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- [00:00]
A
Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising prices technically violates those onerous two year contracts, they said, what the are you talking about? You insane Hollywood. So to recap, we're cutting the price of mint unlimited from $30 a month to just 15amonth. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch $45 upfront.
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B
Payment equivalent to 15 per month New customers on first three month plan only taxes and fees, extra Speed slower above 40 GB.
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A
Details. We all know how open and honest I have been with plastic surgery body image issues. February 3rd is National Women's Physician Day and I thought it was only fit to have my friend Miha Dr. Khan on cheers and I'm so happy to have her here. Dr. Khan is who did my boobs? Your background is so unique and impressive.
- [00:51]
B
I have known since I was like about 12 that I wanted to be a plastic surgeon. Proceeded to go to college at Cornell.
- [00:57]
A
I forgot to add what age that was.
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B
I graduated high school at 16 and.
- [01:01]
A
She went to Cornell at 16. You hear that? That' Is it possible to get a tummy tuck and not have that weird looking belly button? Had a boob job in July of 2023. No sensation in my right nipple. What should I do and will it come back? Are there any misconceptions when it comes to plastic surgery, especially among women? Let's talk about breast implant illness.
- [01:22]
B
Oh yes.
- [01:24]
A
Hi, welcome to Cheers. I'm your host, Avery Wood. We all know how open and honest I have been with plastic surgery body image issues. So many things that I love speaking about and connecting with you guys on. And February 3rd is National Women's Physician Day and I thought it was only fit to have my friend Miha Dr. Khan on here. I always call her Dr. Khan and she's like, don't call me that. So we brought Dr. Khan in today on Cheers and I'm so happy to have her here. Dr. Khan is who did my boobs. So I've talked all about how I had to fix these guys up after I was done breastfeeding. So we did an augmentation, a lift and then since then we've become friends and I go to her anytime I need anything done. Basically yeah.
- [02:20]
B
Well, I am so honored to be here. This is so cool and so awesome.
- [02:23]
A
Oh, you're so sweet. I first want to talk about your background because obviously I want to talk about a lot of things we had people submit questions to ask you as a female plastic surgeon, but your background is so unique and impressive and you would never brag about yourself, but tell me about your background and how you came into being a plastic surgeon.
- [02:45]
B
I have known since I was like about 12 that I wanted to be a plastic surgeon. Really didn't have a good reason. I just thought it was really fascinating. And I'm kind of one of those people that when they put their mind to something, they don't really take no for an answer. And so proceeded to go to college at Cornell.
- [03:03]
A
I forgot to add what age that was.
- [03:06]
B
I graduated high school at 16 and.
- [03:08]
A
She went to Cornell at 16. You hear that? That's crazy.
- [03:12]
B
And then I grew up in West Virginia. So I came back to West Virginia for medical school and did my six years of plastic surgery residency at Wake Forest in North Carolina.
- [03:21]
A
Yeah. And for people that don't know or are kind of unfamiliar with the medical field world, becoming a plastic surgeon and getting matched to being a plastic surgeon or to medical school. Residency.
- [03:36]
B
Residency. Yeah.
- [03:37]
A
Is very difficult.
- [03:38]
B
Yeah. Plastic surgery is probably one of the more competitive specialties. And the only reason for that is there's a limited number of spots. Each programmine at the time only had two spots for the whole year. And so each program usually only has a few spots. And that's what makes it a little bit more competitive than some of the other specialties.
- [03:59]
A
And the craziest part is that you went to Cornell, which is one of the most difficult schools to get into at 16. You graduated your undergrad at 20, right?
- [04:08]
B
Yes.
- [04:09]
A
Insane.
- [04:10]
B
Yeah.
- [04:10]
A
Like that is. And we, we talked about this before because I remember when I first found out about this, I was like, what did your parents do? Because I think about my oldest is turning 15 next month, and I'm like imagining her graduating high school in a year and then be like, bye, you're off to college. And you had talked about the fact that your parents were really sad.
