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 what you notice and when it started, whether weight has changed and by roughly how much, whether a further pregnancy is planned, and any record of previous abdominal surgery. Each of those changes the plan rather than the conversation around it.

What the consultation should establish

Whether the looseness is confined to the skin below the navel or extends above it; how much of the complaint is skin, how much is fat and how much is muscle; where the separation runs and whether it crosses the umbilicus; and what the flanks are doing. You should leave able to say which territory the proposed operation treats and which it leaves alone.

The questions worth asking

Which areas does this operation treat, and which does it leave untouched? Will the muscle above the navel be repaired? Will a drain be used? How long will compression be worn, and for how many weeks will the shape be unreadable? What would make the larger operation the honest answer for my abdomen? 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.