Contact & consultation

Arranging an assessment

Outpatient appointments are booked through the hospital on the numbers below; international patients can ask for Michael Yu. Bring a list of your current medicines, including anything that affects clotting, a record of any previous injectable treatment and when it was given, any history of reaction to an injectable, and a written description of which areas bother you. If you have been offered a plan elsewhere, bring it: reviewing a plan is a legitimate reason to book.

What the assessment establishes

Whether the volume loss is general or specific, which is the finding that decides between the two materials here. General loss — hollow temples and cheeks, thinning skin, a flatter shape — suits a collagen stimulator; a defined fold, hollow or contour suits a filler. The thickness and quality of the skin over each area, which affects both what will look natural and how visible any material might be. Whether the change is actually descent or laxity rather than volume, because that is not corrected by either material. Any previous treatment and the interval since it, any history of reaction, and any active skin condition or infection.

Asking about the plan

Ask which job the proposed material is doing and what it will leave unchanged. If a collagen stimulator is proposed, ask how many sessions the course involves, when the result will be judged, what happens if the response is uneven, and what can and cannot be done about a nodule. If a filler is proposed, ask how long it is expected to last, what the plan is when it fades, and what would be done if the result were wrong. In either case, ask what would make this the wrong material for you.

Before you commit

No decision needs to be made at the first appointment and no treatment is required by any calendar. Take the plan away, read it against the guides on this site, and come back with questions. A discount that expires, or pressure to book before an assessment is complete, is information about the clinic rather than about your face.