After 45kg of Weight-loss This Was a Much Needed Procedure - Thailand, TH

I am still in Thailand and will see my surgeon today and we fly home on Sunday. I may see my GP if I need to, but will have follow up sessions with my surgeon by sending him photos via email.

Also what was the hospital like? What hospital did u stay in?

Hi, I am now 3 & 1/2 weeks post op and yes I can walk :)
They basically get you up the next day and the more you can walk the better for you, but obviously within reason, as you will swell up if you overdo it.
Basically when I sent in my request for a quote, I got sent two back to me, but they did refer me to Dr Kasemsak. The other surgeon, who is also head of their surgical team, is Dr NJ, you could ask them to book you in with him. I believe he came and saw his patients every day, whereas Kasemsak didn't. That is probably my only complaint of Kasemsak, is that I didn't see him much after the op, I in fact got sent back to the hotel without being properly discharged so I had to go back the next day to get discharged properly, and even then the DB staff had to call him to come down to the offices to do so. I did't see him when they took off my dressings and removed my last drain, this was also done by one of the nurses.
So I guess if you don't mind an absent doctor then go with Kasemsak, otherwise ask if you can go with Dr NJ.
When are you anticipating going?

I was in Samitevej Thonburi hospital. The hospital itself was lovely, clean the rooms each have a fridge and a microwave in them and your own bathroom as well as a daybed that your support person (if you have one) can stay on for free.
The food was awful, too salty and always cold (but I guess that is why there is a microwave in your room, which is okay if you can actually get out of bed to use it).
The comments about the food have been raised with the owner of Destination Beauty, so hopefully these will be improved.

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! I want to go next year in April.

Sorry in advance for all the questions. But how were the staff members could they speak english? How long were you in hospital for? Did they look after you very well?

Also what was the hotel like?
How much was your surgery if you dont mind me asking? Just for you. As u said the price above included your husband airfares and hospital stay and Accommodation. Did you purchase the garments there. Or did you buy them b4 you arrived? What is the pain like? Is there anything i should bring with me b4 going for my surgery? As im going for A Extended Tummy Tuck and lipo.

Thank you so much for your help and advice. Its very much appreciated

Btw you look amazing! How are you feeling?

The English side is not too bad, I did have problems asking them to close the blinds for me at night. Generally they are pretty good. I was in for 4 nights and yes they did look after you well. Just make sure you ask for pain relief if you need it. I had a drip with morphine in it but apparently it is a very low dosage, and they were giving me panadol. When I realised that it was only panadol I told them I needed Tramadol as the panadol wasn't doing anything, and they gave it to me no problem. The last day was a little weird, they left me to shower on my own and then when I asked if they would wash my hair for me (in the bed, as you aren't allowed to get your dressings wet), they wanted to charge me 300 Baht.
The hotel was lovely, the staff were very friendly and will do anything you need. Our washing/dryer machine didn't dry so they replaced it for us. The only thing is the bed was very firm and so was the couch, so sitting or lying for long periods of time was very uncomfortable.
My surgery for the mummy makeover was 299,000 THB which equated to roughly $11,400 plus bank charges of course which were about another $300 odd. Make sure when you pay by credit card that you chose Thai Baht to pay in rather than Oz $'s as their eftpos machine/bank has a higher rate of exchange than our bank did.
I bought two bras and one compression garment for my tummy, but ended up having to buy new bras when I got home as the ones they sold me were way too small and were causing creases across my bust.
Coming out of the anaestetic was horrible, I was so cold I was shivering and that was making me more sore, but that eventually wore off. It would have been nice if they had put a warm blanket on me but they didn't (and I'm not even sure if they have a warmer to put blankets into) and I was too out of it to ask for it.
Take lip ice with you and a soft pillow to sit on if you can (or use one from the hotel bed).
I'm feeling fine, still very tight of course and that feeling will probably last a while. I am still having to sleep semi upright which is causing havoc with my sleep. But I'll survive :)
Good luck

Thank you so much for your help!

Im nervous. But hopefully i will be ok by the time it happens

No worries. You will be fine. :)

Hello its me again. Did u get to see thailand while u were there?. How long was it. Untill u were actually walking around properly?

Hi, Yes we got out and about in the second week. We went to the shopping mall on the Tuesday (so a week and a day after surgery), then we booked some tours for the Thursday and Friday but ended up having to move them to the Saturday and Sunday due to appointments at the hospital not because I wasn't well enough :). I highly recommend you go to the floating markets and the Tiger Zoo if funds allow.

Oh nice floating markets soundz nice. I am definitely going to the tiger zoo.

I was also looking at ither post. Some people say they went through excruciating pain after the TT.

Did u get lipo as well? My surgery is bigger so im kinda scared now at the pain factor!.

