Transgender Tourism: For $2,000 a New Life Begins

[traci_k]

Transgender Tourism: For $2,000 a New Life Begins

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-26/transgender-tourism-for-2-000-a-new-life-begins

Bloomberg Business
Jason Gale
October 26, 2015

Thep Vechavisit uses local anesthetic and sedatives to block the pain from the two-hour surgery he performs in a cramped room in his Bangkok clinic. It's possibly the cheapest sex-reassignment operation in the world.

For about 70,000 baht ($1,950), patients' male genitalia can be reassigned female in a procedure Thep says he does once a week in his Pratunam Polyclinic, a solo practice in Bangkok's low-rent garment district. By spurning general anesthetic, an anesthetist and hospital operating theater, the surgeon says he can save 40,000-to-50,000 baht in medical costs.
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Found this on Bloomberg. $2,000 for GCS, no frills such as using sedatives and local anesthesia, but he apparently gets the job done in two hours. Anybody hear of this doctor before? I admire his concern and desire to help those who need the surgery but can't afford all the frills.

[iKate]

Yikes. For that price I would be extremely worried.

[traci_k]

Yes Kate I would be too. I was sure that when I read he didn't use General Anesthesia it would say the patient was given a strip of leather to bite down on. (Just kidding- almost)

[jenifer356]

very scary

be well
jenifer

[Tysilio]

The picture of his "operating room" . . . yikes. No. Just no.

[stephaniec]

just think of all the dresses you could buy

[Jill F]

just think of all the dresses you could buy

Or body bags...

I'm just picturing Dr. Nick from The Simpsons here.  *runs away screaming*

[stephaniec]

 

[Devlyn]

You can't beat that with a stick........it says so right in the article! 

[taylor_h]

Lots of girls in Thailand go there, its affordable for them and seems to generally have a positive result.

I could never go there after seeing the cleanliness or lack of at the clinic.

T.

[lisarenee]

Yikes. For that price I would be extremely worried.

As you should be. I don't know if this is the same guy, but there is a bargain basement surgeon in Thailand who there are warnings about on some sites. That one is NOT a licensed doctor and does SRS for under $2,000 so it sounds like it may be the same guy. They say his results are not good, but some women go to him because they can't afford better.

[iKate]

Yes Kate I would be too. I was sure that when I read he didn't use General Anesthesia it would say the patient was given a strip of leather to bite down on. (Just kidding- almost)

They say no general anesthesia but they use propofol which is used in general anesthesia (I believe that's what Dr Kim used to put me under).

[iKate]

You can't beat that with a stick........it says so right in the article! 

Plastic sex toys are so cheap though. Why a wooden stick?

[Serenation]

Plastic sex toys are so cheap though. Why a wooden stick?

well you need a set of specific sizes, though I'm sure they could be assembled or made.

Why an Aussie girl is going there I have no idea

[warlockmaker]

Let's pretend to seriously consider this and that it is a registered doctor .

First, the procedure is not rocket science anymore, of course the top doctors will imply that it is. You can read Suporn and Chett  stressing their evolved and unique changes to the basic proceduren.Thailand's surgeons have developed a gadget for scraping the scrotal skin of hair and constructing the neo vagina. This and a great stitching ability takes the most time.

Second you don't need to have a GA, there are other options, including spinal blocks. Pain management is not expensive in these places.

Third, the after care is also cheap, the salary of qualified nurses are less than usd 500 pm. My father has 3 nurses from the Phillipines at a premium of usd 700 per month.


The salaries in these countries are exceptionally low. For those in the USA your medical prices are absurd. I understand that hospitals there give 50 pct discounts if you don't have insurance claims. USD 2,000 is a lot to earn in 2 hours with little inventory cost.

Fourth, no hospital. What a savings.

Do the math .... not quite so absurd but not one I would ever consider but fun to present an alternative view.

[AnonyMs]

I've seen video's and info on these kind of places many years ago. You'd have to be pretty desperate to go. I don't recall the details, but I assume no one here's actually considering it? If so then do a lot more research.

Also, if you ever do your research going though porn you'll see some really terrible SRS results from Thai girls. I find quite disturbing. Perhaps they have no choice due to poverty, and its a good result for them, but its nothing at all like what most people here might expect. They get these done somewhere...

[iKate]

The salaries in these countries are exceptionally low. For those in the USA your medical prices are absurd. I understand that hospitals there give 50 pct discounts if you don't have insurance claims. USD 2,000 is a lot to earn in 2 hours with little inventory cost.

The prices here are designed to extract the most from insurance. They are high for that reason. I had an $800 bill from a doctor that was reduced to $250. This was for about 6 visits. It was reduced because we realized my insurance did not cover.

[kelly_aus]

The prices here are designed to extract the most from insurance. They are high for that reason. I had an $800 bill from a doctor that was reduced to $250. This was for about 6 visits. It was reduced because we realized my insurance did not cover.

Insurance coverage for GRS is a fairly new thing and the prices of the better known surgeons didn't suddenly rise when it started.

[lisarenee]

The prices here are designed to extract the most from insurance. They are high for that reason. I had an $800 bill from a doctor that was reduced to $250. This was for about 6 visits. It was reduced because we realized my insurance did not cover.

No kidding. Quest bills $1,300 for my blood tests. My insurance knocks that down to $150, which I pay until my deductible is met.