Procedures performed by Dr. Rushapol Sdawat

Every plastic and reconstructive procedure Dr. Rushapol performs, set out with how each one is actually carried out, what the recovery involves, where the scar sits, and what the operation will not do. Face, breast and body, all at Intrarat Hospital in Bangkok.

Board-certified plastic & reconstructive surgeon
Board-certified since 2000
ISAPS member since 2008
Intrarat Hospital, Bangkok · ISO 9001:2015

A note on the figures below

Operating times, inpatient nights and recovery periods are typical rather than promised. They vary with the individual case and with what is combined in the same session, and they are confirmed at the pre-operative consultation. Every section also states what the procedure will not do — that part is there because it is the commonest reason a technically sound operation still disappoints the patient.

Face and Neck

Deep Plane Facelift

A deep plane facelift repositions the deeper layer of the face — the SMAS and the retaining ligaments beneath it — as one composite unit, rather than pulling on skin.

How it is performed: The dissection is carried beneath the SMAS and the retaining ligaments of the mid-face are released, so that the cheek and jowl move as a single block of tissue rather than as skin sliding over a fixed base. The composite flap is then repositioned along a vertical vector and secured. Because the deeper layer carries the tension, the skin is redraped without pull, which is what separates this from a skin-only lift.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 3 to 5 hours as an isolated procedure, longer in combination.
Recovery: One to two nights as an inpatient. Drains, where used, come out in the first days. Bruising and swelling peak around day two to three and are largely settled by the end of the second week. Sutures are removed between day ten and day twelve. Most patients plan around fourteen days in Bangkok. Deeper swelling continues to resolve over three to six months.
Incision and scar: In front of the ear the incision runs along the rim at the front of the tragus, so the scar sits inside the natural contour of the ear. It continues into the temple hairline above and behind the ear into the hairline below. Scars mature over approximately twelve months; they fade rather than disappear.
What it will not do: A facelift repositions tissue. It does not change skin quality, and it does not remove the fine lines around the mouth or the vertical lip lines — these are the commonest source of disappointment after otherwise successful surgery, and they are treated separately if at all.
Commonly combined with: Neck lift with platysmaplasty, brow lift, eyelid surgery and facial fat grafting, all under one anaesthetic.
Who it suits: Descent of the cheek soft tissue, jowl formation and loss of a clean jawline, usually from the mid-forties onwards.

Neck Lift with Platysmaplasty

A neck lift with platysmaplasty tightens the platysma muscle in the midline to remove vertical neck banding and restore the angle between the chin and the neck.

How it is performed: Through an incision under the chin, the medial edges of the platysma are freed, any fat between and beneath them is addressed, and the muscle edges are sutured together to form a sling. Lateral tightening is carried out through the facelift incisions where the two are combined. Submental liposuction is added in the same operation where fullness under the chin is part of the picture.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 1.5 to 3 hours as an isolated procedure.
Recovery: One night as an inpatient. A support garment is worn as instructed. Swallowing and neck movement feel tight for the first week. Sutures out around day ten. Most patients plan around ten to fourteen days in Bangkok.
Incision and scar: A short incision in the natural crease under the chin, plus the facelift incisions where the procedures are combined.
What it will not do: Correcting the platysma does not change skin quality. Where the skin itself has lost elasticity, tightening the muscle alone will not produce a clean neckline and a lift is required.
Commonly combined with: Deep plane facelift, submental liposuction, chin augmentation.
Who it suits: Vertical platysmal bands, a heavy or indistinct neckline, and loss of the cervicomental angle.

Endoscopic Brow and Forehead Lift

An endoscopic brow lift raises the brow to a natural position through several small incisions behind the hairline, and releases the forehead and frown lines at their muscular source.

