Dr. Wananya Phochai

Dr. Wananya Phochai (Thai: แพทย์หญิงวนันยา โพธิ์ชัย) practises plastic surgery in the Thai capital. The Art Plastic Surgery Hospital carries her on its roster of doctors with the label ศัลยแพทย์ตกแต่งเฉพาะทาง, which translates as specialist plastic surgeon, and that same page records a nickname, หมอแวนดี้, which Thai-speaking patients may know her by. A second doctor profile exists at Meko Clinic, and the clinic's doctor directory still lists her.

This page sets out what the two official profiles say about her and keeps that apart from general guidance about the operations tied to her name. Both kinds of information help someone deciding whether to ask for a consultation, but they carry different weight, so we try to mark the boundary clearly.

At a glance:

• Who: Dr. Wananya Phochai, plastic surgeon.
• Where: Bangkok, at The Art Plastic Surgery Hospital (Don Mueang) and at Meko International Hospital, known as Meko Clinic, in Chatuchak.
• Training as published by The Art: a medical degree from Siriraj, Mahidol University; the plastic and reconstructive surgery board at Siriraj; and fellowship training at Asan Medical Center in South Korea, in microsurgery and breast reconstruction.
• Procedure areas linked to her: rhinoplasty, fat grafting to the face and liposuction, all drawn from her Meko Clinic profile.
• Contact route: send a consultation request via our site; staff follow up on each one, and no slot is held automatically.

Both of her listed workplaces are in Bangkok, and both sit on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, which is useful to know if you plan to see her at one site and compare the other.

How this page was checked: every fact comes from the two profiles named above. The licence can be looked up on the Medical Council of Thailand's public register at checkmd.tmc.or.th, and our patient team can help you confirm it before you travel. Our page on how we research providers explains what the words stated and verified mean here, and whenever a detail shows up on only one profile, the text says so.

Three pieces of formal training appear in The Art's profile of Dr. Wananya, and we repeat them here as published.

Medical degree. Her first degree, in medicine, comes from Mahidol University's Siriraj Hospital faculty in Thailand. The profile words the qualification as a Bachelor Degree of Medicine. Siriraj is a university teaching hospital in Bangkok, and the degree is the first step before any specialist training.

Specialty board. The profile names the plastic and reconstructive surgery board, held at Siriraj Hospital. That denotes specialist training in a discipline spanning both rebuilding surgery and aesthetic surgery. No completion year is printed, so we give none.

Fellowship. The profile adds fellowship training at Asan Medical Center in South Korea, in microsurgery and breast reconstruction. Microsurgery means working under a microscope on very small blood vessels and nerves; in breast reconstruction it underpins techniques that move a patient's own tissue to rebuild a breast. This is advanced reconstructive training and it is separate from cosmetic work. Our research also found no official page showing that she offers breast reconstruction or breast augmentation at either of her practices, so please read the fellowship as part of her background and not as a description of her current caseload.

Professional societies. Her Meko Clinic profile says she belongs to two Thai professional bodies: ThPRS (Thai plastic and reconstructive surgeons) and ThSAPS (Thai aesthetic plastic surgeons). We hold these as stated on that one clinic page. The memberships are reported as stated on the profile.

Licence. Both profiles publish one and the same Thai medical licence number, and The Art's page points to the Medical Council register. The licence can be looked up on the Medical Council of Thailand's public register at checkmd.tmc.or.th, and our patient team can help you confirm it before you travel. Anyone who wants certainty can search the Council's public register with the number printed on the hospital page; our methodology page describes the method.

What is missing. Neither profile gives a graduation year, a board year, a list of publications or a total number of operations she has performed. A patient who wants any of these should request them during the consultation and have the answers put in writing.

Two facilities name Dr. Wananya, and they differ quite a bit. Knowing how helps you judge where a consultation or operation would really happen.

The Art Plastic Surgery Hospital. On the hospital's own website her doctor page describes her as a specialist in plastic surgery. According to the hospital's about page, its origins lie in a clinic for operations, centred on one big theatre; it was later enlarged into a specialist hospital so that recovery care after major procedures could be provided on site. The same page puts the team at around thirty specialist surgeons plus a similar number of anaesthetists, with one of each assigned to every patient, plus 29 beds and 12 operating rooms. Alongside the main building at 287 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, it operates clinic branches in Lat Phrao and Pattaya. See our page on The Art for more.

