Rhinoplasty in Thailand. Looking for surgerons!

[xtineN]

Hi Everyone.

This is my first post ever on this forum as I am currently considering flying to Thailand for rhinoplasty. I have read numerous threads in this forum and have an idea of who I want as surgeons. I just need a little more opinions.

I am 25 years old Vietnamese & Chinese female with a pretty bulbous tip for a nose and I would like to have my tip more slimmer/narrow and have alarplasty as well. I do not need bridge work done as I am quite satisfied with it. I have never had any surgeries of any type done to myself.

I have consulted:

Dr. Somyos Kunachak

He suggested Refinement Rhinoplasty with the following:

1. Tipplasty

2. Alarplasty

3. Osteotomy

4. L shaped silicone implant (I don't think I want foreign implants but would prefer ear or rib cartilage if they want to do implant)

quoting me a the cost of $6900USD includes 2 overnight stays at the facility.

I am aware that Dr. Somyos is like the messiah of nose jobs and if money was not an issue - I would go straight to him but the total cost of flight, accommodation, spending, plastic surgery cost would equal out to be the same price of rhinoplasty here in Canada.

The other two doctors that I have consulted are Dr. Piyapas (Phuket Hospital) & Dr. Preecha (PAI). However, I am still waiting for replies on both these doctors.

Just wondering what everyone's opinions are on Dr. Piyapas & Dr. Preecha or if you guys can recommend other doctors for this type of rhinoplasty. I have also looked up Dr. Poome but his price is about the same as Dr. Somyos.

Please note: I am aware that I shouldnt be placing cost as a factor to plastic surgery as it IS my face we're altering, but just thought I'd put it out there and see what recommendations I get.

Thank you so much!

[Sheryl]

Preecha is well renowned as a top notch plastic surgeon. But I suspect his quote will come in not much less than Dr Amorn Poomee and Dr. Kunachak.

Suggest you also do an online consult with Yanhee Hospital. Dr. Greechart there has a very good reputation

www.yanhee.net

If you send pics they'll give you a free consultation online and price quote. Will be less than the places you have so far contacted.

[Sanook997]

Hi,

I can give you the following recommendation:

My friend just had nose surgery performed by Dr. Witoon at the Piyavate Hospital in Bangkok two weeks ago. She choose Dr. Witoon because he had done a breast augmentation for her two months ago and she was extremely pleased with the results. I will add that when we were sitting in Dr Witoon's clinic we encountered several women that were there to see him because their previous surgery went wrong and they were looking for corrective surgery.

In her case she had the bridge of her nose raised with silicone, the wings of her nose as I call them reduced and the tip of her nose rounded and lengthened which was done by using the cartilage from her ear. Dr. Witoon is not cheap and he will not compromise on his work and I can tell you the results were outstanding. I was amazed at the stitching he did on the wings of her nose, its been two weeks and its absolutely invisible already. I can also say that the incision on her ear is completely healed and mostly invisible as well.

One note: Six days after surgery and for no reason at all she started bleeding from the back of her nose quite significantly at 3AM, she called Dr Witoon and he asked her to come to the clinic immediately, he met her at the door, packed her nose and sent her straight to the hospital where she saw a young ENT doctor by the name of Dr. Intuorn Saisakul who completed the packing, admitted her overnight for observation which she did personally every two hours on her day off I might add, and then followed up for three days to insure all was well.

Unfortunately we never know why some people can have complications, what matters to me is that in the event something does happen, how will your surgeon respond?

Dr Witoon always took her calls personally and even in the middle of the night. He payed all of the bills for the complication without asking and continues to follow her progress with phone calls etc.

In DR Saisakul's case, I can honestly say that I have never experienced such care by a physician at anytime in my life. This young women cared for her like she would for her own daughter. If anyone needs an ENT in the Bangkok area I would highly recommend her.

Just my opinion here but I think you should consider him as well as any others.

Good Luck

[MLisa]

Hi,

I'm also new at this and I'm currently searching for a cosmetic surgeon for my facelift procedure. I did my nose with Dr. Somyos 4years ago because I have a hooked nose and I have snoring problems. I went there with my friend who also did her nose but hers was for silicone implantation while mine was osteotomy WITH S. I chose between Dr. Somyos' clinic and Yanhee (I can'y exactly remember the name of the surgeon but it sounds like but Dr. Picha---), anyway, I chose Dr. Soymos because I prefer the more personalized care offered by the clinic. I know Yanhee is a bigger hospital, but it is very busy and I felt like the surgeon will not be able to do my follow ups in a more personal approach.