How it is performed: An endoscope is passed through short incisions in the hair-bearing scalp. The forehead is released down to the orbital rim, the corrugator and procerus muscles that create the frown lines are addressed directly, and the brow is elevated and fixed in its new position. Nothing is excised from the visible forehead.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 1 to 2 hours.
Recovery: One night as an inpatient. Forehead numbness and a tight sensation are usual for several weeks. Most patients are presentable within seven to ten days.
Incision and scar: Short incisions hidden entirely within the hair, roughly one to two centimetres each.
What it will not do: A brow lift raises the brow. It does not treat lower-lid changes, and it will not remove static lines that are already etched into the skin — it softens their muscular cause.
Commonly combined with: Because raising the brow also opens the upper eye, a separate upper blepharoplasty is often unnecessary alongside it. This is assessed individually rather than assumed.
Who it suits: A lowered or heavy brow, horizontal forehead lines and vertical lines between the brows.

Temporal Lift

A temporal lift elevates the outer third of the brow through a short incision within the temple hairline.

How it is performed: A limited dissection in the temporal plane allows the tail of the brow and the soft tissue at the outer canthus to be lifted and fixed, without disturbing the central forehead.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General or local anaesthesia depending on whether it is combined. Typically 1 to 1.5 hours.
Recovery: Day case or one night. Swelling at the temple for one to two weeks.
Incision and scar: Within the temple hairline.
What it will not do: It lifts the outer brow only. A heavy central brow or deep frown lines need a full brow lift.
Commonly combined with: Lower eyelid surgery, to smooth the transition from lid to cheek; facelift.
Who it suits: Descent of the outer brow and a tired look concentrated at the outer eye.

Upper Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)

Upper eyelid surgery removes the excess skin of the upper lid that hoods the eye, and conservatively addresses fat and muscle where indicated.

How it is performed: The skin to be removed is marked with the patient sitting, so that the crease is set against the open eye rather than the anaesthetised one. The incision is placed in the natural lid crease and closed with fine sutures.
Anaesthesia and operating time: Local anaesthesia, or general where combined. Typically 1 to 1.5 hours.
Recovery: Day case, or one night if combined. Sutures out at day five to seven. Bruising largely settled within ten to fourteen days.
Incision and scar: Within the natural upper lid crease, hidden when the eye is open.
What it will not do: Upper lid surgery does not lift the brow. Where the hooding is caused by a descended brow rather than by lid skin, removing lid skin alone lowers the brow further and worsens the appearance — which is why the brow is assessed first.
Commonly combined with: Lower eyelid surgery, brow lift, facelift.
Who it suits: Hooding of the upper lid, and skin resting on the lashes.

Lower Eyelid Surgery and Under-Eye Rejuvenation

Lower eyelid surgery addresses fullness and shadowing beneath the lower lid and the visible step between the lid and the cheek.

How it is performed: Where skin is not in excess, the approach is transconjunctival — from inside the lid, with no external incision — and the herniated fat is repositioned over the orbital rim rather than simply removed. Where skin must also be reduced, a subciliary incision just beneath the lashes is used. Repositioning fat rather than excising it is what avoids the hollowed look that follows over-resection.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 1.5 to 2 hours.
Recovery: One night. Bruising around the eye is usual and settles over ten to fourteen days.
Incision and scar: None externally with the transconjunctival approach; otherwise a fine line beneath the lash margin.
What it will not do: It does not treat dark pigmentation of the under-eye skin, and it does not lift the mid-face.
Commonly combined with: Temporal lift, upper eyelid surgery, fat grafting to the tear trough.
Who it suits: Under-eye bags, a defined tear trough, and a visible lid–cheek junction.

Forehead Reduction (Hairline Advancement)

Forehead reduction shortens the distance between the hairline and the brow by advancing the hairline forward and excising a strip of forehead skin.

How it is performed: A pretrichial incision is made along the hairline, the scalp is released and advanced forward, and the excess forehead skin is excised. The incision is closed so that hair grows through and in front of the scar line.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 2 to 3 hours.
Recovery: One night. Scalp numbness behind the incision is usual and improves over several months.
Incision and scar: Along the hairline. It is designed for hair to grow through it, and it is the trade-off the procedure asks you to accept.
What it will not do: It moves the hairline; it does not create hair density. It is not a treatment for hair loss, and a receding pattern should be assessed before it is planned.
Commonly combined with: Brow lift — which raises the brow and would otherwise lengthen the upper third of the face out of proportion.
Who it suits: A high hairline or a forehead that is long relative to the rest of the face.