- [04:31]
B
Yeah, they, they really tried to convince me to, to take some time off between high school and college and just, you know, slow down a little bit. But I always had this goal in mind, and for me, you know, at that point, the finish line was so far away that I was just really eager to kind of get going. And I just remember when they dropped me off that, like, the look in their eyes is just like, are we really doing this? Are we really dropping our 16 year old off? Which was like, at the looking back, like, I was so naive, I didn't know anything My parents were great growing up, but we were very sheltered and, like, they just had a lot of rules for us. And so I got to college and I was like deer in a headlights, like, where am I? Yeah, what are, what are all these things? And so I understand, you know, kind of why they had that reaction. I'm glad I did it. I met some amazing people and, you know, my life turned out the way it did for all the reasons that that it did. And so I can't imagine doing it any differently at this point. But.
- [05:32]
A
Well, and you, you're. You got so ahead so quickly, you know, which I think for women especially, and men too, but I think even more so for women when you have such an intense career that requires so much schooling. It's hard when you think about the fact that you might want a family or have kids and thinking in your head, oh, I'm not going to graduate college till maybe my 30s. Yeah, you know, that can be difficult for some women that don't want to have kids in school. So, I mean, you were four years ahead, pretty much constantly.
- [06:04]
B
Yeah, no, it was really nice. And, you know, for me, I was so motivated by school and my career that I really couldn't even think of having a life outside of it. Obviously, you know, I want to have a family and kids at some point, but, you know, the education and career have taken the. The front seat for, you know, the first 30 years of my life. And now that I'm in my 30s, I'm like, okay, now I can focus on the other things.
- [06:31]
A
I was going to say now you're so established and you're done with school and you're doing so many amazing things, which we will talk about. But when that time comes, you're able to focus so much more on your family and you'll, you know, you'll always have your career. Not like you're not going to focus on it, but you're not going to school on top of it and residency and all that.
- [06:51]
B
Yeah, I mean, I did have some co residents and, you know, other female doctors who had children during their training. And hats off to them because I don't know how they managed to balance all of that. Yeah, the amount of work that we do, the lack of sleep and then going home and not sleeping because you have a child to take care of and having to show up the next day ready to go. I mean, there are some incredible women out there that manage to balance it all. Personally, for me, I just, I can't even fathom how that would have turned out, but. Yeah, so for me, I knew that that was kind of the sequence of events that I wanted. I wanted to do, you know, the career and really just be able to dedicate myself to that, be a little selfish and not, you know, have anyone that's relying on me. And now that I have, you know, the stability in my life, a more normalized schedule, you know, really focus on that.
- [07:39]
A
Yeah. What drew you to plastic surgery? Why. Why was it plastic surgery since such a young age?
- [07:46]
B
You know, I think it's just a very fascinating field. I don't think the average person understands the scope of what a plastic surgeon does. Basically, we're the doctors that they call when they can't figure out what to do next. So we reconstruct basically from head to toe, any age of a patient's life, from birth to death. I've operated on probably every single body part. And when there is an issue of form and function, the plastic surgeon is called how can we maintain the most amount of function? And also make this look, you know, as close to what the patient started with, whether it's related to a trauma, an accident, cancer, a congenital defect, or, you know, something that the patient just doesn't like about themselves. And so it's just a constantly adaptive field where you don't necessarily know what you're going to get into. Sometimes I walk into surgery and I just kind of have to figure it out. And that's so fascinating to me. No two days are the. The same. I have, you know, the ability to use my creativity along with the skill set that I have, and it's just not a. Nothing's routine.
- [09:02]
A
Yeah, I, I think too, people also have a misconception about plastic surgery, thinking it's solely cosmetic. Whereas my background, I worked heavily with pediatric plastic surgeons when I worked in the picu. Obviously it was a level one trauma. So we got kids all the time that came from bad accidents, tons of dog bites. Things that we worked with pediatric plastic surgeons on because they needed repair of some. Something. Something on their body. And I, I think when I first started my nursing career, I knew it existed, but not at that extent. Whereas it doesn't just need to be cosmetic and it is all ages, you know, which I think is so cool. Did you ever have an interest in working with kids or did you know?
- [09:51]
B
Yeah, no. I mean, what initially drew me to plastic surgery was doing mission work abroad. My undergrad background is in global health.
- [09:59]
A
Oh, I didn't know that.
- [10:00]
B
And in residency, I had the opportunity to do a Couple of mission trips and, you know, just seeing the kids and doing the clefts and all of that stuff was what initially drew me to plastic surgery. Just because it's so life changing and it's such a rewarding surgery to perform. I mean, it's a very functional. You know, obviously esthetically, cleft lips and palates look different, but functionally, you know, they have problems with eating and it can affect their growth and their development and just being able to have that influence in somebody's life and in such an impactful one. Because oftentimes when you do these mission trips, you worry you're going to do something and they can't maintain it. But doing something like a surgery where you fix a problem and you leave and that patient is better off and you don't have to worry like, oh, did I do enough? Is. Is really rewarding.
