Contact & assessment

If the marks came with other changes

Do not book a cosmetic assessment first. Marks that appeared while you were taking a steroid medicine, or that came with weight gain around the middle, easy bruising, muscle weakness or a change in blood pressure or blood sugar, need a physician’s assessment. So do marks that arrived with unusual joint flexibility or a family history of heart valve or aortic problems. Say what else has changed when you call, so that the right clinic sees you.

Arranging an ordinary assessment

Where the marks have been present and stable, appointments are made through the hospital outpatient line or through the appointment service described on the appointments page. Say when booking that the question is about stretch marks, and if you are travelling from outside Chongqing, say so, because the assessment and any treatment planning can sometimes be arranged across fewer visits.

What to bring

Bring anything that dates the marks — a pregnancy, a growth spurt, a period of weight change or a training programme — and a list of your current medicines, including any steroid preparation you use on your skin and how long you have used it. Photographs taken at the time the marks appeared are genuinely useful, because they show how the marks have changed rather than how you remember them.

What happens at the consultation

Expect a description exercise rather than a presentation. Each mark is recorded for age, colour, width, depth and position, and the skin around it is assessed for how it heals and whether it darkens readily after injury. You should leave knowing which of your marks are at a stage where anything can be offered, what each option would realistically change, and what the honest alternative of waiting would look like.

Questions without booking

Questions about the content of this site, including any correction you believe should be made to it, are welcome through the hospital administration line. Clinical questions about your own skin are best answered in person, and we will say so rather than guess.