body else.
The price seemed reasonable, he could operate soon and at Clinica Rincon in Rincon de la Victoria which is very convenient for use.
Had a few minor ops and procedures at Clinica Rincon in Rincon de la Victoria and, so far, have been satisfied with facilities, service and care etc.
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby El Cid » Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:27 pm

Totally agree Gerry. I have used CR many times, as has my wife and I have no complaints whatsoever. If you use a private clinic with no insurance you will get ripped off. The moral is either get insurance or sign on to the Spanish NHS.

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby casita-bonita » Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:29 pm

On what basis do come to that conclusion????. Both myself and my wife have had procedures in Clinica Rincon. One of the worst experiences of my life. Room I wouldn't keep a dog in. Op in July, room had no windows , no a/c, on a plastic sheet it was not pleasant, invisible staff through the night. 'Operating theatre' looked like a spare room that they had put a table and bright lights in.

My wife was in the same room when she had her gall bladder out, exact same experience.

BTW both paid for by insurance.

On the other hand my experience of a private clinic in Madrid, for which I paid as my private insurance wouldn't cover the procedure I wanted. Can't speak too highly of them. I'm on the Spanish NHS but they couldn't provide the procedure I wanted.

I'm afraid that in this instance your moral is absolutely unjustifiable and wrong.
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby El Cid » Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:29 pm

I can only speak from my experience - your experience is, sadly, different.

To be fair, I would not expect my insurance company to suggest a serious op at CR as they would probably choose somewhere like Parque San Antonio or similar.

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby Paulinmalaga » Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:34 pm

El Cid wrote:Totally agree Gerry. I have used CR many times, as has my wife and I have no complaints whatsoever. If you use a private clinic with no insurance you will get ripped off. The moral is either get insurance or sign on to the Spanish NHS.

Sid
But Sid, Isn't Gerry doing just that? " If you use a private clinic with no insurance you will get ripped off. yet neither he or you feel he is being "ripped off". IMO the price does sound steep for a cataract op
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby El Cid » Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:39 pm

Yes , friends have had the op for 1250 but I expect the price paid by the insurance company for the same op would be a lot less.

I have private cover as well as full Spanish NHS cover. I would use private cover for smaller problems like a cataract, but when I need a triple bypass I will use the NHS.

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby gerryh » Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:59 am

El Cid wrote:Yes , friends have had the op for 1250 ...

Sid
At what clinic did they get it for 1250?
I've been looking online and not found anywhere that cheap.
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby El Cid » Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:07 am

I think it was Hidalgo. Of course they may have got it wrong!

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby fincalospinos » Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:24 am

Sid is correct, the cost of a cataract op at Hidalgo is around 1250 euros. I visited their clinic in Velez Malaga, but the operation was carried out in Torremolinos.
Very professional and no problems.
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby firsttango » Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:48 am

If you end up changing and going with Clinica Hidalgo (see my earlier post) just a bit of info. There is a great cafe just outside the facility with free wifi for you to wait when the patient is under the procedure and waiting in recovery etc. also plenty of on street parking.

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Re: Cataract operation

Postby Miro » Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:03 am

€1250-€2000? Not bad for a 15 minute job. Nice work if you can get it! :wink:
There is another option (although not a very practical one of course): pop over to a walk-in clinic in the UK and see how quickly you can get it done on the NHS. But I have a sneaky feeling the "protocol" on the NHS will be the same - wait until it's "ripe", since she has one eye functioning perfectly well at the moment. My friend who had both eyes done on the Spanish health service (in Torremolinos) had them both done within weeks of each other - but they were both as bad at the same time, so maybe he got a two-for-one deal! A private clinic will always say she "needs" the op, but if you're happy to pay whatever it takes, then that's your choice of course. All the best to Mrs.H for a speedy solution, either way :)
El Cid wrote: I have private cover as well as full Spanish NHS cover. I would use private cover for smaller problems like a cataract, but when I need a triple bypass I will use the NHS.
Just out of curiosity - why is that then? Chances are, it would be the same surgeons performing the op anyway. Maybe it's because the private clinics don't have the best facilities, or the emergency facilities in the event that something goes wrong? My (limited) experience of private clinics in Spain suggests that they're not all exactly BUPA quality, but even in the UK the same can be true: my father was being treated at a BUPA clinic when something went wrong, and he was immediately transported across the car park to the neighbouring NHS emergency room!
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Re: Cataract operation

Postby El Cid » Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:16 am

Miro wrote:
Just out of curiosity - why is that then?
It's because the cost of ITU cover and drugs is limited on my policy so if anything went wrong in a major op, the costs could get out of hand. Anything they leave in you (such as a hip joint or stent) is usually not covered fully. That's one of the reasons Prevision Medica is relatively cheap.

I agree about facilities, etc., with the opening of the new huge hospital in Granada I think I would prefer to be there if it was a major heart problem.

Private cover is great for minor things that usually have a long wait on the NHS.

Sid


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