Dr. Joe Areejunthawat

Dr. Joe Areejunthawat (นพ. โจ อารีจันทวัฒน์ in Thai) is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon named on the doctor pages of two private hospitals: Thonburi Bamrungmuang Hospital in Bangkok and Bangkok Hospital Pattaya in Banglamung, Chonburi. His primary specialty is plastic surgery. The Thonburi Bamrungmuang page also lists him as a plastic and reconstructive surgery specialist at Veterans General Hospital (VGH) in Bangkok, a post held since 2022.

The one procedure area that an official hospital page ties to him by name is open rhinoplasty with rib graft, shown under his areas of expertise on the Thonburi Bamrungmuang page. If you are considering rhinoplasty and rib cartilage may be part of the plan, that is the area where his profile is documented. We list no other procedures for him, because none of the pages we opened connects him to any.

His Bangkok Hospital Pattaya entry lists English and Thai. Our role is limited to passing your enquiry to the hospital, which alone can offer a slot, and we run no clinic of our own. Readers who want the sourcing method can find it under how we research providers.

The three steps below all come from the Thonburi Bamrungmuang Hospital doctor page.

• Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University (2014), awarded with second-class honours.
• Residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery, 2017 to 2022, in the surgery department of Ramathibodi Hospital (Mahidol University).
• Thai Board diploma in plastic and reconstructive surgery (2022), which the page describes as board certification in the specialty, tied to Ramathibodi.

The same page says he received a resident research prize in 2022 for work on a 3D facial scanner that uses an iPhone. It also says he has regularly attended the conferences of the Thai plastic surgery societies since 2018. Going to conferences is different from belonging to a society, so we record no membership for him.

A board diploma in this specialty points to a finished residency and an examination. It says nothing about the volume of any single operation, so raise that directly at the consultation.

One gap needs stating plainly. While we researched, the national doctors' register was not reachable from our side, so his licence has not been verified by us. A licence number is printed on both hospital pages. Because the register is open to the public, you can look him up yourself before committing, and our team can point you to the right page.

Three current positions are documented.

• Thonburi Bamrungmuang Hospital, Bangkok. His entry there is under plastic and reconstructive surgery, in the Plastic & Aesthetic Surgery Center. The hospital places that centre on its third floor and says its surgeons plan operations on the eyelids and brows, the face and neck, the nose (including rib cartilage rhinoplasty), the breasts and the body. That list describes the whole centre. Against Dr. Joe's own name, the sources show just one item: open rhinoplasty with rib graft.
• Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. He appears as a plastic surgeon in the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Center there, with plastic surgery on level two of Building D and dermatology beneath it. The centre's page gives daily opening from 8:00 to 17:00. The hospital states roughly 400 beds.
• Veterans General Hospital (VGH), Bangkok. A plastic and reconstructive surgery specialist post, held since 2022 according to the Thonburi Bamrungmuang page.

Because his name appears in two cities, ask at the outset which hospital would host your consultation and any surgery. None of the sources say which days he is at which hospital, so do not assume a timetable. Before you plan travel, our patient team asks the hospital to confirm the site and the date.

### What is documented

The Thonburi Bamrungmuang page lists "Open Rhinoplasty with Rib Graft" among his areas of expertise. That names a technique and a graft source. It is not a promise that he takes on every kind of nose operation, and it is the focus of this section.

### What this combination means in general

Our rhinoplasty guide describes open rhinoplasty as surgery through a small cut in the strip of skin between the nostrils (the columella), so the whole nasal framework is exposed to view while the surgeon works. The guide says the resulting scar is fine and usually fades well. For a bridge or tip that needs more height, the guide names two kinds of material: cartilage from the patient (taken from the septum, an ear or a rib) and implants made of silicone or ePTFE. Rib cartilage is generally considered when a lot of structural support is needed or when earlier operations have used up other sources. The options differ in how natural they feel, how well they hold up with time and their infection risk, so weigh them with your surgeon.

