Most aesthetic consultations are a conversation about a menu. You arrive knowing roughly what you want, someone describes what it costs, and you decide. That works if the thing you came in for is the thing that would actually help.
This visit runs the other way around. The assessment comes first, and the plan comes out of it. The examination and the plan are Dr. Mundluru's, and neither is delegated.
What happens, in order
Before you arrive
You will get an intake form covering medical history, medications and supplements, prior procedures, the products currently on your face, and what actually bothers you in your words, which is more useful than a treatment name. The prakriti questions are part of it. Come with a clean face: Visia imaging reads pigment, vascularity and porphyrins beneath the surface, and foundation, tinted sunscreen and concealer all interfere with that, though there is somewhere to take it off when you arrive.
Bring old photographs of yourself. Ten or fifteen years back is the useful range, and several beat one: front-on, in ordinary light, unfiltered. Phone photos are fine and nothing needs printing. Aging is a change over time, and a picture of the change says more than a description of the endpoint does. It separates what moved and thinned from what changed on the surface, which are treated differently, and it keeps the plan anchored to your own face rather than someone else's.
The prakriti questions
A structured set of questions about sleep, digestion, temperature, stress, energy through the day, and how your skin behaves across seasons. In Ayurvedic terms this is constitutional assessment; in practical terms it is the part of the history a purely procedural consultation skips, and it is often where the pattern in someone's skin becomes legible. Your answers are read closely before you arrive, so the findings are already in hand when you are examined. It is a framework for understanding tendencies, not a diagnosis and not a substitute for medical evaluation.
Visia imaging
Standardized photography under controlled lighting, in visible light, cross polarized light and ultraviolet, separating what is on the surface from what sits below it: pigment in the dermis, vascular patterning, ultraviolet damage that has not surfaced yet, and the bacteria associated with acne. It comes first because it is the one part of the visit that is a measurement rather than an opinion, taken the same way each time, so the next one can be compared to it.
Examination
This part is Dr. Mundluru, in person, under magnification. The imaging shows what is there; the examination establishes what it is: texture, scarring, laxity, whether pigment is epidermal or dermal, whether redness is vascular or inflammatory, and how your skin is likely to respond to energy or to injury. Skin tone is central to that judgement, because the risk profile of a laser, a peel or a needle depth is different in richly pigmented skin.
Reading it together
The Visia results go on a screen and get explained. Not a score and a recommendation, but what each layer shows and what follows from it. Most people have never seen their own skin measured, and it tends to change what they thought the problem was.
What you leave with
A sequenced treatment plan: which procedures, in what order, how far apart, and what each one is for, alongside the home care that supports them. It is sent to you after the visit, so you have it in front of you when you decide, and it is built from what the imaging and the examination actually showed rather than from a package.
Testing beyond imaging
Skin microbiome sequencing and laboratory markers are available and are not part of the standard visit. They are offered when the assessment points at something they would actually answer, they carry their own cost, and the reasoning behind each is set out on the precision medicine page.
Treatment on the same day
Often, yes. Where the assessment is straightforward and the treatment is right for you, it can be done in the same appointment. Longer treatments, and anything needing numbing time or a blood draw, are booked separately so they are not rushed, and preparation differs by treatment and is set out on each treatment page.
Common questions
Do I need to know what treatment I want before I book?
No. What is useful is being able to say what bothers you and roughly how long it has been that way. The assessment is what turns that into a specific answer.
Can I be treated the same day?
Often. It depends on what the assessment finds, whether the treatment is right for you, and whether there is time left in the appointment. Treatments that need numbing time, a blood draw, or a longer session are booked separately rather than squeezed into the consultation.
Do I have to do the microbiome and lab testing?
No. Visia imaging and the prakriti questions are included. The additional testing is optional, carries its own cost, and is only recommended when something in the examination suggests it would change what the plan says.
Does the consultation fee go toward treatment?
Yes. If you proceed with treatment, the consultation fee applies toward it.
How should I prepare?
Come with no makeup on, because it interferes with the imaging. Bring a list of your medications and supplements, and either bring the skincare products you are currently using or photograph the labels. Bring a few old photographs of yourself, ideally ten or fifteen years back, front-on and unfiltered; phone photos are fine. Mention any isotretinoin use, recent procedures, and any history of keloid scarring or cold sores when you fill in the intake form.
Who will I see?
Dr. Mundluru. He examines you and builds your plan, and neither is delegated.
This page describes what a consultation involves and is not medical advice. It does not establish a physician-patient relationship. Suitability for any treatment is decided at consultation following examination.