Has anyone done this? If so, what doctors and what hotels? Thanks

I hope someone answers who actually lives there and can steer you away from any danger from the rampant fraud and hiv there.
If you are looking in that direction because it might be cheaper...Why not go to Argentina? Isn't plastic surgery done there routinely by the ordinary housewife? And the economy there is in such a shambles..probably dirt cheap for americans.

Although I can't recommend any one doctor or clinic, there was a 60 Minutes report done very recently on Bangkok plastic surgery possibilities. Most doctors were educated in US and they own the clinics. It's very safe and it does save the patients lots of money, or at least you will get a vacation/getaway at the time when your face/body looks like it was worked over by a boxer. Most of these clinics will arrange the whole deal for you, air, 5* hotels, local transportation in limos, etc...

Just do some research and you will be fine. 60 Minutes was impressed with most of the clinics and how they operated. They also interviewed some of the patients. The weirdest one was a mom and her 16/17 year old daughter from California that had a boob job. The mom/parents(?) looked like they had tons of money and she/they bought the operation for their little girl ????, Regardless, it was done with total medical professionalism so don't listen to the post above.

we do not have bkk experience but we did visit the B (have to find the name..look at next post) hospital last year during a bkk visit....we had read about it in the boston globe....its a fabulous hospital with us accredidation and many us and european trained doctors....they do most every kind of medical service including a huge plastic surgery....they have an internation pr department just to deal with folks like us....it is unbelievably inexpensive by comparison and the rooms are fabulous and very cheap too...there is a spa there as well...contact them and they will fill you in on the particulars....its located right off of sukumvit road at about soi 5 or some other low number....the jw marriott hotel is quite close by...

the spelling is bumrungrad hospital...look at www.bumrungard.com to start with
hope it works for you... we may have some things looked at in june while there

sorry---i should have added that my wife is a nurse in a harvard teaching hospital in boston. she felt that the services were excellent, that the facility was fabulous and that the equipment that we saw was up to date---the same machines being used in boston...
the delux room is $100 per day versus about $2000 in boston...the presidential suite (there are 2 or 3) which has several rooms and lots of lux is only $300 per day....

Try this link: http://www.bumrungrad.com

Bumrungrad is accredited by JCAHO.
"The JCIA is the international arm of the US-based Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the accrediting body for over 18,000 hospitals in the United States. The JCIA has accredited eleven international hospitals in Europe, South America and the Middle East. Bumrungrad Hospital is the first hospital in Asia to be awarded JCIA accreditation."

bajaflash -

Check out South Africa - some of the best doctors in the world, an absolutely outstanding "private" medical system. And the prices are amazing. A $10,000 facelift in the US will run about $2,500 in SA. They also have packages available for air, hotels (every budget), meals, tours, and you can even add on time for a safari. The hospital facilities for these procedures are as luxurious as an exclusive spa back home.

Do a search for Cosmetic Surgeons South Africa and you'll see what they have to offer.

If nothing else you, you can have something to compare whatever information you get re such surgeries in Bangkok. The only differences might be the weakness of the USD against the SARand which is currently USD$1-6.8SAR - while in Thailand the exchange has been pretty much constant. So compare one for one on price between both countries.

The medical facilities in Bangkok are superb. I had some minor Dental work done at Bumrungrad and the treatment and quality was First Class, and the price so cheap. The Thai people are not only charming but so gentle, I believe this helps to make them very caring in the Medical Field. Of course it is also very nice to them be able to head to the beach afterwards.

Bumrungrad Hopsital also specialises in sex-change operations; nearly all the "ladyboys" one runs into in Thailand are done there, but at local rates that are mind-bogglingly cheap by Western standards.

An unusual number of pork-stirfry restaurants can be found nearby; make of that what you will.

Well Harzer considoring how beautiful they look on Stage that only goes to show the high standards of Bumrungrad.

I used to live in Asia and many of my friends living in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and other less developed countries in the region would go to Bangkok for medical and dental care as it was so much better. However, if considering plastic surgery keep these things in mind:

Add in the cost of the airfare and a least a few days in a hotel to an otherwise cheap procedure to see if it is still cheap.

Except for very minor things like Botox and a face peel, cosmetic surgery requires significant recuperation time. You would not be able to enjoy a "vacation" in Thailand while recuperating, as you will need to rest and will have surgical dressings and packings that need to be changed. You can't go out in the sun for a few days or even weeks after a face peel, so even that minor procedure makes vacationing afterwards difficult. Whether you want to fly with a fresh face peel is another issue, it could be uncomfortable I would think. Not sure about flying within a short period after a Botox injection, I could see a problem with cabin pressure issues.