- [10:54]
A
One of my friends I worked with in PICU, she's a plastic surgery PA for PEDs and we worked in the PICU together. But she goes to Mexico every year for that mission trip to do clef lip and pallet, and she's obsessed with it. Yeah, she said it's just the most rewarding thing she's ever done.
- [11:11]
B
Yeah. I mean, the look on these people's faces, like they're just crying tears of joy.
- [11:15]
A
Oh, I love that.
- [11:16]
B
Yeah.
- [11:16]
A
So for people that aren't aware, can you walk through the education in years that takes to get where you're.
- [11:23]
B
Yeah. So medical school is the same for everyone, regardless of the specialty you want to go into. It's a four year program. The first two years are pretty heavy in the classroom, just, you know, books and tests. And then years three and four are clinical.
- [11:39]
A
But this is after your undergrad.
- [11:41]
B
This is after four years.
- [11:42]
A
You did your four years undergrad and then you went to medical school.
- [11:45]
B
Correct. And then in medical school, you're kind of exposed to all of the specialties. In your third year, you do rotations through all of them, so you can kind of get a glimpse of what each specialty is like. So for people who are still making up their minds or not sure what they want to do, they get exposure to, you know, a wide variety. And then in your fourth year, most of us, like, hone in on one or two specialties that we're interested in. And for me, that was plastic surgery. At the end of medical school, you apply to residencies in a match process. The match process is wild, and I can't believe it exists. There's really nothing like it. I mean, I think the closest thing that I can think of is like, sorority rush, where you. You go through an interview process. You rank every interview that you go on. So say you go on 10 interviews. You rank them one through 10. The interviewers rank all of their applicants one through, you know, maybe 100. And then there's a computer system that matches you.
- [12:47]
A
Really?
- [12:48]
B
Yeah. So ideally, like, whoever interviewed you ranks you one, and you rank them one, and that's like an automatic match. But then there's an algorithm for, you know, when it gets further down in the rank list, but there's a chance that you don't match. So you either get one option or no options. There's not. It's not like a job where you can interview for three jobs and have three offers. You either have one offer or no offer, which is so crazy. So all four years of medical school you can go through, and you're not guaranteed that you're going to match A, into the specialty that you want or B, a place that you want to be.
- [13:24]
A
I was going to ask you, so if you get matched to a specialty you're not interested in, what do you do? Do you take it anyways, or do you wait until the next option to match? Well, you.
- [13:36]
B
You interview only at places, theoretically that you want to go to. But a lot of people will do some additional interviews as, like, kind of a backup. So for me, I did some general surgery interviews as well, just in case. But so if you find out you don't match, you find out early in the week of match week that you didn't match because they want to give you a heads up so you're not sitting there with your classmates and opening an empty envelope. But then you can, what's called scramble. And that's when any open spot that was unfilled, you can apply for. And sometimes it does end up being in a specialty that you don't want to be in. Interesting. Or it ends up being only for a one year tentative spot. And so you can go through that process for a year and then try to rematch.
- [14:25]
A
Dang. And it's like so much school you have, you want to do what you want to do.
- [14:29]
B
Exactly. Yeah.
- [14:31]
A
Holy cow. So you finish residency and then where did you start your career?
- [14:39]
B
I came actually straight out to Scottsdale. I was single at the time. I had never lived out west, and it was always something that I thought would be fun and exciting. So after I finished in North Carolina, I was interviewing for a couple of positions out west, and I landed in Scottsdale at The practice that I started in, and that was back in July.
- [15:01]
A
Of 21, and that's where I met you. And that's when you did my boobs. And the way that I met you is actually so interesting because I. Obviously, with my nursing background, I'm so psycho about who I go to, because you just see the worst all the time in the medical field. And one of my closest friends, who's also one of your closest friends is Abby. And I worked with her in the PICU for about four years. She's the most incredible human, and she was kind of merging her way out of picu, trying to get into aesthetic nursing. So she was working in the OR that you worked in, and she was like, I. I was weaning Stevie. And my. I mean, you know, my nipples could literally touch my hips at that time. I had no elasticity left in my boobs, and I naturally had very big boobs prior, which, you know, and then I nursed my kids, and that's just naturally what happens. And so I was talking to Abby about what I wanted to get done, and Abby had gotten her boobs done, and she was like, you have to go to Dr. Khan. I work in her OR. And that's very telling as a nurse is like, you can meet a surgeon, you can talk all you want, and like them. You don't know how they operate because you are asleep.
