Le prochain chapitre : Pourquoi j'ai choisi la médecine sexuelle — De la Thaïlande au Baylor College of Medicine

Dernière mise à jour : août 17, 2026

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A Turning Point After Cambodia

For eight years, my medical journey was defined by the dusty roads of Cambodia and the high-stakes challenge of building a modern urology service from the ground up. From performing the first 4th-generation ESWL cases in Phnom Penh to surviving the logistical nightmare of COVID-19 border closures, my time with Royal Phnom Penh Hospital and Royal Angkor International Hospital was a precious urology experience that shaped who I am today.

However, every long journey has a turning point. As I transitioned back to Thailand in 2024 to join Bangkok Hospital Headquarters (BHQ), I realised that my mission wasn’t simply to practise urology — it was to go deep into a field that remains underserved in Southeast Asia: sexual medicine.

Since October 2025 I have been in Houston, Texas, as a Research Scholar and Clinical Observer at the Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, under the mentorship of Professeur Mohit Khera. This is the story of why I chose this path.

The Decision Was Made in Kaohsiung, Not Houston

People assume the Baylor year is where this specialisation began. It isn’t. The real beginning was 2019, when I completed an Andrology Fellowship at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Kaohsiung, Taiwan, under Professor Po-Hui Chiang — a formal clinical fellowship, and still the foundation of everything I do in men’s health. That is where I learned to assess erectile dysfunction properly rather than reach for a tablet, where penile colour Doppler assessment became part of my practice, and where I first operated on the conditions I now spend most of my week thinking about.

That same year I completed a second fellowship at Chang Gung, in robotic surgery and minimally invasive urology. The two have run in parallel ever since: the robot for cancer, andrology for quality of life. If there is a single sentence explaining why I chose sexual medicine, it is that the second one turned out to matter to patients at least as much as the first, and far fewer doctors were doing it well.

The Influence of Professor Somboon Leungwattanakij

The decision to commit fully to sexual medicine was deeply influenced by a titan in the field, Professor Somboon Leungwattanakij. Growing up, I remember seeing a tall, charismatic doctor on television, explaining men’s health with a perfect blend of formal expertise and approachable humour. That was Professor Somboon.

When I joined BHQ, I found myself working in the office right next to him. It was a pinch-me moment. As the most senior expert in penile prosthesis surgery and men’s health in Thailand, Professor Somboon has spent decades helping patients regain their quality of life.

With his retirement approaching, a question arose that the department had to answer: who would continue specialised men’s health at BHQ? After discussions with the hospital leadership and with the Professor himself, that responsibility came to me. I do not think of it as inheriting anything. Reputations are not handed over; they are rebuilt from scratch by whoever comes next, and the honest version of this story is that I have a great deal of work to do before I have earned the comparison.

What I could do was go and learn from the best people available.

Why Baylor College of Medicine and Professor Mohit Khera?

When looking for the deepest concentration of expertise in sexual medicine and penile prosthesis surgery, all roads led to Professor Mohit Khera at Baylor College of Medicine.

The Expertise

Professor Khera is a global authority in the field, having served as President of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA). His work in thérapie de remplacement de la testostérone, erectile dysfunction, and complex penile implant surgery is cited by urologists worldwide.

What This Post Actually Is — and Is Not

I want to be precise about this, because titles get inflated easily in medicine and patients deserve to know exactly what they are being told.

• What it is: a Research Scholar and Clinical Observer appointment at the Scott Department of Urology, from October 2025 to October 2026. As a clinical observer I attend clinic and theatre, watch how decisions are made and how operations are done, and take part in the department’s academic work — study design, data analysis, and publication.
• What it is not: a US clinical fellowship, and not a licence to practise in the United States. I do not operate here. An observer observes — that is the accurate word, and I use it deliberately rather than the more impressive one.

So what does a year of watching actually buy a surgeon? Mostly judgement. Which patient should not be offered an implant. How a complication is handled when it happens on a Tuesday afternoon. What a high-volume unit does differently in the twenty minutes before the incision. My operating credentials come from the Chang Gung fellowships and from prosthetic surgery training workshops; what Baylor adds is a year inside the decision-making of a department that sees more of these cases than almost anywhere in the world, and a body of research I would not otherwise have been able to do.

Disclosure: Boston Scientific, a manufacturer of penile implants, has provided travel and accommodation support for my prosthetic surgery training workshops. No manufacturer has any role in what I write here, but where implants are discussed you are entitled to know it.

Overcoming the Storms Before the Journey

The path to Houston was anything but easy. Much like my early days in Cambodia where we lacked the most basic equipment, this chapter was met with significant obstacles.

The Visa Crisis

In early 2025, just as I was preparing to depart, a sudden suspension of visa processing in the US threatened to derail everything. I had already experienced this heartbreak once before — a fellowship at UCSF was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Standing on the edge of a second cancellation was devastating.

In August 2025 the clouds cleared. We secured an interview on the very first day the embassy reopened, and after one anxious moment at the interview window over missing paperwork, we were through.

A Family Leap of Faith

Moving abroad for a year isn’t only a career decision; it is a family one. My wife and daughter came with me, carrying more luggage than I care to admit halfway across the world to start a year in Houston. Their support is the foundation this whole chapter rests on.

