more than a few weeks ago I got a sore on my lower lip and thought it was a coldsore. Quite a lot of pain actually. Finally it bled and I thought it would then heal. But no... It was bleeding a lot everyday on my pillow. After 5 to 6 days I went to the GP at a bkk hospital in my regional city. I gave him the accurate date timeline of what happened. He referred me right away for a biopsy with a plastic surgeon

I get the pathology back on Monday. He said he thinks its squamous cell carcinoma SCC. If confirmed he said he would do surgery to remove the tissue and cut down my chin to then be able to stick my lower lip back together. In fact he showed me photos in his phone of a lady with the same issue recently.

Its obviously 50 /. 50 as to whether or not it is SCC. Obviously it could be benign

Planning ahead.... if pathology says its grade 1 or 2 SCC then he will probably offer me surgery right away. He seems quite confident. Should I just do it with him. Or go to Bumrungrad and pay 3 times as much and maybe more? I will have a scar of course.

He said I would have to do MRI on the lymph nodes as well.

The plastic surgeon studied in Bkk and has never studied abroad. In bumrungrad most of them have better qualifications.

What would you do? @Sheryl could you please reply if you have time.

Woke up this morning. blood on the pillow. Had a nap this arvo. blood on the pillow. Actually Im a bit worried

thanks

The best places to come in Bangkok would be the government Derm Institute. They can do Mohs surgery.

Given the location and attendant cosmetic and functionsl issues Mohs is much preferrred.

I would definitly come to Bangkok. The government Derm Hospital is inexpensive but like any government facility, takes some time so you'd best plan om staying a week or so. It's an easy walk from the Victory Monument BTS. Arrive early morning. If you can, bring a Thai speaker.

https://www.iod.go.th/home

Dern Hospital has an excellent reputation. I had surgery for my SCC at Chulalongkorn. The surgeon was a Chula ajarn. There was zero scarring. The next full-body exam, I had to show the dermatologist where it was. About B5k as I recall.

Wouldn't hurt to have a consult at both if you can stand the Big Mango. Unless your face is going to fall off, they'll make you wait a few weeks for surgery. If you live upcountry, you'll have to come back.

At every stage, docs told me stress was the worst thing. It is what it is. SCCs on bridge of nose or lips are very common due to sun exposure. You'll have to minimise that after surgery.

But, after all that, pathology will come back negative! Good luck!

12 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Dern Hospital has an excellent reputation. I had surgery for my SCC at Chulalongkorn. The surgeon was a Chula ajarn. There was zero scarring. The next full-body exam, I had to show the dermatologist where it was. About B5k as I recall.

Wouldn't hurt to have a consult at both if you can stand the Big Mango. Unless your face is going to fall off, they'll make you wait a few weeks for surgery. If you live upcountry, you'll have to come back.

At every stage, docs told me stress was the worst thing. It is what it is. SCCs on bridge of nose or lips are very common due to sun exposure. You'll have to minimise that after surgery.

But, after all that, pathology will come back negative! Good luck!

Waits at the Derm Institute are much less than at Chula and I was able to get a procedure scheduled next day after pleading a bit & explaining that I lived upcountry. No guarantee of course but might be possible.

Most importantly they actively do MoHs. While there are doctors elsewhere who have been trained in it, it is in practice usually not available as needs more than a doctor trained in it, it requires a lab on stand by and is this administratively a bit complex to arrange .... but definitely available at Derm Inst.

45 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Dern Hospital has an excellent reputation. I had surgery for my SCC at Chulalongkorn. The surgeon was a Chula ajarn. There was zero scarring. The next full-body exam, I had to show the dermatologist where it was. About B5k as I recall.

Wouldn't hurt to have a consult at both if you can stand the Big Mango. Unless your face is going to fall off, they'll make you wait a few weeks for surgery. If you live upcountry, you'll have to come back.

At every stage, docs told me stress was the worst thing. It is what it is. SCCs on bridge of nose or lips are very common due to sun exposure. You'll have to minimise that after surgery.

But, after all that, pathology will come back negative! Good luck!

Thanks for your reply.

I like the sound of Dern hospital actually. If I had an appointment next week and maybe they say I have to wait until after songkran, do you think this is no issue as long as its only grade 1. Actually I already booked a holiday with my wife and child abroad for songkran but ready to cancel it depending on the pathology result on monday. Knowing what you know now about all this do you think its daft to go abroad and deal with this after songkran?

Bummersgrad will probably charge 100k. Dern will be a lot cheaper maybe 5k. I think I prefer Dern. Same as when I go to Rutnin eye hospital near Asoke. Really good specialists there and so cheap but good service.

