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 note of your weight over the past year and any medication that affects it, because stability changes the timing rather than the operation. If you have had abdominal surgery before, bring whatever records you have.

What a good assessment includes

An examination of the abdomen standing and lying, an assessment of whether the skin springs back, a check for separation of the rectus muscles, and a judgement about how much of the problem is fat, how much is skin, and whether anything else is present that needs its own assessment. You should leave able to say what each operation would change, what each would leave as it is, and which of the two describes your problem.

Asking about the plan

Ask how many areas would be treated if fat removal is proposed, where the incision would run if an abdominoplasty is proposed, whether the muscle would be repaired, whether the two would be combined or staged, and what recovery would look like week by week. Ask what would make each operation the wrong answer for you. A surgeon who answers that last question specifically is assessing you rather than presenting to you.

Before you commit

No decision needs to be made at the first appointment. 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 abdomen.