In general, harvesting rib cartilage means a second surgical site on the chest. Expect some discomfort there and a scar in addition to the nasal one. Ask how the chest wound is closed, what healing to expect and which activities to avoid, and for how long.

### Questions specific to this profile

• Is rib the right cartilage source for my nose, or would septal or ear cartilage, or an implant, be enough?
• Is my operation a first-time one or a revision rhinoplasty? Our guide calls revision often more complex and says a gap of at least twelve months after the first operation is the usual recommendation.
• Am I aiming to reduce something (a hump, width, tip shape) or to build up the bridge, as in Asian rhinoplasty?

The pages we opened say nothing about revision, male or Asian rhinoplasty by him. If one of those decides your choice, we can ask him for you before you decide.

A consultation is where a general plan becomes specific to your nose. Many Thai hospitals offer a first review from photographs. A remote review offers only a rough outline, and the surgeon confirms the plan in person before surgery, which means a plan drawn up only from images should be treated as a draft.

Questions that fit his documented area of expertise:

1. Which approach do you suggest for my nose, and which cartilage or implant would you use? Please explain why.
2. If rib cartilage is proposed, how much would be taken, how is the chest site looked after, and what is recovery there like?
3. What is your own experience with rib graft rhinoplasty, in number of cases? (The sources give no case numbers for him, so only his own answer can fill this gap.)
4. Where would the operation take place, and who gives the anaesthetic?
5. What exactly does the written quote cover, what does it leave out, and what would a revision involve?
6. How is aftercare arranged after I return to my own country, and from which day may I travel?

For general orientation, the guide says rhinoplasty is usually performed under general anaesthesia, takes 1.5 to 3 hours as a rule (longer for revisions), with discharge the same day or after a single night. The guide puts most visible swelling at two to three weeks, with slow refinement of the tip continuing for twelve months or more. Rib graft work may change these timings, so ask him for an estimate that fits your own case.

The guide lists the general risks: bleeding, infection, reactions to anaesthesia, persistent swelling, loss of sensation, blocked breathing, uneven shape, visible irregularities and an unwelcome outcome. With implants there is an added chance of infection or of the implant moving or working its way out. Suitability is never settled in advance: it needs a surgeon's examination.

Dr. Joe's hospital pages show no published results, patient reviews or prices, and we do not provide any. If you want to see examples of comparable cases, ask during the consultation.

Both are private hospitals that run international patient services, as stated on their own websites.

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya presents its International Service Center as the first point of contact, with interpreters covering more than 20 languages. The services it names include help with overseas insurance, repatriation, hotel booking, embassy contact, immigration matters and booking appointments ahead of arrival. It also mentions meeting patients at the airport, helping with registration and walking them to the right department, plus a round-the-clock service that sends doctors to a patient's hotel room. Whether each applies to cosmetic surgery is something to ask the hospital.

Thonburi Bamrungmuang Hospital has an international patient desk, according to our hospital page, which lists Thai and English.

As a general rule, visitors usually plan for 7–10 days in the country. That time covers the splint to come off and for a post-operative check, and your surgeon sets the actual travel date. A hotel near the hospital helps, a travelling companion is wise if possible, and a few spare days protect you if the review is rescheduled.

No current accreditation could be confirmed for either hospital, so none is claimed here. Anyone who wants that assurance should request a dated certificate from the hospital itself.

A thorough request gives the surgeon more to work with at the first review. For a rhinoplasty enquiry, gather these items.

• Photos of the front, both sides and the base view (taken from below), in even light, without filters or heavy make-up.
• Your goals in your own words, with a reference image or two if it helps, so the discussion is about proportion and not about copying a face.
• Earlier nose operations, with dates, hospital and materials used where you know them. This matters most if rib or other cartilage could be needed.
• Injuries or breathing difficulties, for example a blocked side or past trauma to the nose.
• Health details: allergies, regular medicines and supplements, smoking or nicotine use, and long-term conditions.
• Dates: when you can travel and how many days away you can manage.

If you hold operative notes or scans from a previous operation, mention them and we will tell you the safe way to share them. Never post medical documents in a public form.