Anyway, Dr. Somyos did a very good job on my nose, and my snoring has greatly improved, plus the staffs are really nice and they visit me and my friend all the time. However, I know that his specialty is nose surgery, and though I am greatly satisfied with the result of my surgery with him, I am not sure if he is good with facelift or if I should find another surgeon. I scheduled my consultation with him on November, but I would like to see my other options first.

I'm trying to find some reviews regarding his work and other facelift surgeons in Thailand, but I would prefer a surgical center rather than a big hospital. Can anyone suggest?

[Sheryl]

Not sure what you mean by a surgical center as opposed to a big hospital. If you mean a stand alone clinic, absolutely should not have this nor any other procedure involving general anesthesia done in one in Thailand. They are not adequately equipped to handle serious complications should they occur. And transfer to a hospital in Bkk traffic can take a very long time. It could literally cost you your life.

For face lift, Dr. Amorn Poomee at Bumrungrad and Dr. Preecha at PAI are hands down the best. They also cost considerably more than the rest but IMO are well worth it. Tere is far more variation in results with facelifts than with most other cosmetic procedures, even among competent surgeons, and lots of bad looking (or at least, artifiical looking facelifts to be seen walking about.

I went to Dr. Poomee well aware that it would cost me twice the going rate and am totally glad I did. result looked 100% natural, even physicians looking at me did not believe I had undergone a facelift, though everyone could see I looked much younger than my actual age. Not only did it look youthful without looking artifical, but it looked entirely like me, i.e. my younger face, rather than some PS creation. Not many surgeons can achieve this.

[MLisa]

Not sure what you mean by a surgical center as opposed to a big hospital. If you mean a stand alone clinic, absolutely should not have this nor any other procedure involving general anesthesia done in one in Thailand. They are not adequately equipped to handle serious complications should they occur. And transfer to a hospital in Bkk traffic can take a very long time. It could literally cost you your life.

For face lift, Dr. Amorn Poomee at Bumrungrad and Dr. Preecha at PAI are hands down the best. They also cost considerably more than the rest but IMO are well worth it. Tere is far more variation in results with facelifts than with most other cosmetic procedures, even among competent surgeons, and lots of bad looking (or at least, artifiical looking facelifts to be seen walking about.

I went to Dr. Poomee well aware that it would cost me twice the going rate and am totally glad I did. result looked 100% natural, even physicians looking at me did not believe I had undergone a facelift, though everyone could see I looked much younger than my actual age. Not only did it look youthful without looking artifical, but it looked entirely like me, i.e. my younger face, rather than some PS creation. Not many surgeons can achieve this.

I understand your reservations about having surgery in a stand alone clinic, but even PAI is just a surgical center much like others that only offer cosmetic surgery, no matter how multidisciplinary they are. I however believe that doctors in stand alone clinics have more specialization in their real field, like Dr. Somyos for face surgeries. The thing I like about Dr. Somyos' practice is that he's very thorough with his pre-op check up, and I, coming from a medical background, understands the importance of this in avoiding possible complications.

I have nothing against big hospitals, I'm just not comfortable with getting lost in the maze. I've been in Bumrungrad countless times for check up and I even stayed there for 2 nights when I slipped and had a cut on my head. Everyone was really attentive, but the thing I don't like about it is that they refer you to so many departments without fully explaning why. My husband was also scheduled to have his face lift at Bumrungrad but it got postponed because we can not control his blood sugar, and I salute the hospital for being straight with us, but again, they referred us to so many departments and it was stressful, and we ended up going back home and totally cancelling the his surgery.

[Sheryl]

I actually much dislike Bumrungrad, for a number of reasons, and went there solely because i wanted that particular doctor. But there was certainly no "getting lost in the maze" about the experience. The PS clinic is a very separate entity, you see the doctor & make all arrangements there, if any pre-op tests needed from elsewhere in the hospital staff escort you there & back. Your hospital room is on a floor specifically chosen by the plastic surgeon (at least it is for Dr. Poomee's patients) and the care very individualized. You have no sense of being in a large hospital, could just as well be in a small dedicated plastic surgery facility as far as the experience goes. BUT you are minutes away from appropriate treatment for every possible type of complication be it surgical, cardiac or whatever. Can't say the same for the clinics. Many don't even have a "crash cart". The Thai cultural trait of "mai pen rai" unfortunately extends into medical care (where needless to say it loses its charm). This is true in all facilities, even major hospitals, but comparatively speaking they come closest to meeting what would be considered minimal safety standards in the west.

