Contact & consultation

Arranging an assessment

Outpatient appointments are booked through the hospital on the numbers below; international patients can ask for Michael Yu. Come with the skin as it normally is, without make-up over the area if you can, and without a fresh tan or a recent sunburn. Bring a list of your medicines, including anything you take for acne, blood pressure or infection, because some of them make skin react more strongly to light and change what can be done.

What a good assessment includes

An examination of the complaint itself and of the skin around it, a judgement about whether what you are describing is one target or an area, and an assessment of how much pigment your skin carries and how it has behaved after previous injury or treatment. A history that covers sun exposure in recent weeks, cold sores, any tendency to pigment problems or raised scarring, previous light or laser treatment in the area, and any active skin condition. A test area should be offered rather than requested where pigment risk is a real consideration.

Asking about the plan

Ask which target is being treated, which kind of light source is being used for it and why, how many sessions the plan expects and what would change that number, what the days afterwards look like and how many of them you should not be at work, what the risk of pigment change is in your skin, and what would make this the wrong treatment for you. A clinician 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 course sold at a discount that expires, or pressure to begin before the skin has been examined or a test area judged, is information about the clinic rather than about your skin.