Lip Lift

A lip lift shortens the distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip, so that more of the lip shows at rest.

How it is performed: A bullhorn-shaped incision is made in the shadow at the base of the nose, a measured strip of skin is removed, and the lip is elevated. The measurement is taken individually — over-shortening produces a permanently raised lip and is not reversible.
Anaesthesia and operating time: Local anaesthesia, or general where combined. Typically 1 hour.
Recovery: Day case. Sutures out at day five to seven. The scar is pink for several weeks.
Incision and scar: Along the base of the nose, in the natural junction between nose and lip.
What it will not do: It changes lip position and show. It does not add volume to the lip, and it does not treat the fine vertical lines of the upper lip.
Commonly combined with: Facelift, fat grafting.
Who it suits: A long upper lip and a lip that shows little at rest.

Chin Augmentation

Chin augmentation projects the chin forward, either with a shaped implant or by cutting and advancing the chin bone (sliding genioplasty).

How it is performed: An implant is placed through a small incision under the chin or inside the lower lip and seated directly on the bone. A sliding genioplasty divides the lower jaw bone, moves the segment forward and fixes it with plates, which allows vertical as well as forward change. Which of the two applies is a decision made from the profile and the bite, not from preference.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 1 hour for an implant, longer for a genioplasty.
Recovery: Day case to one night for an implant. A soft diet for the first week with the intraoral approach.
Incision and scar: A short incision under the chin, or none externally with the intraoral approach.
What it will not do: It changes projection, not the soft tissue of the neck. Where the neckline is the real complaint, chin augmentation alone will disappoint.
Commonly combined with: Neck lift and facelift — together they define the border between face and neck. Rhinoplasty, for profile balance.
Who it suits: A recessed or short chin, and a profile where the neck reads as heavy because the chin is set back.

Facial Fat Grafting

Facial fat grafting harvests the patient's own fat, processes it, and places it in the areas of the face that have lost volume.

How it is performed: Fat is harvested atraumatically, usually from the abdomen or thigh, and processed to separate viable adipocytes. Dr. Rushapol places it with the MAFT-Gun, an instrument that delivers fat in small, measured parcels rather than in bulk. Parcel size is what determines how much of the graft takes, because each parcel has to acquire its own blood supply from the surrounding tissue.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia, or local for small volumes. Typically 1 to 2 hours.
Recovery: Day case to one night. Swelling at both the donor and recipient sites for two to three weeks.
Incision and scar: Puncture sites only, at the donor area and at the entry points on the face.
What it will not do: Not all of the transferred fat survives. A proportion is reabsorbed over the first months and the final volume settles at around three to six months, so more than one session is sometimes needed. Fat replaces volume; it does not lift descended tissue.
Commonly combined with: Facelift, eyelid surgery, temporal lift.
Who it suits: Flattening of the mid-face, hollowing at the temples and beneath the eyes.

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty reshapes the nose — the bridge, the tip, or both — and may be performed for appearance, for breathing, or for both together.

How it is performed: A closed approach works entirely through incisions inside the nostrils. An open approach adds a small incision across the columella, giving direct exposure for tip work and for grafting. Augmentation may use a silicone implant, the patient's own cartilage, or both. Reduction reshapes the bony and cartilaginous framework. Septoplasty is added where the airway is obstructed.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 2 to 4 hours, longer for revision.
Recovery: One to two nights. An external splint for around seven days. Bruising around the eyes for ten to fourteen days.
Incision and scar: None visible with a closed approach; a fine line across the columella with an open one.
What it will not do: The tip continues to refine for up to twelve months, so the nose seen at three months is not the final result. Revision rhinoplasty is a materially different and more difficult operation than a first-time one.
Commonly combined with: Chin augmentation, for profile balance.
Who it suits: A dorsal hump, a bulbous or drooping tip, asymmetry, a flat bridge, or obstructed breathing.