- [16:17]
B
Yes.
- [16:18]
A
So from one of my closest friends who I knew was an incredible nurse, the fact that she watched your work and, like, saw what you did in an or, she. She sold me. And then when I met you, I was like, oh, yeah, you're the one. For me, it was like a match made in heaven.
- [16:32]
B
I love it. Yeah. No, I loved working with Abby. She was wonderful at that point. She was kind of all over the place. She was in PICU in our or. She was just working so hard. And, yeah, when she introduced us to each other, I was just like, you know, I think what's really important for patients to know is that there has to be a connection with you and your surgeon. It is such a big deal. I feel like a little bit has, like, the tide has turned, and people think plastic surgery and procedures are not that big of a deal. I think anytime anyone touches you with a needle or a scalpel, it's a big deal. Things can go wrong, and they do. And so you just have to trust that the person on the other side of that is doing the right thing for you, because you don't know better.
- [17:23]
A
Yeah. And I also think It's a very intimate connection with a plastic surgeon because you are very exposed, and you're being very vulnerable, especially if it's something cosmetic, like, you can have so, like, shame or embarrassment. And I feel like sometimes physicians or at least other plastic surgeons that I've spoken to or maybe met, it's just like, take off your shirt. Show me what you want to do. Like, there's no connection. And, like, person. I don't know what I'm trying to say. You get what I'm. I mean, but I just. You made me feel so comfortable, and I love that. You also were like, I was trying on different sizes, and you're like, that's way too big for your body, which I love that you did that. And you also told me in the. Or you tried a size bigger, and you were like, that's way too big. And I'm glad that you did that. Like, you and I knew each other, and we had talked about what my goals were and what I wanted, and obviously, this was in 2022, I think. No. Or 2023. 2023? Yeah. Because it's 2025. It's almost been two years. March will be two years. And so I didn't know you super well.
- [18:36]
B
Yeah.
- [18:37]
A
But, like, you got to know me and knew what my goals were and what I wanted. So you trusted that the implant size that you put in my body was right for me and what my goals were.
- [18:46]
B
Absolutely. And, you know, back to your comment on vulnerability. It is so difficult to stand in front of somebody undressed and point out what you don't like about yourself. That has to be so terrifying. And I understand that more than anyone, because, you know, I've been through it. I know what I see when I look in a mirror.
- [19:07]
A
Yeah.
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B
And to have somebody whose job it is to, like, know exactly where things should be or what things should look like, look at you in that position, and you're just, you know, being so vulnerable. There's just so much that I think gets missed in those moments where you're not hearing what they're saying or you're passing your ideals of beauty onto them. And I think it's really important for you as a patient or client to make sure that that doesn't happen. Because too many times I have women come into my office and say, well, you know, I went into this office, and I wanted this, but they, like, talked me into this. And I. I woke up with something completely different than, oh, so many of my friends.
- [19:55]
A
So many of my friends will tell me like my friend Lindsay that was on this podcast, who's her handles scrub hacks. If you ever see her, she's amazing. Her first boob job she got. The implants were so big, her skin lifted off her sternum. And, like, she's had so many issues because of that. And I just. I also think it's. And I'm not saying male plastic surgeons are amazing and don't do great work because a male plastic surgeon did my nose and he did amazing. I'm so happy with my results. But there's something different about a woman understanding another woman's body.
- [20:32]
B
Yeah.
- [20:32]
A
You know, Absolutely.
- [20:33]
B
And I think there's a level of connection and a level of understanding that you have. Men don't have to carry breasts around. They don't understand what it's like to have them get in the way. Have to. Some women who are on the larger bust size, who have to carry around this weight constantly. The toll it plays on your neck.
- [20:52]
A
Having a baby, what your body looks like postpartum, stretch out skin, you know, diastasis, recti, breastfeed. Like, there's so many things that men just won't experience, and that's not a bash at them.
- [21:04]
B
No.