Meko Clinic (Meko International Hospital in our listings). The wording on her Meko profile is แพทย์เวชปฏิบัติเพื่อการเสริมความงาม, an aesthetic practice physician working in cosmetic surgery. Meko says it was founded in 1982. The main site is 41 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Chatuchak, and a separate branch operates on Rama 2 Road. Details are on the Meko listing.

Why the labels differ. The Art names her a specialist plastic surgeon and lists the plastic and reconstructive surgery board; Meko applies the aesthetic practice physician wording instead. Public sources do not explain the gap. The Meko page carries no date and could be older than her board training, but that is a guess on our part and not something either site says. We treat The Art's profile, which is the fuller of the two, as the better guide to her qualifications. Patients are welcome to ask her which site she currently operates at and in which role.

Roles and dates. Neither profile gives a start date, a department leadership post or a university appointment, so we list none. We also cannot say which site is her main base. The presence of her name in the Meko doctor directory suggests that practice is active, but her operating days at each site are a point our patient team can establish once you send a request.

A surgeon appears under a procedure on this site only when an official page backs the link. For Dr. Wananya that backing is her Meko Clinic profile, whose surgical-works section credits her with case posts in three categories. Such posts are the clinic's own marketing of her work, not a formal statement of services, so we treat them as documented activity and say nothing about volume or quality. The counts shown there (five posts for nose surgery, three for facial fat injection and five for liposuction) are small, and we do not use them to suggest a level of experience.

We chose not to link her to breast augmentation. The Meko page shows a single breast case post, which is too thin a basis, and a reconstruction fellowship does not on its own show that someone performs cosmetic breast surgery. Anyone interested in breast surgery should put the question to her directly.

### Rhinoplasty (nose surgery)

Rhinoplasty alters the bony and cartilage scaffold of the nose, before the skin is draped over the revised shape. Requests usually fall into two camps: reduction (for example lowering a hump or slimming a broad tip) and augmentation (for example filling out a low nasal bridge or bringing the tip further out). The Art and Meko both list rhinoplasty among their services, and her Meko profile credits her with nose cases. Our rhinoplasty guide covers open and closed approaches, the choice between your own cartilage and an implant, and alar base reduction, and it advises asking the surgeon which technique and material suit your nose and why.

When you speak with her about a nose, it helps to pin down the technique she would propose, the graft or implant material, which facility would host the operation, whether other surgeons would take part, and what the quoted price includes. Our guide states that revision surgery is usually more complex than the first operation and that surgeons generally wait at least a year after an earlier nose operation before revising. If you are weighing a revision, ask how often she does them, because her profiles are silent on that.

### Fat grafting to the face

Facial fat grafting, sometimes called facial fat transfer, takes a patient's own fat from another part of the body and places it in the face to restore volume. Her Meko profile lists facial fat injection (ฉีดไขมันหน้า) among her cases, and Meko offers a face fat transfer service. Our own guide to fat grafting to the face has not been written in full yet, so we keep the general points brief and cautious.

In general, the fat is harvested with a liposuction-type method, prepared, and then injected in small portions, which means a donor site is required. Some of the grafted fat may not survive, results need time to settle, and surgeons sometimes talk about a second session. None of that describes her own practice. Useful questions include where she would take the fat from, which facial areas she would treat, how she decides on quantity, and what she would do if you were unhappy with the outcome.

### Liposuction

Liposuction takes out fat from chosen areas with a slim cannula inserted through short incisions. The aim is a better shape; it is not a route to losing weight. Our liposuction guide points out that it is not a treatment for cellulite or slack skin, that operating time depends on the number of areas, and that taking a large quantity of fat in a single operation increases the hazard of fluid imbalance, bleeding and thrombosis; for that reason a surgeon sets an upper limit and may spread the work over several operations. The final contour tends to show over three to six months.

The Art and Meko both list liposuction, and her Meko profile credits her with liposuction cases. Which techniques she uses is not published, so if you have one in mind, ask whether she offers it. Our guide names tumescent, ultrasound-assisted (VASER), power-assisted and high-definition approaches, and also male liposuction, as variants to read about beforehand; we do not state that she performs any of them.

The main job of a first consultation is to test fit: is the operation you have in mind sensible for your body, is Dr. Wananya the right surgeon for it, and what is the realistic plan. What follows is general advice tied to her three documented areas. It says nothing about how she conducts appointments, a subject her profiles never touch.

