My wife and I just returned from a month-long trip to Thailand. Not our first time, we have a good feel for the country after visiting many times over the last thirty years. My 62 year old wife had some concerns about her facial features so she visited a doctor here in California and found that what she was hoping to get done was going to cost over US$20k. She wanted a facelift, neck lift and browlift. We both decided that Bangkok would be a cheaper option. And it was.

We researched online and saw that quite a few places in Thailand really tried to capitalize on medical tourism. It seemed that Bunrungrad Hospital had the premium service for tourists. We noticed that Yanhee Hospital did too but they weren’t in the touristy area of town like Bumrungrad. Both hospitals advertise their prices online and it looked like Yanhee was about 20% less expensive than Bumrungrad. So we contacted Yanhee and found that they had a pretty good team of contacts who speak English well and were very reliable in communication.

After several emails of questions that we had, we decided to book the procedure there at Yanhee Hospital. We wanted to come and get the surgery done ASAP and then stay in Bangkok for a week until it was time to get the sutures removed. There were a few hiccups about the exact day that the operation would take place, but we felt that Yanhee really did their best to accommodate our schedule.

We initially came to the hospital on a Friday morning. The hospital is on the other side of the river, northwest of the main tourist areas. We were wondering if the area of the city might be a problem but it was not. It was just typical Bangkok…sois and main roads and nothing to be afraid of or concerned about. No big shopping malls or big restaurants nearby but that was not why we were there. I ended up doing a lot of walking around the neighborhood and found it typically Thai. Very safe with lots of places to eat along the street.

Dr. Thawatchai did the consultation that morning. He already had all of her photos and knew what she was looking for in the procedure. It took about thirty minutes and after she had several medical tests done, she was slated for surgery later that day. She was admitted to the hospital and given a private room that I was able to stay in during her stay. Her operation allowed her to stay in the hospital for four nights. The same procedures in the USA would have allowed one night. The room was clean and comfortable and I had a comfortable couch to sleep on along with bathroom and shower. Plus, I could order meals over the phone from an extensive menu.

Her surgery ended up taking nearly six hours in the operating room and she wasn’t brought back to the room until nearly 1am. I was a bit worried as she looked like she’d been in a car wreck. The rest of that evening, a nurse came in every hour to check on her and make sure everything was OK. The next day was much the same with nurses coming periodically and her doctor also visited to check up on her. They all spoke English quite well and we never had a communication problem.

Four nights sounds like a lot but it was worth it and we were glad for it. The staff was wonderful with changing bandages and making sure she was comfortable. Dr. Thawatchai even came to the hospital on his day off to check up on her. By the fifth day, it was easy for her to leave without discomfort of any kind. The surgery had been very successful and we were both amazed at the work that Dr. Thawatchai had done.

The total cost of everything was 285,000baht which was US$8900. A year earlier with a cheaper baht and it would have been only $7900. And this included EVERYTHING, followups, room and board, meds, and meds to leave with.

It’s now four weeks post-op and we are both very happy that we decided to go to Bangkok for her work and especially happy with everything about Yanhee Hospital. There were not many recent reviews of Yanhee and I thought that it might be helpful to those looking into it. We would not hesitate to go back.