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 written record of your weight over the last year rather than your weight on the day, and bring photographs from further back if you have them, because how a contour has changed over time is part of the assessment.

What a good assessment includes

An examination of the skin of the thigh with you standing and lying, including how it behaves when it is lifted and released; an assessment of how much of the fullness is fat rather than muscle; a history of weight change, of pregnancy, of previous operations on the leg and of any swelling; and a check of the circulation and the lymphatic drainage. For a lift, the position and the likely length of the scar are discussed at this appointment and not later.

Asking about the plan

Ask which finding the proposed operation addresses, and what the other operation would do about it. Ask how much skin would be removed and how long the scar would be, and ask whether fat removal would be added at the same time and why. Ask what the realistic period of restricted walking and sitting is for your plan, and ask what would make either operation the wrong one 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, and none needs to be made between the two operations until the examination says how your skin behaves. Take the plan away, read it against the guides on this site, and come back with questions. Being asked to wait until your weight is stable is clinical advice rather than a delay.