IF you're not stressing over this--and I don't think you need to be--you should take the family away and have a great holiday with them. Then it can all get sorted just after Songkran. I had mine for more than 2 years!

On 4/1/2026 at 7:49 PM, DurianManThailand said:

more than a few weeks ago I got a sore on my lower lip and thought it was a coldsore. Quite a lot of pain actually. Finally it bled and I thought it would then heal. But no... It was bleeding a lot everyday on my pillow. After 5 to 6 days I went to the GP at a bkk hospital in my regional city. I gave him the accurate date timeline of what happened. He referred me right away for a biopsy with a plastic surgeon

I get the pathology back on Monday. He said he thinks its squamous cell carcinoma SCC. If confirmed he said he would do surgery to remove the tissue and cut down my chin to then be able to stick my lower lip back together. In fact he showed me photos in his phone of a lady with the same issue recently.

Its obviously 50 /. 50 as to whether or not it is SCC. Obviously it could be benign

Planning ahead.... if pathology says its grade 1 or 2 SCC then he will probably offer me surgery right away. He seems quite confident. Should I just do it with him. Or go to Bumrungrad and pay 3 times as much and maybe more? I will have a scar of course.

He said I would have to do MRI on the lymph nodes as well.

The plastic surgeon studied in Bkk and has never studied abroad. In bumrungrad most of them have better qualifications.

What would you do? @Sheryl could you please reply if you have time.

Woke up this morning. blood on the pillow. Had a nap this arvo. blood on the pillow. Actually Im a bit worried

thanks

Every experienced surgeon can do it.

6 hours ago, D Peter said:

Every experienced surgeon can do it.

6 hours ago, D Peter said:

Every experienced surgeon can do it.

But not every surgeon can do MOHS surgery. At least not in Thailand that is.

I don't get it.

If it's bleeding there should have been earlier warning signs. Bleeding can indicate that the lesion is more advanced locally or growing. I wouldn't be taking any vacations and would be treating this ASAP regardless of cost.

How about asking Dern for an idea of an appointment date first ?

6 hours ago, geisha said:

How about asking Dern for an idea of an appointment date first ?

It is Dermatology Institute (Derm = short for Dermatology) not Dern. A government hospital so no way to make advance appointment. He'll have to go in person, have consultation then take it from there.

Could certainly do that before Songkran with procedure scheduled for after.

Well, waiting won't help; the sooner you get it sorted the better.

14 hours ago, DurianManThailand said:

But not every surgeon can do MOHS surgery. At least not in Thailand that is.

op does not intend to do

6 hours ago, D Peter said:

op does not intend to do

Yes, he does. He has made that it is his intention to go to the government Dermatology Institute for precisely that purpose.

This is NOT something just any surgeon can do.

On 4/4/2026 at 6:43 PM, Sheryl said:

Yes, he does. He has made that it is his intention to go to the government Dermatology Institute for precisely that purpose.

This is NOT something just any surgeon can do.

you're wrong. This came later after my post. But if you want to be right....granted.

11 hours ago, D Peter said:

you're wrong. This came later after my post. But if you want to be right....granted.

Your comments are odd/ weird and waste peoples time. Surely you would be better off hanging out in another forum on Reddit - which is essentially the soi 6 of the internet.

On 4/2/2026 at 5:33 PM, DurianManThailand said:

Thanks for your reply.

I like the sound of Dern hospital actually. If I had an appointment next week and maybe they say I have to wait until after songkran, do you think this is no issue as long as its only grade 1. Actually I already booked a holiday with my wife and child abroad for songkran but ready to cancel it depending on the pathology result on monday. Knowing what you know now about all this do you think its daft to go abroad and deal with this after songkran?

Bummersgrad will probably charge 100k. Dern will be a lot cheaper maybe 5k. I think I prefer Dern. Same as when I go to Rutnin eye hospital near Asoke. Really good specialists there and so cheap but good service.

On 4/4/2026 at 11:54 AM, D Peter said:

op does not intend to do

13 hours ago, D Peter said:

you're wrong. This came later after my post. But if you want to be right....granted.

Look at the timeline. He clearly indicated he intends to go to Derm.

Good luck to the OP. Hope it isn't necessary, and if it is, it all works out.
And a big shoutout to Sheryl for all her valuable insights.

On 4/6/2026 at 8:10 AM, DurianManThailand said:

Your comments are odd/ weird and waste peoples time. Surely you would be better off hanging out in another forum on Reddit - which is essentially the soi 6 of the internet.

But if you want to be right....granted.