Many of Dr Kumar’s patients live outside Sydney, in regional NSW, interstate or overseas. This page explains how to plan surgery from a distance: which steps can happen by video, which must be in person, how long to stay, and how your care continues once you are home.
In short: Start by calling Dr Kumar’s team or sending photos. Your nurse phone consultation and one consultation can be done by video, but at least one consultation with Dr Kumar must be in person, in Westmead, Penrith or Orange, before surgery can be booked. After a cooling-off period of at least seven days, you book your date. You arrive one to two days before surgery and need a support person with you. If you are travelling from interstate, overseas or a long way away, plan to stay near the hospital until your first review, usually 7 to 10 days after surgery. Patients from Orange and the Central West can go home once discharged and have their follow-up in Orange. Later reviews can be in person or by video, and Dr Kumar’s nurses stay in contact throughout.
Step by step
- Get a GP referral. A referral is needed for every patient, and it allows a Medicare rebate on your consultation fee. About GP referrals.
- Call or send photos. Call 1300 267 726 (or +61 2 9171 1822 from outside Australia). If you would rather not travel before you know whether surgery is likely, send photos first. Dr Kumar’s nursing team reviews them with Dr Kumar and calls you back.
- Nurse phone consultation. Once your consultation is booked and paid ($400, with a Medicare rebate of about $88), one of Dr Kumar’s nurses takes your history by phone and tells you which results and records to bring.
- Consultation with Dr Kumar. At least one consultation with Dr Kumar must be in person, in Westmead, Penrith or Orange. Other consultations can be by video. Dr Kumar assesses you, explains your options and the risks, and Dr Kumar’s team prepares an itemised quote.
- Cooling-off period. After your consultations and signed consent, there is a cooling-off period of at least seven days before surgery can be booked or a deposit paid.
- Book your date. When you book, you pay a deposit and receive a surgical information pack, including when to arrive and what to bring.
- Arrive one to two days before surgery for your pre-operative review with Dr Kumar’s team.
- Surgery and recovery. Patients from a long way away recover near the hospital until their first review; patients from the Central West go home once discharged and have their follow-up in Orange.
These steps follow the Medical Board of Australia’s guidelines for cosmetic surgery, and Dr Kumar’s team follows them for every patient. Your first visit explains the consultation in more detail.
Where you consult and where you have surgery
Dr Kumar consults in Westmead, Penrith and Orange, so patients from the Central West can have their in-person consultation in Orange rather than travelling to Sydney. Consultations are also held in Westmead and Penrith.
Body contouring after weight loss, and any operation needing a hospital stay, is performed at Westmead Private Hospital. Day surgery is performed at Somerset Private Hospital in Kingswood, near Penrith. Dr Kumar does not operate in Orange, but follow-up after surgery can be done there.
Patients from regional NSW will also find body contouring for regional NSW patients useful.
How long to stay
This applies if you are travelling from interstate or overseas, or from a long way away and would rather be close by after surgery. Plan to arrive one to two days before surgery and to stay near the hospital until your first review, usually 7 to 10 days after surgery. As a guide:
| Operation | In hospital | Stay nearby after discharge |
|---|---|---|
| Breast augmentation, liposuction, male chest surgery | Day surgery | About 5 to 7 days |
| Breast reduction, breast lift, implant removal or revision | Day surgery or one night | About 7 days |
| Arm lift | One night | About 7 to 10 days |
| Thigh lift | One to two nights | About 10 days |
| Abdominoplasty, body lift, post-pregnancy surgery | Three to four nights | About 10 to 12 days |
Patients from Orange and the Central West, or anyone for whom Orange is closer, can go home once discharged from hospital and have their follow-up reviews with Dr Kumar’s team in Orange.
Combined operations may need longer. Dr Kumar’s team will confirm your dates when you book.
Travel, accommodation and support
- Support person. You need an adult to collect you from hospital and stay with you for the first days. The hospital will not discharge you alone after a general anaesthetic. If you cannot arrange this, Dr Kumar’s team can arrange a private nurse at an additional cost.
- Accommodation. Stay close to the hospital you are having surgery at. A serviced apartment with a kitchenette and a lift is often easier than a hotel room.
- Getting home. Long flights and drives raise the risk of blood clots after surgery. Dr Kumar will tell you when it is safe to travel. On the way home, keep your garment on, drink plenty of water and take regular breaks to walk.
- Travel assistance. NSW residents who travel more than 100 km each way for specialist treatment not available locally may be eligible for help with travel and accommodation costs through the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS). Eligibility rules apply, so check with IPTAAS before you travel.
Before you travel
- Nicotine. No nicotine in any form for eight weeks before and after body contouring, and six weeks for other operations.
- Medicines. Blood thinners, anti-inflammatories and supplements such as fish oil need to stop beforehand. You will be told whether and when to pause weight-loss medicines.
- Tests. Blood tests and other investigations can usually be done near home through your GP before you travel.
- Garments. Your compression garment is measured before surgery. If you measure yourself at home, follow the instructions from Dr Kumar’s team carefully.
Preparing for your surgery covers each step in detail.
Once you are home
If you are staying in Sydney, you have a review with Dr Kumar’s team before you go home; your wounds are checked and you are given dressings and written instructions. Reviews continue at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months and 12 months, and as often as you need in between, in person or by video or phone depending on how you are healing. Patients from the Central West have their follow-up in Orange.
Dr Kumar’s nurses provide ongoing contact and care for his patients, wherever they live, and photos can be sent to them if you have a concern. Your GP is kept informed, and if you have a problem that needs to be seen in person, Dr Kumar’s team will arrange it. Recovering after plastic surgery explains what to expect week by week.
Common questions from travelling patients
Can I have my consultation by video?
Partly. Your nurse phone consultation and one consultation can be by video, but at least one consultation with Dr Kumar must be in person before surgery can be booked.
Do I need to come to Sydney twice?
Usually, yes: once for your in-person consultation and once for surgery, because a cooling-off period of at least seven days must pass before surgery is booked. Patients from the Central West can have the in-person consultation in Orange.
How long do I need to stay in Sydney after surgery?
If you are from interstate, overseas or a long way away, until your first review, usually 7 to 10 days after surgery; after abdominoplasty or a body lift, that includes three to four nights in hospital. If you live in Orange or the Central West, you can go home once discharged and have your follow-up in Orange.
Do I need someone with me?
Yes. You need an adult to collect you from hospital and stay with you for the first days. If that is not possible, a private nurse can be arranged at an additional cost.
Can I fly home after surgery?
Yes, once Dr Kumar is satisfied it is safe, usually after your first review. Flying raises the risk of blood clots, so keep moving, drink water and wear your garment.
What number do I call from overseas?
+61 2 9171 1822. From within Australia, call 1300 267 726.
Planning surgery from outside Sydney?
Request a call from Dr Kumar’s team, call 1300 267 726, or from outside Australia call +61 2 9171 1822. Before deciding on any operation, read the risks and complications of surgery. Individual results vary.
About Dr Kumar
Dr Rohit Kumar (MED0001630444) is an ANZBCPS Board Certified specialist plastic surgeon with over 20 years of surgical experience. His main focus is body contouring after major weight loss, along with breast surgery and abdominoplasty. More about Dr Kumar.
