Contact & consultation

Arranging an assessment

Outpatient appointments are booked through the hospital on the numbers below; international patients can ask for Michael Yu. Bring photographs of your face from one and three years ago if you have them, because they show how the scarring has changed and are more useful than any description. Bring the list of everything you have already tried, including anything bought online.

What a good assessment includes

A judgement about whether the acne is finished, a separation of colour marks from true scars, a description of scar shape by area, an assessment of your skin tone and healing history, and a clear statement of what each proposed step would change and what it would not. You should leave able to say what the plan is for, how many sessions are realistic, and what the recovery of each step actually looks like.

Asking about the plan

Ask which step of the ladder you are starting on and why. Ask what the evidence is for each treatment proposed, how many sessions it usually takes, and what the downtime is in days rather than in adjectives. Ask what would make this the wrong treatment for your skin. 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, and no course of sessions should be sold before an assessment is complete. Take the plan away, read it against the guides on this site, and come back with questions. A discount that expires, or pressure to start treatment today, is information about the clinic rather than about your skin.