John’s Experience
Hello, and thank you for letting me share my story on my journey from fat to fit and the ensuing surgical procedures I undertook in Thailand.
By the middle of 2006, because of a change in my work life from active to sedentary, my weight skyrocketed from 270 pounds to a staggering 360. I had carried 260 fairly well, being 6′3″, (191cm), but being 360 pounds was causing my blood pressure to shoot through the roof, my mobility to decline, along with a host of other problems associated with obesity. Along with my doctor, I decided to take the bull by the horns and lose the weight once and for all with strict dieting and exercise.
Over the next year, I lost over 135 pounds, and realized new health and vitality. What I was not prepared for, and consequently did not consider, was the damage being obese had caused to my skin. I was left with unsightly, sagging folds of flesh on my abdomen, thighs, and buttocks. After consulting with plastic surgeons here in the U.S., I realized that I would quite literally have to take a second mortgage on my home to pay for the procedures. The prices I received here in the U.S. ranged from the $40,000 range to over $60,000.
Subsequently, one day in speaking with a Thai friend of mine residing in New York City, I was informed about the viability of health care in Thailand (a favorite destination for rest and relaxation for me anyway) and I began to do research. What I found was highly competent surgeons, most of whom trained overseas, along with completely modern, state-of-the-art hospitals and equipment. After doing much research on the level of care and what was to be expected about receiving it in Bangkok, I was sold.
I booked my air ticket and surgery with Bangkok 9 International Hospital, and Dr. Tawisak. I was understandably quite nervous upon arriving to the hospital, knowing full well that I was about to undergo a seven-hour procedure and that I would be quite different coming out of anesthesia.
The doctor’s bedside manner at my initial consultation greatly allayed my fears and anxiety. He took as much time as I needed to answer my questions and describe the process to me, along with what I should expect not only coming out of the surgery, but long-term moving forward into the future and the rest of my life.
Right down to when I entered the OR and was prepped for anesthesia, everyone at the hospital was calm, pleasant, and confident-everything, in my opinion, someone in the medical field should be. When I woke up in my private room at the hospital, Dr. T was the first person that greeted me and told me that everything was O.K. I breathed a big sigh of relief.
That surgery took place in April 2008, just over a year since achieving my target weight. Since then, I’ve gone back for another procedure, in addition to removal of excess skin on my abdomen and thighs. This time, I dealt with excess skin on my buttocks and sides. This time was even less anxiety because I knew what to expect and had a rapport with the hospital staff. They even remembered my first name the moment I walked through the door!