For every patient

• Settle the venue for surgery, the person giving the anaesthetic, and who would be on call if you needed help overnight.
• Ask about her training and which of her two workplaces she operates at now. It is fair to raise the difference between the two profile labels.
• Request a written quote that itemises what is covered and what is not, such as tests, garments, check-ups and extra nights.
• Find out how aftercare works after you travel home, and whom to contact if something goes wrong once you have left Thailand.
• Disclose earlier operations, medicines, supplements, smoking, allergies and any history of clots. Surgeons commonly ask patients to stop smoking and to pause certain medicines before an operation, but only under medical advice.

If you are asking about rhinoplasty

• Explain which features of your nose you want changed, and tell her if breathing is a problem. A review from photographs alone gives only a provisional plan, as our guide stresses, until a surgeon examines you in person.
• Ask whether she would use an open or closed approach for your nose and what would form the bridge or tip. Implants and rib cartilage each have trade-offs that deserve an open discussion.
• Ask how long you should remain in Bangkok. Our guide describes a common stay of 7–10 days in Thailand, lasting until the splint is removed and a post-operative check is done.
• If you have had nose surgery before, bring the operation record if you can and ask how she approaches revisions.

If you are asking about facial fat grafting

• Ask where the fat would come from and whether your body has enough to meet your goal.
• Ask which parts of the face she would treat and whether a follow-up session might be discussed.
• Find out which swelling and bruising are usual in the face and at the donor site, and how many days or weeks they last.

If you are asking about liposuction

• Ask how many areas she would address at one sitting, and whether she would divide them between operations.
• Ask where her limit on the volume of fat lies and how clot prevention is handled, particularly ahead of a long flight.
• Check the length of garment wear (our guide says usually several weeks) and whether the garment is part of the price.
• Remember that liposuction does not tighten loose skin. If your skin is loose, ask whether another operation would suit you better.

A good consultation leaves you free to say no. Pressure to add procedures or to decide in a hurry is a reason to pause.

We avoid promising services we cannot trace to a source. In the pages we read, neither facility describes an international patient desk, staff languages or help with airport and hotel arrangements. Dr. Wananya's profiles list no spoken languages, so we do not claim that she consults in English. The Art's about page puts Thai clients at roughly 85 per cent and visitors from abroad at roughly 15 per cent, and it names the operations that overseas clients choose most. Those figures describe the hospital as a whole and say nothing about her own patients.

In practice this means:

• Language. Before you travel, find out whether the consultation can take place in English or another language you use, and with whom. Our patient team can raise this when it handles your request.
• Starting remotely. Plenty of Thai hospitals begin with a photo review. Treat any plan formed at that stage as provisional, because an in-person examination comes before surgery.
• How long to stay. For rhinoplasty and liposuction, our guides give a general range of 7–10 days in the country, extending after large or combined operations. Her own timetable will decide, and it is wise to keep a few spare days in case an appointment moves.
• Flying home. After liposuction in particular, ask what clot prevention is advised for the journey.
• Two separate sites. The Art in Don Mueang and Meko in Chatuchak are both in northern Bangkok on the same main road, yet they are different facilities. Have it confirmed in writing where the consultation, the surgery and the check-ups will each take place.
• Accreditation. The sources we used list no current accreditation for either facility, so we make no claim about it. You may ask each one what it holds.

Our Bangkok page gives wider background for visitors.

Requests move faster, and replies are more useful, when the right material is attached. The lists below are general preparation advice for the three areas documented for her; our patient team will tell you if she or the facility asks for something different.

Information for any request

• Your age, height and present weight, and any recent weight change.
• A short medical history: conditions, regular medicines and supplements, allergies, smoking or vaping, past problems with anaesthesia and any clots.
• Earlier operations near the area, with dates and the place they were done.
• What you would like changed, in your own words, and anything you want left alone.
• Your possible travel window and who will travel with you.

Rhinoplasty

• Unedited pictures taken in plain, even light with a bare face: head-on, each profile and a view from beneath the nose.
• Notes on any nose injury, previous surgery, breathing trouble or sinus problems.
• One or two pictures of noses you like, used only to explain a direction and not as a promised outcome.

Facial fat grafting

• Straight-on and side photos of the face in even light with a relaxed expression.
• Photos of possible donor areas, such as the abdomen and thighs, so a surgeon can judge whether enough fat is available.
• Any earlier fillers or facial procedures, with dates.

Liposuction

• Photos from the front, side and rear of each area of concern, taken standing relaxed in underwear or swimwear.
• A note on how long your weight has stayed steady.
• Any earlier liposuction or abdominal surgery, and any worries about loose skin.

Share images only via the secure form or whatever channel our staff nominate, and never post them publicly.