Continuing advance planning for some medical tourism in BKK (that is, what I am going to be doing while my wife shops frantically :-)

There's a lot of good advice in the forum archives about particular doctors and hospitals, and for those of you who have contributed there, thank you! We are quite in your debt for having shared your experiences.

Interested now in having some testing performed, if we can confirm reliability of the physicians and labs to be used. Two main areas of interest are:

(1) I've got a relatively new and large brown pigment spot on my skin, in an area that has been previously badly sunburnt. The spot is not currently growing nor has it shown any of the alarm colors of black or red, but it really ought to be checked. Skin cancer is no joke.

I know that the routine thing to do is to have a dermatologist perform a punch biopsy, but the really critical part of the test is in the back office, with the pathologist who actually checks the biopsy sample for abnormal cells. And I am definitely not wanting to skimp on that part of the process! I would guess that any second-year med student could do a punch biopsy and not screw it up too badly, but a mistake in the path assessment could mean an overlooked cancer.

(2) Had a varicocele fixed about two years ago. Repair seems fine, but my physician noted that there can be downstream echoes for some years postoperatively, which affect androgen production and balance. I'm thinking that I should get a baseline on all of my endocrinology, which means testing about two dozen different hormones and related parameters. And again, the blood draw is simple, but the lab work needs to be sharp and accurate.

Thoughts, precautions, recommendations?

D

Welcome D. For starters, you might have a look thru Bumrungrad Hospital site. This is a hospital like no other I've ever seen. World class. I happen to live near it, not that I'm a worrier

You can email them and they actually answer (at least they did for me once).

Also, please see recent post: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33130

Good luck.

Edited May 3, 200521 yr by bahtandsold

I know that the routine thing to do is to have a dermatologist perform a punch biopsy, but the really critical part of the test is in the back office, with the pathologist who actually checks the biopsy sample for abnormal cells. And I am definitely not wanting to skimp on that part of the process! I would guess that any second-year med student could do a punch biopsy and not screw it up too badly, but a mistake in the path assessment could mean an overlooked cancer.

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Maybe you could get it tested at two different hospitals. Bumrungrad and Samitivej is where I'd go.