Submental Liposuction and Under-Chin Correction

Submental liposuction removes the fat pad beneath the chin through a small incision hidden in the natural crease.

How it is performed: Fine cannulas are used to remove fat evenly across the submental and submandibular area. The endpoint is judged by feel and by pinch rather than by volume, since over-resection here produces a hollow that is difficult to correct.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 1 hour.
Recovery: Day case to one night. A chin strap is worn as instructed. Contour settles over six to twelve weeks.
Incision and scar: A single small incision in the crease beneath the chin.
What it will not do: It removes fat; it does not tighten skin. In a patient whose skin will not retract, liposuction alone leaves a looser neck than before, and the correct operation is a neck lift.
Commonly combined with: Neck lift with platysmaplasty, facelift, chin augmentation.
Who it suits: Fullness beneath the chin in a patient whose skin still has good elasticity.

Breast

Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation increases breast volume using an implant placed either behind the breast tissue or partly beneath the chest muscle.

How it is performed: The implant is introduced through an incision in the inframammary fold, around the areola, or through the armpit. The pocket may be sub-glandular, dual-plane or sub-muscular. Implant profile, base width and volume are chosen against the patient's own chest measurements and tissue cover, which is why the same volume suits one patient and not another.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 1 to 2 hours.
Recovery: One night. A support bra for six weeks. No heavy lifting or upper-body training for six weeks.
Incision and scar: In the inframammary fold, around the lower areolar border, or in the armpit, depending on the approach.
What it will not do: Implants are not lifetime devices. Capsular contracture, rupture and the need for future revision or replacement are real possibilities and are discussed before surgery, not after. An implant adds volume; it does not lift a breast that has descended.
Commonly combined with: Breast lift, where the breast is both deflated and low.
Who it suits: Loss of volume after pregnancy or weight loss, or breasts that have always been small relative to the frame.

Breast Lift (Mastopexy)

A breast lift raises the breast and repositions the nipple–areolar complex on the chest wall, reshaping the existing tissue without adding volume.

How it is performed: The incision pattern follows the degree of descent: periareolar for minimal ptosis, vertical for moderate, and an inverted-T anchor where the skin excess is substantial. The breast tissue itself is reshaped and supported internally, not simply tightened at the skin.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 2 to 3 hours.
Recovery: One to two nights. A support bra for six weeks.
Incision and scar: Around the areola, with a vertical limb and a fold incision as the pattern requires. These are the trade-off of the procedure and are discussed in detail beforehand.
What it will not do: A lift reshapes what is there. It does not add upper-pole fullness, and a breast that is both low and empty will not gain volume from a lift alone. Changes in nipple sensation are possible.
Commonly combined with: Implants, where volume as well as position is wanted.
Who it suits: Breasts that sit low with the nipple at or below the inframammary fold, commonly after pregnancy, breastfeeding or weight loss.

Breast Lift with Implants

A breast lift with implants combines repositioning of the breast and the addition of volume in one operation.

How it is performed: The lift and the implant work against each other — one tightens the envelope, the other fills it — so the sequence, the pocket and the implant size are planned together. Doing both at once is technically more demanding than either alone and carries a higher revision rate, which is the reason some surgeons stage them.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 3 to 4 hours.
Recovery: Two nights. A support bra for six weeks.
Incision and scar: The lift pattern, as above.
What it will not do: Combining the two raises the chance of needing a secondary adjustment compared with either procedure alone.
Commonly combined with: Not usually combined with other regions in the same session, given the operating time.
Who it suits: Descent combined with a loss of upper-pole fullness.

Breast Implant Removal with Total Capsulectomy

Implant removal with total capsulectomy takes out the implant together with the entire capsule of scar tissue the body has formed around it.

