Process steps for arranging surgery in a Thai hospital
A long list of activities
Take a deep breath. The list of things you need to consider is long. This is just a reflection of the fact that any kind of surgery is serious business. Most of the points on the list would also apply if you were to have surgery at home or in any other country.
The below list is especially for those who want to arrange their trip without the help of a medical tourist agent . If you do use an agent, and we explain in the using medical tourist agents section why we think it is a good idea to do so, the whole process will be managed by the agent. You will be asked the right questions and pushed through the process to get you under the knife.
Many people choose to bring a spouse, a friend or a relative along for their trip to Thailand. This is a particularly good idea if you don't enlist the help of an agent. Your company can not only help you with the practical things in life, but can also greatly contribute to your psychological comfort. And once the surgery is over, it's great to have someone to enjoy the beauty of Thailand together with.
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Select procedure | In the common cosmetic proceures section you find the latin names of procedures and their common name equivalents. This should help you to find the right information on the many |
| Select candidate clinics | You might want to choose two or three reputable hospitals or clinics you find on the lists of this website or elsewhere as canditates. Go through the next few steps with all of them and then choose the one which impresses you most in terms of service, conditions and price. |
| Establish contact with clinic | Send your candidate clinics an email inquiry stating the procedures your are interested in. Usually this is done through a form on their website. If not, ask for information about the procedure at that specific facility, costs (including estimates for pre-surgery tests and post surgery medication), requriements and conditions. Also ask, how many days you should stay in town after the operation. You find email addresses and links to relevant pages together with the hospitals and clinics listed on this website. Packages are usually designed for uncomplicated patients. Patients with conditions like bleeding disorders or underlying medical problems such as HIV and diabetes need to make ths clear from the outset - it will most likely influence your options and the treatment costs. |
| Prepare pre-information materials | For some plastic surgery procedures the Thai doctor will want to see your x-rays, photos, MRI's, etc. Your clinic will advise you of their requirements in their reply to your initial contact. If they don't, ask them. Have all the documents scanned into electronic format. This way you don't need to send originals to Thailand and you can send the same electronic copy multiple times. If you need a service provider, go to your search engine and enter 'x-ray duplication'. This would also be the time to ask for a specific surgeon if you know already, by whom you would like to be treated. |
| Send pre-information materials | After you send your pre-information package you can expect to receive a quote (if you haven't received a package quote before) and additional information like time requirements, additional questions from the surgeon, contact information, etc. |
| Select facility | Based on the information and feedback you receive from the candidate facilities you can now make the final decision as to which one you want to go with. |
| Start booking hospital appointments, plane tickets, hotels | Getting all these aligned takes a bit of organising. If you are flexible timewise you can try to avoid the peak travel season, with it's higher prices for plane tickets and hotels. This will save you money, especially if you plan to spend more time in holiday resorts after the surgery. Calculate how much time you are going to be in Thailand in total and then look at visa requirements. For citizens of most countries you can get a 30 day visa at the airport. If you foresee to need more than 30 days, better get a visa from the Thai embassy before traveling. Don't worry too much about this though. Thailand is a country which treats its visitors well, even if they overstay their visa. If it's just a few days, you will only be charged a small fine of about 500 Baht (10 Euro) per day when you leave. Ideally your hotel is not too far from your hospital. Bangkok is a big city and traffic jams make long commutes rather time consuming. Some hospitals offer 5-star hotel like facilities for their patients and those travelling with them. This might be an alternative to a normal hotel. |
| Pre-operative assessent | This will happen in Thailand at your chosen hospital. What all is needed, depends on the procedure you will have, your age and possible complicating factors like diabetes or HIV. |
| Surgery | The though part of organizing your plastic surger is over. Now it's for the surgeon to do his job. Your job is to lean back and relax. |
| Post-operative care | Most packages include one or more nights at the hospital. Allow the hospital recommended time for follow-up care and recovery. Depending on your type of plastic surgery you might be able to leave for a few days for some tourist activity and then drop by the hospital for a final check-up before returning home. |