- [21:04]
A
But I do think it's a different type of understanding as a woman and being able to give you that trust where, yeah, I'm completely unconscious and the or. And you're swapping out implant sizes in my body. Like, I trust that you know what I'm wanting and what a woman would want.
- [21:24]
B
Exactly. Yeah.
- [21:25]
A
So I just think it's a little bit different.
- [21:28]
B
Yeah. And we just listen differently, you know.
- [21:29]
A
Yeah.
- [21:30]
B
We pick up on subtle cues and, like, you know, ask a little bit more probing questions just to really understand, you know, where are the nuances? Is there, like, an underlying insecurity? Is there something bigger going on? You know, oftentimes, you know, there's a lot going on. These issues are more complex than just physical. There's a mental and emotional component. A lot of guilt from moms for even considering doing something because, you know, it's expensive or is it just vain to want to look or feel different? You know, it's what women are supposed to go through. And. And so it's just hard to kind of unpack all of that. But I think it's so important. It's really important to understand the motivations and really hear what patients are trying to say to you when they're going through this process.
- [22:20]
A
Absolutely. So as a woman that is a physician, works in plastic surgery, went to medical School. What are some challenges that you've experienced as a woman in medicine?
- [22:32]
B
I mean, I would say even when I went through training, it was a very male dominated field. It was, I mean, it's just designed for men. I mean, it's designed to be cutthroat and competitive. And you know, the women that did have children, you know, it was like they got eye rolls when they had said anything about childcare or, you know, you're in an or, sometimes things happen unpredictably. It should be okay that you call your spouse or something and tell them, hey, things are running late, like, you know, we gotta change our schedule. That's just life. You gotta pick up.
- [23:08]
A
What do you want?
- [23:09]
B
Whatever.
- [23:10]
A
To be abandoned.
- [23:11]
B
Yeah. And so I just feel like there was a lot of that. There's definitely in surgery a boys club. So like the boys got invited to do things with the male surgeons that sometimes the females didn't. Just because, you know, obviously for optics, I get it, you know, you're not going to invite young women to go get drinks with you because you're worried about what the optics of that might look like. But you know, you're, you're told that you can't have it all. You can't have the career, you can't have the family, you can't have the kids. You'll have to compromise. And I feel like for most women, that just like fuels them even, even more.
- [23:53]
A
Oh, like a fire under them.
- [23:55]
B
Yeah. Because people that are in medicine, they're so highly motivated, it's like you can't really tell them. No, no. And so I feel like it's changing. I will say it's changing. They are, you know, working hard to change the culture and the dynamics. But like anything, it takes time. There's definitely that old school way of thinking.
- [24:20]
A
It's also, you probably have to prove yourself so much more.
- [24:24]
B
Oh, a thousand percent because of the.
- [24:25]
A
Male dominated field, you know, and this.
- [24:27]
B
Is just like a personal take and might be a hot one, but I think that women come out of training so much more capable than men because they have had to endure so much more adversity. Whether it's like not being taken seriously by other staff. Like, I can't tell you how many times I got asked if I was a student, a physical therapist, a nurse, a janitor, whatever, no one, when I walked into a room would be like, oh, this is the doctor coming to see me. And so, you know, at first it bothers you. Yeah, like you have a little chip on your shoulder, like no, they're like, oh, when's the doctor going to be here? And you're like, well, that's me, and.
- [25:07]
A
I'm here, and I worked my ass off to be here.
- [25:10]
B
But they'd be like, no, no, no, like the real one. And you're like, that's. That's still me.
- [25:14]
A
Still me.
- [25:16]
B
I mean, from time to time, I still get it. Today when I walk in to a patient room, they're like, oh, we didn't realize you were. You were at the doctor, you know, if somebody hasn't looked me up or whatever. And so I do think we're more resilient when we come out. We're ready to endure more. And as a result, I think, you know, we do a better job because we care more. We've had to put more sacrifice into it. There was a recent study that was published that said female surgeons actually have better outcomes than their male counterparts, period. So, I mean, there is something to that. You know, we take our time maybe a little bit more. We're paying attention to detail. We're a little bit better at multitasking, whatever it may be. Those are just speculations. Those are not based in facts for everyone out there. But, you know, those are my opinions. I think that we're just kind of take a look at things very, very differently.
- [26:11]
A
And again, I. I'm not saying men don't get plastic surgery. Men get plastic surgery all the time. But the majority of patients are females when it comes to plastic surgery. And I. So I do think that article is a testament to what I said before of women surgeons understand fellow woman's body.