You would also want to be near the hospital for subsequent visits, changing dressings, etc. For a face lift, this could easily be 3 weeks or longer. The cost of staying in a hotel and meals, etc during this recuperation could add up significantly.

If it is possible for you to fly within a few days after the surgery (and I am not sure how likely that is), you would then have to have follow-up care with a different doctor and surgeon in your home country. This may be problematic. You would also have to pay more for the follow-up care than you would in Thailand, which together with airfare, etc may negate the whole thing.

If things go very wrong, it would be difficult and very expensive to sue a doctor in the Thai courts. I am not sure if malpractice insurance is widely carried by doctors in Thailand.

To begin with, I can attest to the high standards of professionalism , cleanliness and comfort at Bumrungrad hospital when our son broke his arm last summer. Although the hospital is difficult to get to because of very heavy traffic, once there, it is comparable, if not better, than facilities here in the US. Best of all, the cost was mindbogglingly low.
Were I or my wife tempted to do cosmetic surgery, we'd have no hesitations from that standpoint.
On the other hand, I'd give serious thought to the above post, especially the drawbacks of trying to recuperate in a foreign country on a finite time schedule. A friend of ours had minor eyelid surgery when she came to visit us and still had to stay in bed for a day or two. After that, she was pretty miserable wearing sunglasses everywhere and couldn't go swimming or do much of any activity- even golf was too much. She's now fine and loves her eyes and says it was worth it, but I doubt she wants to remember much from that trip.

As everyone has said, plastic surgery is different, from the little I know (from some 'Makeover TV show my wife watches on UBC Cable here ) it is the 'after treatment' that takes a long time, several months or more, so you need to weigh up those options, I doubt you can rush in, have it done, and then sit in the sun! As far as other proceedures go they are first class, dental work I rate better than Australia, and that's saying something. It is not entirely expertise it is a 'mannerism' in which they handle things. As I have said before, don't expect to sit back and have decisions made for you, it is a major difference, I am always being asked what 'I want', it is a somewhat different concept.

Have to agree that it is the "aftercare" that is even more important. Depending on the procedures, you cannot simply board a plane and return home.

Anything done on the face has to be monitored. Stitches/sutures have to be removed after at least 1-wk, then by two weeks, if all okay can one appply makeup; don't be surprised to see black/blue marks popping up in strange places. For laser work on the face (with lots of new raw skin), this has to be kept clean and protected.

Generally you cannot be in direct sunlight for 3-months.

For Liposuction procedures - these I've been told are most painful (some women have commented that they would rather have a baby then go thru Lipo any day). You have to wear a restricting girdle-type garments for many weeks - not likely to be very comfortable in the heat of BKK.

While the methods for many procedures have changed and improved over the years, one still has to consider what the real issues are and decide just how long you have to stay in a foreign country; and once you return home what care, if any, is available to you (for a procedure done by someone else).

As to malpractice insurance, while most reputable surgeons in foreign countries are covered, they may not be covered for work done on foreigners, especially Americans, known as the "litigeous ones"

A lot of consideration has to go into making a decision to have cosmetic surgery at home - physicians background, how many of such surgeries they've done, have there been problems or malpractice charges brought, reference from previous patients, do you even like the surgeon who is about to work on you, etc. - even more so, elsewhere.

While the cost of procedures might be less then at home, you have to add in your airfare, hotels, foods, general cost of day-to-day living while away (shopping, tours), aftercare - might not be that much of a savings.

So do your homework and check and recheck beforehand.

Topping for Kuro. Ignore the zzzz comment by artisland

james; thanks alot for taking the time to find these postings. will checkout bumrungrad, and set an appt. if i decide to pursue this adventure further.

Just to re-emphasise the Bumrungrad is really the tops, 5 star, rooms are also nice and one thing which applies to all such hospitals in Thailand is that they are not adverse to family/friend being with you for consultations etc, and in fact in Thailand family/friends are often permitted to share the room ( certain conditions of course ) for those who are nervous, no crazy visiting hours or such, so you don't get dragged off 'alone'. Zenith is reasonable price place fairly convenient for a hotel nearby, but even as no expert at all on such matters I would 'guess' that you would have to avoid the sun etc after such proceedures so you would need to considor all that when making plans, I doubt you could have that done and then head to the beach for hot sun and swimming etc!!