Highly Recommended

If you are in Thailand, close by, or like me prepared to travel far (from the U.K in my case) to combine surgery with a holiday than I would highly recommend the Siam Swan Clinic in Bangkok and choosing Dr Parin as your surgeon.

I decided to risk travelling so far purely because of the reviews I had seen on Realself – together with pictures. His lip-lift surgery results certainly looked impressive. And besides I like Bangkok and wanted some warmth – and privacy – so I took the plunge (the main negative aspect being the long flight time). (Bangkok also has one other advantage: if you are self conscious like me of going out in public after facial surgery – wearing a mask isn’t such an odd thing to do!)

Regarding the procedure itself, I did indeed have an abnormal distance between my nose and mouth and it was bothering me and looked worse from the side. The surgery outcome seems to have been an aberration as it didn’t quite go according to plan – and this I think was mostly – or entirely due to the fact that I am ‘a bleeder’. So the procedure ended up taking about twice as long as it should have – though as I was conscious I could tell Dr Parin was meticulous with his stitching – very tight and precise (and so less obvious scarring when healed). Unfortunately, the procedure didn’t heal or quite end up with the desired outcome. I forgot to mention that I also combined the lip lift with an outer lip lift to offset a possible droop to the mouth extremities – as the main ‘pull upwards’ is obviously more central. This was initially my idea and I thought it would also slightly widen my small mouth. Anyway, although the distance between nose and mouth had decreased, I did end up with some less than desirable marks/’scars’ and a noticeable swelling under the skin under my nose and into my nostrils. Although I wasn’t happy with the result I didn’t blame Dr Parin. I’m well aware the results of surgery can never be guaranteed and I know from previous surgeries I do have a tendency to bleed excessively.

So after about a year and with it being obvious that these things were not going to improve I contacted Dr Parin – and this is where his character and attitude shines: He apologised, he was disappointed – couldn’t quite explain it, and offered to correct the surgery free of charge. Bear in mind that I have had other imperfect surgeries, and getting resolution required persistent emails before eventually getting an offer of correction – and even then, though the surgeons fee was waived, the fee for the clinic/other staff was not (this seems to be standard procedure). Obviously, I would still be out of pocket for having to travel back to Thailand – and using up holiday time that could have been used elsewhere. That is unfortunate, but that is the risk when travelling abroad for surgery – especially when travelling longer distances.

So for the second trip, the lip lift was indeed corrected (though as I write it is two months later and I can still can detect some subtle changes). I also had the lift in affect done again as I wanted it higher still. A week after surgery the stitches were removed and already I could tell the ‘swelling’ that never went away after the first surgery had indeed decreased. I was also initially unhappy with the line of the philtrum being angled and not straight (please be aware that this was a problem I had before surgery due to a broken nose – it’s just that shortening the distance between nose and mouth made this more pronounced). Dr Parin had improved this too and I’m really happy with this. However, despite the improvements seen after one week I was having doubts about the marks and slight droopiness of the outer lip lift (incisions just above the extremities of the lip). I also had concerns about the width of my nose which I’m sure was a bit wider than before the first surgery – with more nostril show. Though I was much happier overall I knew this would probably end up bugging me so I discussed it with Dr Parin and he said he would redo or address all of these points in a surgery that would take place one week hence (lucky as the first surgery was booked in two days after I arrived and I was in Bangkok for 3 ½ weeks, so I would still have time to have the stitches out and fly back the day after that. But what surprised me completely was that Dr Parin was going to do all this second surgery also for no charge. Even when I offered to pay him he refused and said if I wanted to contribute I could pay the clinic fee – which was a fraction of U.K or European prices. So the second surgery went well. The part that would narrow my nostrils was an unexpected addition and how he did this while pulling the skin in the philtrum area into the nostrils ie combining two different issues in the same area – I don’t know! He did have to go away and ponder how to do this as it was unorthodox!

Anyway, here we are over two months later and I’m a lot happier with the result. The main reason for the surgery – the long distance between nose and mouth – has been resolved and it looks so much better from the front and the side. My lips (especially upper lip) is fuller – not something I was bothered about or desired but it looks better. So hey – that’s a bonus! My nose swelled quiet a bit after bother surgeries and it seemed as if my nostrils were showing just as much but I have been seeing some improvement lately – it’s subtle, but it looks as if the tip of my nose is falling and the nostrils are closing in. As for the marks above the lip extremities, they are not perfect but without doubt better than they were – and they seem to be subtlety changing for the better too ie the ‘redness’ is softening so the marks show less. Even if the marks remain in some form, the trade off is this also makes my lips look fuller which as I said is a bonus, so it’s something I can accept. All in all, despite having to return to Bangkok for corrective surgery, I don’t regret the decision I made – especially when I look at photos taken before the surgery, I can’t believe how long my philtrum was! So although in the end I paid for the initial two procedures and two trips to Thailand and the cost may have been double of that in the U.K or Europe (for a single surgery), I got far more done for the price - and two holidays (well – a sort of holiday!) I also got to meet a surgeon I both like and trust. Speaking of which:

I had lots of questions and Dr Parin was obliging in answering them all; in fact he seemed genuinely happy that I was taking such an interest in all aspects of the procedure. I’ve seen some other surgeons, and none were as receptive and generous with their time as Dr Parin. And as I saw him several times over two visits to Bangkok (ie consultation, surgery, follow up and stitches removed, and finally a last follow up and check before leaving for home) I feel I developed a really nice rapport with the Dr – and this was really evident from our first meeting. To me, it seemed as if I was being treated more as a friend than a client – and the feeling was certainly mutual. His manner is very friendly and easy-going. In fact I can remember him arriving one day when I was waiting at reception and he waved to me from outside with a big smile on his face, or another time he popped into reception from just seeing another client and he shook my hand and sat next to me asking me lots of questions even before we officially went to his office for a proper discussion. He really is a lovely man! My only regret is that I didn’t know about Dr Parin years earlier – it may have saved me a lot of regret and money. Moreover, I’ve met another two surgeons at the clinic and they seem equally nice and professional.

In summing up, I have only good things to say about Siam Swan and in particular Dr Parin.
Absolutely recommended!!!