Of course, if you are in the vast majority who experience nio major complications, you'll do fine in a clinic. But if you are in the inevitable small number who experience serious complications -- many of which are impossible to predict or screen for in advance -- you are in big trouble.

[ghworker2010]

Bumrungrad is the biggest international hospital in the world and thus worth the money. Only the best dr's are there and you get what you pay for.

[Sheryl]

Bumrungrad is the biggest international hospital in the world and thus worth the money. Only the best dr's are there and you get what you pay for.

Well I would not agree with that. There are many good doctors there, including quite a few that are the very top of their field, but by no means are all the doctors there good let alone "the best". I don't know of any hospital, anywhere, where that is the case. Some very mediopcre or even poor qualify docs are to be found in every hospital, including Bumrungrad, which is why one should always choose the doctor and not the hospital.

Would also disagree that "you get what you pay for", or perhaps more accurately what you pay for includes a lot of unnecessary things e.g. valet parking, fancy lobby etc.

The inpatient room rates are quite high and not all worth it IMO (and I've been admitted there several times), but then IMO there is nothing you could do to a non-ICU hospital room to make it worth 6,00 baht a night (the rate for the cheapest private room. They go as high as >27,000. )

Would also have to say that I have often found the quality of their professional nursing care to be sub-par. Someone comes quickly enough if you ring the bell but it will usually be a nurses' aide, which is fine for small comfort measures but not for professional nursing assessment, and plenty of staff about to do things like escort you from one department to another (even if you are an alert, able bodied outpatient who hardly needs an escort). But the professional nurses can be be lax especially on the night shift where it is not uncommon for them to dispatch a nurses aid to administer oral pain medications rather than come themselves to assess what is going on (and even when the patient is recently post-op and has specifically requested an injection) and to conduct very little if any checks of patient condition during the night, even when still in the first 24-48 hours post op. Also found their assessments to be cursory much of the time when done. They are pleasant enough, but not at all proactive. Sort of in keeping with paragraph 2, i.e. the hospital seems to in some ways seems to be modeled after a high end hotel.

The personnel who handle email inquiries lack medical training and seem not to consult medically trained persons when an inquiry clearly demands it. Basically all they do is make appointments and if you did not specify the doctor, you will not get a rational recommendation. I once specifically asked for a specialist in auto-immune disorders, they gave the patient an appointment with an endocrinologist. When asked why, said "because that is the last doctor she consulted in this hospital" although the email had made clear this was a different problem. In other words, the medical information provided and type of specialist requested were all ignored, I suspect because the staff reading it did not understand any of it. So need to be wary of this and always specify the doctor you want.

Lastly should be aware that despite the "international" tag, the levels of English comprehension among admin & nursing staff are far from high in many instances. Better certainly than in government hospitals (where it is usually nil) but no better than at many less expensive private hospitals and certainly far from optimal. This includes the "internatiopnal patient center" staff.

The advantages to Bumrungrad IMO are:

(1) it has the largest number and range of specialists, including some very good ones not on staff at any other private hospital and

(2) it has an excellent website, currently the best/most user friendly in terms of helping you identify the right doctor to consult.

These 2 things result in my using/recommending them fairly often. But they are the only reasons.

[MLisa]

I've had countless procedures both in Thailand and in my country and I've never had a problem with surgery, but yes, I believe if you are a high risk patient, it will still be best to do your procedure in a tertiary hospital. For those who already have surgeons who works in stand alone clinics, I believe you can request for the doctor's team to perform your syurgery in a hospital but it will have an extra fee. I've asked this with Dr. Somyos since I'm eyeing to have my surgery with him and he said if I'm not comfortable with having the surgery done in the clinic, I can choose from their affiliate hospitals.

I think this is already a win-win situation.

As for the room in Bumrungrad, I agree that it is ridiculously expensive, I had 10,000 Baht per night when I got admitted, and for you to be admitted for ER cases, you have to pay 50,000 Baht upfront if you don't have insurance, then they say "if" you still have credit by the time you get discharged, they will refund it back to you. This they all explained while attending to my bleeding head. Maybe this was an isolated case, and they made up for it during my stay.

[Sheryl]

Yes, pretty much all the doctors with their own clinics will have privileges at one or more hospitals. So if the issue is that you want a specific doctor, can manage that without risking having surgery under general anesthesia outside of a hospital setting.