Hi, no I haven't had a lot of pain with my TT. I didn't have liposuction as I didn't really have any fat left to remove. I have actually been surprised at how little pain I have had.

Oooo wow! Im glad i can talk to you about this! And even better you have used the doctor im going to go with!

May i ask u live here in australia? What made u go to thailand to do the surgery? .

Yes I live in Perth. I was never going to qualify for the Medicare item numbers which would allow my private health cover to pay for my hospital portion of my bill, so it was purely a cost factor. I had a quote just for my BL/BA and I was looking at $20K, both my procedures, accommodation, flights x 2 and insurance came to under $15k, so it was a no brainer really.

Oh wow! Yes it is very expense here. Plus you have people looking after you over there. Not like here. They let u go after a few nights stay

What made u choose Destination Beauty? Did you know someone from there?

No, I researched a couple of companies that do the trips over there and DB just responded better and had a better deal overall. I can't fault the service I have received. In fact this Sunday I am going to the venue where they are having their info session to have a check up with one of the surgeons.

Also u say take a soft pillow.

Should i buy my garment from there? Or here in oz and take it there.

Mmm can u suggest anything else i need?

The beds in the hotel are very firm, so if you can get by just using the pillows in the hotel room to lie on then you don't need to take one with you. What procedures are you having done? I am still using the compression garment for my tummy which I bought over there, it cost THB5,000 (just over AU $100). The only thing about buying here before your operations is that you don't know what size you will be once the operation is done, which is why I didn't buy anything beforehand. You will wake up with a compression garment around your tummy (just an elastic one with velcro) you do need two people to do this up, which is a pain if you are on your own. I still use this velcro one to sleep in at night instead of sleeping in the really restrictive one. I did buy another tummy garment here in Perth, but I prefer the one from Thailand. But I prefer the bras I bought here as they actually fit me and they have extra rows of hooks and eyes so you can tighten up the bra and move the breasts closer together as you feel comfortable doing so.
If you intend going to visit the temples, you will need a long skirt or trousers and a shirt with sleeves. Take wet weather gear in case it rains, cos when it rains it is usually a huge downpour.
You will have a kitchen and washing machine/dryer in the room, (they do give you washing powder), and they come in a do the dishes and clean up for you every day.
Make sure you go down and have breakfast in the mornings and take part in at least one afternoon tea session with the other DB patients, these are done on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.
DB has an office in the hotel (Somerset) on the mezzanine level where you can go and see them any time during the day.
The nurse (Oam -not sure how to spell it but sounds like Om) will come and see you every second night, sometimes it can be as late as 8 or 9pm. They usually phone you to see if you want to see the nurse. If you have a drain that needs to be changed you will need to go back to the hospital and they will do it there, but she will arrange for the driver to take you and you will get a slip under your door telling you what time you will need to be in the hotel lobby to go.
We booked our trips with Peter, he has a desk outside the restaurant (there are sometimes ladies sitting there, they will help you book as well). We paid him THB2,500 for each of the days that he took us out ($50 a day), plus then you pay for your trip for the floating markets or the tiger zoo or entry to the various temples. We paid THB3,000 for the boat and THB1,500 each to have a photo session with the large tigers and to feed the baby tigers, there are other prices which they will explain to you when you arrive. Don't be worried when you get to the Tiger Zoo as it looks like it isn't a proper place. They are still busy with construction, but the staff are lovely, especially the young lady. They don't drug their tigers, as they are all hand raised from babies they are used to their keepers and people and there are four keepers in the enclosure with you at all times and you are totally safe. Just follow their instructions and you will be fine.
There is free transport to one of the malls that is close by (we walked back to the hotel, even though we didn't have a clue where we were going), but that mall was very disappointing in terms of being a place to buy bargains. It had more restaurants than anything else, so if you are looking for places to eat then go to that mall (it is the one on the board in the lobby of the hotel).
We went to MBK mall a couple of times and here is where you can find some bargains depending on what you are looking for. I had my eyeliner tattooed on and it only cost $56 (THB1,500). I couldn't find any clothes here as "one size" is supposed to "fit all!!" and it really doesn't :(

We also went to the Siam Paragon Mall http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-mall/siam-paragon.htm which is amazing, there are three Siam malls all joined to each other. The aquarium and Madam Tussauds are in these malls.

If you need a chemist there is one just down the road from the hotel, as you come out of the hotel and on to the street, turn left, go past 7/11 and walk down to the corner, it is on the corner. The lady in there is very helpful and that is where I bought some silicone cream for my scars and the silicone pads that you can put on the scars at night to aid healing. You will only need these once the scars have totally healed up (i.e. no scabs or open bits). One box of the silicone pad was THB900, ($33). It looks like they are over $40 here.

Hope that helps a bit.