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 yourself from several years ago if you have them, because they show how the area has changed rather than how it looks today, and bring a note of how the puffiness behaves over a day — whether it is worst on waking, whether it responds to salt, alcohol or sleep, and whether it changes with your weight. Bring a list of your medicines, including anything that affects bleeding, and any treatment already had in this area, including filler placed elsewhere.

What a good assessment includes

The contour read with the light in front rather than overhead; the lid observed with the head turned to the side; gentle support of the cheek and rim to see whether the darkness lightens and the surface flattens; an assessment of whether the puffiness shifts through the day; the skin checked for pigment, dryness and inflammation; the eye surface and lid closure checked before an operation is discussed; and a clear statement of which finding was seen. You should leave able to say whether your lid is a bulge, a hollow or neither, and what each option would leave exactly as it is.

Asking about the plan

If an operation is proposed, ask which approach is planned, whether the fat is being removed or repositioned, and how the tear film and lid position were assessed. If filler is proposed, ask how many visits the plan assumes, what the interval between them is likely to be, whether a review is included, and what happens if you want it dissolved. Ask both times what would make this the wrong choice for you; a specific answer is the sign of an assessment rather than a presentation.

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 eyelids.