- [26:31]
B
Yeah.
- [26:31]
A
So it's just. I feel like different results. So I want to touch back on what you said about the. The working mom situation. And I. I experienced this when I worked in Picky with doctors. Female doctors I worked with, a lot of their husbands stayed home.
- [26:48]
B
Yeah.
- [26:49]
A
Because obviously you go to school for so long, you have an incredible job that you're able to support your family, you work long, you know, tireless hours, and you need someone at home to help with the kids, whatever the case may be. And I experienced that now, getting David off the street, he's home with the kids. People have such an issue with it.
- [27:11]
B
Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
- [27:12]
A
So it's just so interesting how it doesn't matter what field you're in, what your education is, if the roles are reversed outside of traditional roles, which I would hope in the year of 2025, we can, like, steer away from that. We are in a new Generation, for sure. It's just crazy that it doesn't matter what. What field you're talking about, whether it's me being a social media influencer and podcast or you being a female surgeon. It's. A lot of men don't like women in power and women that are educated and are able to support a family.
- [27:47]
B
Yeah.
- [27:47]
A
They're intimidated by it.
- [27:48]
B
Oh, absolutely. I mean, women, there's a reason that they've been trying to hold women back, you know.
- [27:53]
A
Yeah.
- [27:54]
B
They know what we're capable of, and if enough of us, you know, gain power and, you know, get the platforms that we deserve, you know, things will be very different. Yeah, I think we're seeing it slowly happening, and it's just. Yeah, I experience it daily. You know, you're underestimated. People don't think you're capable. But I think it's just credits to all of us women out there that continue to do it and not care or, you know, try to be the people that change the outlook and say, you know, why. Why does it have to be a certain way? Why do traditional gender roles still affect people? And, I mean, I've experienced it in my dating life, in my professional life. It just doesn't make any sense for sure.
- [28:40]
A
What, going back to your personal life, what have been the challenges that you've seen when it comes to meeting a partner, dating? Because we obviously talk about this off camera in your personal life, but what do you. Do you think that you intimidate men?
- [29:02]
B
I think certain men, yeah, those that don't have their own, you know, self confidence and have good self esteem, they're intimidated because traditionally, men are there to provide and protect. Right. And so if you don't need them to financially provide for you, they are like, well, what do I do? What do I do?
- [29:22]
A
So I have to treat you right.
- [29:23]
B
Yeah.
- [29:24]
A
They're like, damn.
- [29:26]
B
And I think there's so much more to providing than. Than financially providing. And women still want that. I still want that.
- [29:31]
A
Yeah.
- [29:32]
B
I want to be taken care of. Who doesn't want to be taken care of?
- [29:35]
A
And that doesn't mean money. It means emotional support.
- [29:39]
B
Yeah, like physical support.
- [29:42]
A
Get me off. You know, like, there's so many things. But I. I was gonna say, too. Imagine being as educated as you, as successful as you, and as hot as you like, men probably sit across a dinner table from you and are like, I simply can't be with her because she's so out of my league.
- [30:03]
B
Well, that's very flattering. Thank you.
- [30:05]
A
But, you know, I tell you all the time. It's so true. And she doesn't do anything but Botox. Can you believe that? You're unreal.
- [30:11]
B
I. Well, yeah, Good genetics help, too, so. Yeah. No, I mean, it's frustrating because it just. It makes it harder to find, you know, an adequate partner. Yeah. But I. I still believe that, you know, that person is out there, and whenever the time's right, that's going to work out.
- [30:29]
A
But I know he is.
- [30:30]
B
The. The dynamics just have to change. I mean, women are becoming more and more educated. And I also just feel like beyond that, like, having a partnership is so valuable in life. I feel like we're becoming this society that feels like, oh, we don't need people or we don't need companionship and partnership. And, you know, there's less and less people in my demographic, I feel like, that are looking for that or maybe waiting a little bit longer. And so, I don't know. I don't know if it's that women have gotten smarter and, like, hey, I'm not going to jump into this relationship prematurely in my 20s and, you know, really figure out who I am and what I want. And then, you know, the men are just not meeting the mark. I don't know what. I don't know what the. The shift has been, but I also.
- [31:16]
A
Think you're now in such a good place where you have so much more freedom when it comes to dating. And I kind of want to go into where you're at right now with your career because you have a lot of exciting things happening.
