Medical Tourism in Bangkok and Thailand: Since the early 2000’s, Thailand has become one of the worlds leading centers of medical tourism. In Asia, it is now the leading medical tourism destination.

A major factor in the growth of this industry is low cost. For example, heart valve replacement surgery and care would cost 160,000 US dollars in the United States but costs only around 10,000 US dollars in Thailand.

A second factor is quality care. It is generally acknowledged that many private health facilities in Thailand provide health care comparable to that found in the Western world. 
To date, eight hospitals in Thailand have been accredited by the JCI, the Joint Commission International of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. 

These facilities are Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok Hospital, Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, Bangkok Hospital Phuket, BNH Hospital, Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, Samitivej Sriacha Hospital and Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital.

The Bangkok facilities are in bold type. In addition, there are many respected clinics in Thailand.

All in all, according to the website www.health-tourism.com, there are about 40 medical tourism facilities in Thailand. About 25 of them are in Bangkok. Also contributing to the popularity of Thailand as a medical tourist destination is the relaxing, tropical atmosphere. It certainly helps make medical problems more manageable and bearable. 

Plastic Surgery in Bangkok and Thailand: Thailand has become a particularly popular destination for those desiring plastic surgery, including breast enlargement, liposuction or fat removal, rhinoplasty or nose surgery, and facial reconstructions. 

There are many hospitals and clinics providing plastic surgery services in Bangkok, Thailand. It is difficult to evaluate all of the providers. 

All of them are privately operated – Thai government facilities do not do plastic surgery - and one must remember that these facilities are probably not as closely supervised and regulated as such facilities are in most Western countries. 

There really is not much a patient can do if a problem arises, although most Thai medical professional are ethical and will try to make a problem right.

Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that not all reputable providers are included in this list. For example, Yanhee Hospital, a large and successful facility in west Bangkok, is not listed. 

Pricing: In order to give readers an idea of surgery costs, the following information from the Yanhee Hospital plastic surgery website is listed below. 

All prices are in Thai baht. 

Most certainly price information will differ from hospital to hospital and clinic to clinic but differences should not be very large. 
 

Facial and neck surgery:

 

Breast augmentation:

silicone implants: 
 

Breast implant correction:
 

Other body procedures:
 

Obstetrics and Gynecology: 
    Do Be Careful: Those who decide to have plastic surgery in Thailand – or anywhere – should be careful. As noted, there really is very little one can do legally if the surgery is not successful, so one needs to select a provider carefully. Most Thai providers are ethical and worry about their reputations, so they want their customers to be happy. They are careful and do not cut corners. They depend on word of mouth advertising and do not want a customer to go away unhappy. Those interested in cosmetic surgery, however, should try to do as much research and investigation as possible before making a decision. Before making any final decision, one should at least visit a facility, talk to people and see if one feels comfortable with it. For those who are unable to do appropriate screening or investigation, it would probably be best to rely on a major hospital with JCL certification, such as Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok Hospital, BHN Hospital, or Samitivej Hospital. There are, however, many other perfectly reputable and competent facilities in Bangkok to choose from.