How it is performed: Where the anatomy allows, the capsule is removed intact with the implant inside it. Where the capsule is adherent to the chest wall or the rib periosteum, it is removed in parts, since dissecting it whole at that point risks injury to the underlying structures. Drains are usual.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 2 to 3 hours.
Recovery: One to two nights, with drains for several days. A support bra for six weeks.
Incision and scar: Usually the existing scar is reused where its position allows.
What it will not do: The breast after explant reflects what is left — tissue thinned by years of implant pressure. Whether a lift is needed at the same time or later is a judgement made on the table and at review, and it is honest to expect the breast to look smaller and flatter than before the implants were placed.
Commonly combined with: Breast lift, at the same operation or as a second stage.
Who it suits: Capsular contracture, implant rupture, or a decision to explant.

Male Breast Lift and Gynaecomastia Correction

Male breast surgery flattens and redefines the male chest, by removing glandular tissue, by liposuction, or by excising excess skin and repositioning the nipple — depending on which of the three is the cause.

How it is performed: In true gynaecomastia the tissue is firm and glandular, and the correction is direct excision through a periareolar incision combined with liposuction to feather the edges. Where the problem is fat, liposuction alone suffices. After major weight loss the problem is skin: the excess is excised and the nipple–areolar complex is repositioned onto the corrected chest contour, which is what makes the result read as a male chest rather than as a chest that has simply been made smaller.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 2 to 4 hours depending on which correction applies.
Recovery: One to two nights. A compression vest for six weeks.
Incision and scar: Around the lower areolar border for glandular excision; a horizontal or oblique chest scar where skin is removed.
What it will not do: Leaving a rim of tissue beneath the areola matters — over-resection creates a saucer deformity that is harder to correct than the original problem.
Commonly combined with: Chest and flank liposuction; post-weight-loss body contouring.
Who it suits: Gynaecomastia, and a chest left with loose skin after significant weight loss.

Body

Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)

An abdominoplasty removes excess skin and fat from the abdomen and repairs the separated abdominal muscles beneath.

How it is performed: The skin and fat below the navel are excised, the navel is repositioned through the advanced flap, and the rectus muscles — separated by pregnancy or weight gain — are plicated back to the midline with a permanent suture line. The muscle repair is what flattens the abdominal wall. An extended abdominoplasty continues the excision around the flanks.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 3 to 5 hours.
Recovery: Two to three nights, with drains. A binder for six weeks. Patients stand slightly flexed for the first one to two weeks. No lifting or core work for six weeks. Fourteen days in Bangkok is the usual plan.
Incision and scar: A low transverse scar placed to sit within underwear, plus a scar around the navel.
What it will not do: It is not a weight-loss operation and it does not treat fat inside the abdomen. Sensation below the scar is reduced for months and may not fully return.
Commonly combined with: Liposuction of the waist and flanks; breast surgery, subject to total anaesthetic time.
Who it suits: Loose abdominal skin and muscle separation after pregnancy or weight loss, in a patient at a stable weight.

Belt Lipectomy (Circumferential Body Lift)

A belt lipectomy removes a circumferential band of excess skin, lifting the abdomen, the flanks, the outer thighs and the buttocks in one operation.

How it is performed: The excision runs the whole way around the body, which means the patient is repositioned during surgery. The buttock and outer thigh are lifted as the closure is made. It is the largest of the body contouring operations and is planned around total anaesthetic time and blood loss.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 5 to 8 hours.
Recovery: Three to five nights, with drains. Mobilisation begins early for clot prevention. Six weeks of restricted activity. Fourteen days or more in Bangkok.
Incision and scar: A continuous scar encircling the body at the level of the underwear line.
What it will not do: Weight must be stable before it is undertaken. Because of the operating time and the surface area involved, venous thromboembolism risk is assessed formally beforehand, and nutritional bloods are reviewed in post-bariatric patients since healing depends on them.
Commonly combined with: Usually performed alone, or staged with arm and breast surgery in a separate session.
Who it suits: Circumferential loose skin after major or bariatric weight loss.

Arm Lift (Brachioplasty)

An arm lift removes loose skin from the upper arm and tightens the underlying fascia, with the scar placed along the inner arm.

