Start with a short summary, not a full archive
The practical answer is to lead with a one-page summary. A receiving breast surgery team does not need every page you own before it can tell you what it needs. It needs to know who you are clinically: your main breast diagnosis or concern, the operations and treatments you have already had, the conditions you live with, the medicines you take, and the question you want answered.
Write that summary in plain English, dated, with your name and date of birth at the top. Keep it to one page. Then attach only the documents that support it. If you are unsure whether a document matters, include it in a list rather than sending the file itself. The list lets the hospital ask for the specific item.
This matters because breast cancer surgery is not one procedure. Breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy remove different amounts of breast tissue, and reconstruction is a separate discussion. A team assessing you for reconstruction after cancer treatment is asking different questions from a team assessing a first operation. Your summary should make clear which situation applies to you.
Do not send passport numbers, payment details or a complete lifetime archive at first contact. A brief summary and a clear question are enough to begin. The hospital will tell you what else it wants.
Say whether your request concerns cancer surgery or reconstruction after it
This is the single most useful sentence in your enquiry. Breast cancer surgery removes the tumour, and the operation may be breast-conserving surgery or a mastectomy. Reconstruction after cancer treatment is a separate discussion about rebuilding the breast, and it is planned alongside or after that cancer operation.
If your request concerns reconstruction, say what was removed and when, and whether you have had radiotherapy, chemotherapy or other treatment to the chest area. If your request concerns the cancer operation itself, say what has been diagnosed and what treatment you have already received. Do not describe one situation in the language of the other, because the hospital may route your file to the wrong clinic and lose time.
If you are not sure which category fits, describe your situation factually and ask the hospital to confirm the correct pathway. That is a reasonable question, and it is better than guessing.
The hospital, not the coordinator and not this article, decides whether you are suitable for any operation. Nothing in an enquiry establishes that you will be accepted, scheduled or treated.
List prior surgery, treatment and existing conditions in a usable order
A clinician reading your file under time pressure needs the history in a predictable order. Use dates and plain terms. For each prior operation, give the date, the hospital, what was done, and whether there were complications. For each course of treatment, give the dates, the type of treatment and whether it was completed.
Then list your existing health conditions. Include conditions that seem unrelated to the breast, because they affect anaesthesia, wound healing, medicine interactions and how a surgeon plans an operation. Include allergies, previous reactions to anaesthesia, and any bleeding or clotting problem you know about.
List your current medicines with the dose and the reason you take them. Do not stop or change any medicine because of an overseas enquiry. If a medicine matters to surgery, the prescribing clinician and the surgical team manage that decision, not a coordination service.
If a record is missing, say so rather than leaving a gap. A missing pathology report or operation note is useful information: it tells the hospital what to request and tells you what to chase. Do not delay urgent local care while you assemble a perfect file.
Ask what the hospital needs, and in what form
Hospitals differ in what they accept and how they want it. Rather than assuming a universal document list, ask the specific hospital three questions in writing: which records it needs for an initial assessment, in what format it accepts them, and whether it needs certified translations.
Pathology slides and blocks are a common example of something that cannot simply be emailed. If your case depends on a pathology review, ask whether the hospital wants the original slides, digital images, or a report only. Ask who arranges transport and who pays for it. Do not assume the answer.
Imaging is similar. Ask whether the hospital wants the original discs, a cloud link, or printed films, and whether it will repeat any imaging. A foreign scan report does not tell you what a Chinese hospital will accept or repeat.
Put these questions in one message and keep the reply. A written answer is easier to act on than a phone conversation, and it gives you something to check against later.
Clarify staged procedures, review visits and the written estimate
Breast reconstruction and some cancer operations are sometimes planned in stages. Ask directly whether the team expects one operation or more, what each stage is for, and how the stages are spaced. Ask what would change the plan, such as a pathology result or a healing problem.
Ask how many review visits are expected after surgery and whether any of them can be done locally or remotely. Ask what the team needs from you at each review. This is planning information, not a promise: the treating team confirms the actual schedule.
Then ask for a written estimate. Ask what the estimate covers, what it excludes, who is paid, and how the hospital handles a change in plan. Do not rely on a verbal figure. If the hospital cannot give a complete estimate before assessment, ask what information it still needs to produce one.
Coordination fees and hospital charges are separate. Ask the named provider about its own written scope rather than assuming a billing pattern.
Keep the handover clean, and take the next step
A clean handover has four parts: a one-page summary, the supporting records the hospital asked for, a clear statement of whether your request concerns cancer surgery or reconstruction after it, and your actual question. Send it once, in one place, and keep a copy.
Name one contact person on your side and ask the hospital to name one on theirs. If a document is sent later, say what it is and which question it answers. Avoid sending the same file through several channels, because versions drift and the team may work from an old copy.
If your symptoms worsen, or you need treatment now, seek care where you are. An overseas enquiry is not a reason to delay assessment.
For a first step, send a short summary through the enquiry form, email or WhatsApp. The initial case review is free and non-clinical: it checks what you have, identifies what is missing and suggests the relevant next step. It is not a diagnosis and not a promise of acceptance. If you want a records-based specialist opinion before travelling, a proxy consultation is available and optional, not a prerequisite for an appointment or an operation.
You can read more about the procedure itself on the breast surgery reference page.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.