The Vision: From Cambodia to the Future of Thai Urology

Looking back at my eight years in Cambodia, I see a pattern of building things that were not there before. I was part of the first flexible ureterorenoscopy, the first men’s health clinic in Phnom Penh, and the first Rezum water-vapour procedure in the country.

I am applying the same instinct to sexual medicine. Men’s health is often treated as a side interest — a field full of need but frequently overlooked or quietly stigmatised. What I want to bring back to Bangkok Hospital Headquarters is not a brand of surgery but a standard of care: honest counselling before an irreversible operation, testosterone prescribed on evidence rather than on a number alone, and a clinic where a man can raise a subject he has been avoiding for five years.

If I go alone I go fast, but if we go together we go far.

That line, which Professor Allen Chiu passed on to me, has guided me since 2019. This year is not only for my own development, but so that patients in Thailand and the wider ASEAN region have access to care they would otherwise travel for.

Conclusion: The Long Way Home

In a poetic twist of fate, I was born at Bangkok Hospital Headquarters. After years of training and practising across Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, and Cambodia, I have returned to the place where my life began.

The eight years in Cambodia were the long way home, and they gave me the grit to handle most of what has come since. Now, with Professor Somboon’s example in mind and a year alongside Professor Khera’s department behind me, the real work starts when I get back.

Quick Facts

• Rôle : board-certified urologist, Bangkok Hospital Headquarters and Samitivej Sriracha Hospital
• Clinical focus: men’s health and sexual medicine, penile prosthesis surgery, robotic and minimally invasive urology
• Fellowships (2019): Andrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Kaohsiung, Taiwan, under Prof. Po-Hui Chiang · Robotic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan
• Observership (2022): Endourology, Juntendo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
• Current (2025–2026): Research Scholar and Clinical Observer, Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, under Prof. Mohit Khera
• Mentors: Prof. Somboon Leungwattanakij (Thailand) and Prof. Mohit Khera (USA)

If you would like to discuss men’s health, testosterone, or penile prosthesis surgery, Dr. Soarawee Weerasopone consults at Hôpital de Bangkok Siège social and at Samitivej Sriracha Hospital, Chonburi — 088-022-1445.

Bangkok Hospital Telemedicine is available for patients who cannot attend in person, including international patients — arrange it in advance by email to the Urology department at bhquro@bdms.co.th. Samitivej Sriracha is in-person only. For any enquiry about the cost of consultation or treatment, please contact the hospital directly — Bangkok Hospital at bhquro@bdms.co.th, or Samitivej Sriracha on 088-022-1445.

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Foire aux questions (FAQ)

What is sexual medicine, and how is it different from general urology?

Sexual medicine is a specialised branch of urology focused on diagnosing and treating sexual health conditions in men, including erectile dysfunction, Peyronie’s disease, low testosterone, ejaculatory disorders, and penile prosthesis surgery. While general urology addresses the broader urinary tract, sexual medicine targets the hormonal, vascular, neurological and psychological factors affecting male sexual function and quality of life.

Which of Dr. Pom’s qualifications are fellowships, and which are observerships?

Two are clinical fellowships, both completed at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan in 2019: andrology, at the Kaohsiung branch under Professor Po-Hui Chiang, and robotic surgery with minimally invasive urology. The 2022 endourology post at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo was an observership. The current post at Baylor College of Medicine is a Research Scholar and Clinical Observer appointment, not a fellowship. The distinction matters, and it is worth asking any doctor to make it plainly.

Who is Professor Mohit Khera, and why Baylor College of Medicine?

Professor Mohit Khera is a urologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and a past President of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America. His work on testosterone replacement therapy, erectile dysfunction and complex penile prosthesis surgery is cited worldwide. Baylor sits within the Texas Medical Center, and the department’s case volume in prosthetic and sexual medicine is what makes a year there worth the disruption of moving a family across the world.

What does a Research Scholar and Clinical Observer post at Baylor involve?

It has two halves. As a clinical observer, attending the outpatient clinic and the operating room at the Texas Medical Center to see how advanced penile prosthesis and complex sexual medicine cases are assessed and managed — observing rather than operating, since the post carries no licence to practise in the United States. As a research scholar, taking part in academic projects in andrology, testosterone therapy and erectile dysfunction, and contributing to peer-reviewed publication.

When does Dr. Pom return to practice in Thailand?

The Baylor programme runs from October 2025 and concludes in October 2026, after which he returns to Bangkok Hospital Headquarters, continuing as a board-certified urologist in men’s health, penile prosthesis surgery, testosterone therapy and robotic surgery. He also consults at Samitivej Sriracha Hospital in Chonburi.

How does a year abroad benefit patients in Thailand?

Less through technique than through judgement and protocol — which patients are and are not suited to an implant, how complications are anticipated and managed, how testosterone therapy is monitored rather than simply started, and how a high-volume unit organises the hour before an operation. Those are the things that travel well between health systems, and they are what a clinical observer is actually there to absorb.

Avis de non-responsabilité : This content is written and reviewed by Dr. Soarawee Weerasopone, a board-certified urologist at Bangkok Hospital Headquarters. It is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. No diagnosis, advice or prescription is provided through personal messaging channels or social media. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting, stopping or changing any medical treatment.