How it is performed: The excision is marked with the arm abducted, and the scar is positioned along the medial or posteromedial line so that it faces the body rather than forward. Liposuction is often combined to reduce bulk before the skin is excised. An extended brachioplasty carries the excision into the axilla and onto the lateral chest wall where the looseness does not stop at the arm.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 2 to 4 hours.
Recovery: One to two nights. Compression sleeves for six weeks. Swelling of the forearm and hand is common in the early weeks.
Incision and scar: Along the inner arm from the armpit towards the elbow. It is a long scar and it is the accepted trade for the contour.
What it will not do: The scar is the limiting factor of this operation, not the contour. Patients who would not accept a visible inner-arm scar are not candidates.
Commonly combined with: Chest and flank contouring; breast surgery.
Who it suits: Loose upper-arm skin that no longer responds to exercise, commonly after weight loss.

Thigh Lift

A thigh lift removes excess skin from the inner thigh and anchors the remaining tissue to the fascia at the groin.

How it is performed: A medial thigh lift excises skin through a groin crease incision and fixes the flap to Colles' fascia, which is what prevents the scar migrating downwards. Where the looseness extends towards the knee, a vertical extension down the inner thigh is added.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia. Typically 3 to 5 hours.
Recovery: Two nights. Compression garments for six weeks. Sitting and walking are uncomfortable for the first week. Fourteen days in Bangkok.
Incision and scar: In the groin crease, with a vertical inner-thigh scar where the extended pattern is used.
What it will not do: This region heals less predictably than most: wound separation at the groin, prolonged swelling and scar widening are all more common here than elsewhere, and that is discussed before the operation is agreed.
Commonly combined with: Belt lipectomy, as a separate stage.
Who it suits: Loose inner-thigh skin, chafing and difficulty with clothing after weight loss.

Liposuction and VASER Body Contouring

Liposuction removes localised fat deposits through small cannulas to change the shape of an area, and is a contouring operation rather than a weight-loss one.

How it is performed: Tumescent fluid is infiltrated first. Power-assisted liposuction uses a vibrating cannula; VASER uses ultrasound energy to emulsify fat before removal, which suits fibrous areas, secondary cases and larger circumferential sessions. The endpoint is judged by pinch thickness and symmetry rather than by the volume in the canister.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia for most areas; local for a single small area. Typically 1 to 4 hours depending on the number of areas.
Recovery: Day case to two nights depending on volume. Compression garments for six weeks. Swelling masks the result for weeks; the final contour settles at three to six months.
Incision and scar: Puncture-sized entry points, placed in creases where possible.
What it will not do: Skin quality decides the result as much as the fat removal does. Where skin will not retract, liposuction alone leaves a looser contour, and the honest answer is an excisional procedure. It does not treat cellulite and it is not a treatment for obesity.
Commonly combined with: Abdominoplasty, arm lift, male chest surgery, fat grafting using the harvested fat.
Who it suits: Localised fat that has not responded to diet and exercise, in a patient near a stable weight.

Post-Weight-Loss Body Contouring

Post-weight-loss body contouring is the staged programme of excisional procedures that removes the skin left behind after major or bariatric weight loss.

How it is performed: Because several regions are usually involved, the work is planned as a sequence of sessions rather than attempted at once. Which regions are grouped together is decided by operating time, blood loss and how the patient positions on the table — not by convenience.
Anaesthesia and operating time: General anaesthesia, across multiple sessions.
Recovery: Varies by stage. Sessions are commonly separated by three to six months.
Incision and scar: As for the individual procedures in the programme.
What it will not do: Weight should be stable for six to twelve months first. Nutritional status is reviewed before anything is booked — iron, protein, vitamin B12 and vitamin D are commonly low after bariatric surgery, and each of them slows wound healing in operations whose wounds are already under tension.
Commonly combined with: Abdominoplasty or belt lipectomy, breast, arms and thighs, sequenced individually.
Who it suits: Patients whose weight has been stable following bariatric surgery or major weight loss.

