Plastic Surgeon: Dr. Kasemsak

Procedures: Arm Lift 

When are the after pictures taken: the before picture was taken after her massive weight loss and the after picture was taken 1 week after arm lift.

How much did it all costs? 112,250 THB / approx AUD 5,619 / approx NZD 5,899

How Long time did Alice stay in Thailand? 8 nights in Thailand, 1 night in hospital, and 7 nights in the serviced apartment.

"I had my arm lift on 13th November. My partner and I stayed in Bangkok for 6 nights and have spent the last 3 a bit further out for some quality time. I thought I’d do a quick post about my experience now I’m feeling better!

We were picked up from Somerset around 10am to head to the hospital. We were in the DB lounge for about 2 hours, where I had my procedure confirmed, an X-ray done, my IV placed in my hand and blood drawn for tests. The nurses also confirmed that because I have asthma, I was to meet with a specialist before going to theatre. My surgery was scheduled for 7pm.

We got checked in to a very comfortable room in the hospital at about 12 where I was asked to have a shower, wash all over with an antiseptic soap and get into a gown. After I was gowned I asked for a drip because I was feeling quite dehydrated (nothing per oral from 9:30am!). Breathing specialist came to do an assessment and decided I should have a nebuliser before going into theatre. Dr K came to visit at around 4pm and confirmed the procedure, asked me to take out all my piercings (quite a chore for me 😂) and drew his guidelines. He noticed that my right arm was substantially bigger but told me it wouldn’t be a worry, he would make sure they’re even once we’re all done. This is where I started to really feel nervous... had I made the right choice? Will I be happy with the results? What will I look like after? Will my tattoo be ruined? I tend to just go quiet so I think only my partner noticed the nervousness, but he was a very good calming presence asking all the questions we had already talked about. The DB representative with Dr K then took some photos of the guidelines, and we were left to our own devices.

I had a nebuliser medication begin at about 5:30pm and was told once that finished I would be moved down to the theatre room. Time starts completely flying and before I know it I’m on the theatre bed heading down with my partner. He left me at the door. I met the anesthetist who was absolutely lovely, and patiently twiddled my thumbs for about 20 minutes until suddenly the theatre room was ready, I was moved there, my arms laid out on a table, and a breathing mask popped on. The anesthetist obviously noticed I was worried and nervous and she said, “don’t worry - I’ll protect you.” Deep breath, close my eyes, decide to trust the doctors and nurses, and I’m unconscious.

I wake up feeling very ill, head feels heavy and can’t open my eyes at first. This is pretty normal for anaesthesia. I move my head a bit and say out loud through the mask that I feel nauseous and the anesthetist tells me I had been sick while unconscious. The pain when I first woke up is the worst it has felt all week, but I was immediately given something for it. I was wrapped in very tight elastic bandages and could feel the drain under my arm. I saw on the monitor that it was 22:45 - nearly four hours since I’d left my partner! I must’ve been there for about 45 minutes as he thinks I got back to the ward at about 12:30am. I can tell you having him there when I woke up was such a huge relief. I had a morphine drip, bandages checked and then the nurse asked me if I wanted to take a photo - not knowing what she meant, I said sure! Then immediately asked her to put the bag away when I realised that was my arms in the bag 😂

I didn’t get much sleep that first night. First time I went to the bathroom I had the nurses help and she assisted me to change into pyjamas. After that I went by myself, to my partners annoyance! Another DB rep came to visit and gave me some flowers and a lovely Thai shopping bag with some dettol soap. The bandages leaked a fair bit overnight, so in the morning I was taken downstairs to the DB office to get cleaned up, compressions put on and changed. I might have shed a tear or two when I got to have a sneaky look at my arms... never thought they’d be so tiny! We were discharged, picked up and brought back to the hotel at around 1:30 on Thursday.

Apart from a visit from Nurse Aom in the afternoon, I basically slept on Friday. On Saturday we went on a trip to MBK and spent altogether too much money! Managed to get out to NAGA, a nice local restaurant just over the road, a few times for dinner. Apart from that I was doing a lot of resting, sleeping, and not much eating at all.

On Monday we were taken back to the hospital for my follow up. I was changed into a smaller compression which pushed out a whole lot of collected fluid - and had a laugh with the nurse as she was trying to pull up the compression on my left arm and her hand slipped, knocking me in the face 😂 the nurses are fantastic and hilarious. Never felt uncomfortable in their presence at all. Dr K came in to say hello and have a look, and said all was well. I asked how much was removed; 300g from my left arm and 430g from my right! We then were free to go with my permission to fly certificate and the advice that if I want my arms to look the best they can, I need to be wearing the compression all the time for at least 3 months.

All in all, while nerve wracking and challenging at times, I really value this experience. The DB Service team, nurses, my surgeon, everyone I met during the process were incredibly lovely and supportive. There is a translator available on the ward as well - Belle, I think. But I didn’t find the language gap very difficult really. I’ve had a great time, felt very well looked after, and after 50+ kgs lost and a few years of waiting, my bingo wings are outta here" - Alice.