What happens at a consultation,
step by step

How do you make an enquiry?

Most people message the practice on WhatsApp at +65 8023 7170, which is answered during clinic hours: Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm and Saturday 11am to 3pm. You can also email dr.sinyong@gmail.com, or leave your details through the call-back form on the contact page.

A sentence on what you would like assessed is enough: the area, roughly how long it has been changing, and anything already tried. That lets the team book the right length of consultation. There is no need to send photographs over messaging platforms; the assessment is done in person. If you are enquiring about a treatment you have read about on this site, mention the page and the conversation will start from there.

Dr Sin Yong consults at more than one clinic in Singapore, mostly along the Orchard Road medical corridor, so the location and exact address are confirmed when the appointment is made. The same assessment applies wherever you are seen.

What happens at the assessment?

The consultation is conducted by Dr Sin Yong personally. It begins with your history: what concerns you, how it has changed, your general health and medicines, previous treatments and how you responded to them, and anything that would change the plan, such as pregnancy, a tendency to scar or a past reaction to filler or anaesthetic.

The area is then examined, at rest and in movement where that matters, and in the light and at the angles that show what is actually happening in the skin or tissue. For filler concerns, ultrasound may be used to see where existing product sits before anything is decided.

Photographs may be taken for your medical record and treatment planning. They are kept as part of your clinical record, used to compare like with like at review, and not used to advertise. You can ask to see them.

“Every plan begins with an assessment — you will always know what is proposed, and why, before anything is done.”

Dr Sin YongOn how a consultation is structured

What options will be discussed?

You will be told what is driving the concern and what the realistic options are, including what each can and cannot do, the common and the less common risks, and what recovery involves. In aesthetic practice, Singapore's guidelines expect doctors to disclose a wider range of side effects than in conventional medicine, including rarer ones.

Options can include waiting, doing nothing, or treating something other than what you came in asking about. They can also include referral: concerns that need a dermatologist, or surgery by a plastic surgery specialist, are referred rather than approached with a treatment that cannot reach them.

Where treatment is proposed, the plan sets out what would be done, with which product or platform, in what order, and what review is included. Fees are set out at this point, before anything is agreed.

Do you have time to decide, and how is consent taken?

Yes. You are not expected to decide at the first visit, and you should not feel pressed to be treated on the same day. You can take the plan away, think it over and come back with questions. The SMC guidelines require consent to be taken before treatment in a way that leaves patients sufficient time to consider and clarify doubts, and for the more invasive aesthetic procedures they call for a cooling-off period proportionate to the procedure.

Consent covers what will be done, why, the material risks, the alternatives and who will perform the treatment. For procedures with more significant risks, the consent process is documented in your record. You can withdraw or change your consent at any point before treatment.

Cost is part of what you agree to. The SMC guidelines require fees to be made known to patients before services are provided, so the fee for the plan is set out before consent is taken, not presented after treatment.

What happens on treatment day and afterwards?

Treatment is performed personally by Dr Sin Yong; it is not delegated to a nurse or therapist. The plan is confirmed before starting, and comfort measures appropriate to the treatment, such as topical or local anaesthetic, are discussed in advance.

You leave with written aftercare that sets out what is expected, what to avoid and which signs to report. Injectable treatments are reviewed once the product has settled, and the interval for longer programmes is set at review. Questions after treatment come back through the same WhatsApp line.

If something feels wrong after treatment, the complication care page sets out which signs need same-day attention and which need an emergency department.

What should you bring, and what should you ask?

Bring a list of your medicines and supplements, and records of previous aesthetic treatments if you have them: the product name, the areas treated and the dates. If you do not have records, the assessment still proceeds. Photographs of how you looked five to ten years ago can be a useful reference.

Useful questions to ask any doctor are: will you personally perform every step; which product or device will be used and is it registered with the Health Sciences Authority; what are the realistic risks; what will this not change; what happens if I am not happy with the result; and what would you recommend if I chose to do nothing. Background on Dr Sin Yong's qualifications and roles is on the About page.