Scar Revision

Scar revision changes the direction, width or level of an existing scar so that it sits more discreetly.

How it is performed: Techniques include simple re-excision with layered closure, Z-plasty or W-plasty to break up a straight line and redirect tension, and release of a tethered or contracted scar. The choice depends on why the first scar healed badly.
Anaesthesia and operating time: Local anaesthesia for small scars, general for larger or multiple ones. Typically 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Recovery: Day case in most cases. Taping, silicone and sun protection are part of the treatment, not optional extras.
Incision and scar: A new scar replaces the old one.
What it will not do: A scar cannot be erased. Revision trades a poor scar for a better-placed one, and the new scar still matures over approximately twelve months. Keloid-prone skin carries a real risk of recurrence and is assessed carefully before revision is offered.
Commonly combined with: Often carried out alongside another procedure in the same region.
Who it suits: Wide, raised, tethered or badly placed scars from previous surgery or injury.

Common questions

Who is Dr. Rushapol Sdawat?

Dr. Rushapol Sdawat is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon based in Bangkok, Thailand, board-certified in plastic surgery by the Medical Council of Thailand since 2000. He has been a member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) since 2008 and operates at Intrarat Hospital.

Where does Dr. Rushapol operate?

All procedures are performed at Intrarat Hospital in Bangkok — a full hospital with operating theatres, an intensive care unit and resident anaesthetists, certified to ISO 9001:2015. It is not a day clinic. The distinction matters most in the cases where something is unexpected, which is precisely when a day facility has the least to offer.

Can several procedures be done in one operation?

Often, yes — facial procedures in particular are commonly combined under a single anaesthetic, which means one recovery rather than several. What limits a combination is total anaesthetic time, expected blood loss, and how the patient has to be positioned on the table. Those limits are set by the surgeon and the anaesthetist together, not by what the patient would like to fit into one trip.

How is the surgical plan decided?

From photographs and history first, then confirmed in person before surgery. The written plan issued beforehand is a plan, not a commitment: Dr. Rushapol may adjust it on clinical grounds at the pre-operative consultation, and occasionally does less than was quoted rather than more.

How long should I stay in Bangkok?

A single facial procedure typically needs 7 to 10 days; a facelift or combined facial surgery around 14 days; major body contouring 14 days or more. The stay is built around the follow-up reviews, suture removal and medical clearance to fly, not around the operation alone. Do not book a return flight until the surgical date is confirmed in writing.

What are the risks of surgery?

All surgery carries risk. General risks include bleeding, haematoma, infection, delayed healing, wound separation, poor or widened scarring, altered or lost sensation, asymmetry, seroma, and venous thromboembolism. General anaesthesia carries its own risks. Individual procedures add their own — capsular contracture after implants, nerve injury in facelift surgery, fat necrosis after grafting. These are discussed in full at consultation, before any decision is made.

What raises my individual risk?

Smoking is the single largest modifiable factor and matters most in operations that rely on skin flap blood supply — facelift, abdominoplasty, breast lift. Uncontrolled diabetes, obesity, a personal or family history of clots, and low iron, protein or vitamin B12 after weight-loss surgery all raise risk and are reviewed before a date is confirmed.

Will I need revision surgery?

Sometimes. Revision rates differ by procedure and are higher for breast lift with implants, rhinoplasty and post-weight-loss contouring than for most facial surgery. Where a revision is needed on clinical grounds, Med Sanctuary covers the medical, surgical and post-operative cost of it.

How do I get a price?

A written quotation is issued after your case has been assessed, because the price depends on what is actually being done. Send your enquiry and any photographs you are comfortable sharing, and a plan and quotation follow.

All surgery carries risks, including bleeding, haematoma, infection, delayed healing, poor or widened scarring, altered or lost sensation, asymmetry, seroma, venous thromboembolism and the risks of general anaesthesia. Individual procedures carry further risks of their own. Individual results vary from person to person and are not guaranteed. A consultation and assessment with your surgeon is required before any procedure. This page is general information and is not medical advice.