- [31:29]
B
Yeah.
- [31:29]
A
And that's the practice that you started at, where you operate on me, on. You've since left and you're starting your own.
- [31:38]
B
Yeah. No. Yeah. So I decided to kind of take this big leap and kind of change what I was planning to do. And I, you know, really thought about it. I have a very specific vision of, like, what I think plastic surgery should entail. And I think the best way to do that was just to kind of start my own thing and start from scratch. It's hard to walk into somebody else's practice and, you know, want to kind of disrupt things too much. And so, you know, I'm really grateful for the experience that I had there. It got me out to Scottsdale, which I love. And so now I am opening my own practice, and hopefully in February it will be open. And, you know, the goal is to kind of do what I think is missing in plastic surgery and is to look at the whole person. There is so much to looking good. But there's also a component where if you feel good, your outlook on yourself changes too. So trying to just encompass all of that and try to provide people with some wellness tips and tricks to kind of help them feel better. There's so much information out there. I want to be a source of really good information, like what actually works, what doesn't work, what you know, has some scientific backing, what are the new up and coming things. And trying to be just that hub of information that people can rely on because there's so much misinformation out there. I just want people to have a reliable source, whether it's anything plastic surgery or wellness related to kind of have one place where they can go to that.
- [33:21]
A
I'm thrilled. I'm like, what more could I get done? You know, I'm, I'm just so proud of you and I think it's such a scary thing.
- [33:29]
B
Yeah.
- [33:30]
A
And again, on a very small scale, when I left nursing to go do social media full time, like, that's a huge leap because you're in, you're leaving something that's secure.
- [33:42]
B
Yes.
- [33:43]
A
Guaranteed income, for sure. You have your patience to be able to step away and start your own business, like, that's a huge leap and it's very scary. But I think it is going to be massive for you.
- [33:57]
B
Yeah.
- [33:57]
A
I, like, have this feeling that it's going to be so huge. And I also just want to reiterate because I say this over and over again, but when I went to MIHA to get my boobs done, I was a fully paying patient. She does not pay me to talk about her.
- [34:15]
B
But I, I should at this point.
- [34:17]
A
No, no, no. I, and I, I, I always tell people I will always spread word about someone or something that I think can help other people. And I think you're a very rare commodity when it comes to plastic surgery. So I have people that will be like, oh, no, I'm gonna fly to Scottsdale to go to her. And I, I hope that this brings awareness to what an incredible doctor you are, because it is worth it. And although it's an investment and expensive and could be, you know, away from where someone lives, I do think it's so important to go to the right person for you.
- [34:58]
B
Absolutely.
- [34:59]
A
And I think you're such an incredible advocate for women, not just women in medicine, but also patients, that it's going to be massive. And I'm so excited. And no matter where the I end up living, you know, I'll come to you for everything.
- [35:12]
B
Oh, you're so Sweet. No. I'm so grateful for your support. Yeah. So taking that leap was huge. But like you, I. I can't imagine doing anything differently at this point. Like, it. It has been so rewarding in so many ways, so humbling. Of course, there's been some setbacks, but I just. It's just so exciting to do what you love and be so passionate about it and then just, you know, be able to, like, pour into your patients. That's really what I care about, is doing the best thing for my patients and seeing them happy and, you know, bringing out confidence in women that they, you know, had all along and just kind of being able to pull that out of them is. Is just, like, why I keep doing what I do.
- [35:53]
A
Yeah. Are there any misconceptions when it comes to plastic surgery, especially among women?
- [36:00]
B
You know, I think that a lot of the misconceptions come from what they see on TV or, like, the glorified version. You know, there are versions of plastic surgery that can be very subtle and undetected. I don't think things have to be over the top in your face. I think the best plastic surgery is the plastic surgery that walks by you every day and you don't notice it.
- [36:22]
A
Well, remember? And I. I kind of want to talk about, in detail about what I got done because I get questions so much.
- [36:27]
B
Yeah.
- [36:28]
A
Because my boobs are incredible. I mean, let's be honest. But I remember. Remember when I walked in, I was like, I will not get a lift.
- [36:35]
B
Yeah.
- [36:36]
A
I only want implants. I will not get a left. And you were like, let me hold your hand when I say this. No. And I think it's because I. And like, so many women was like, if I get a lift, my tits are going to be touching my collarbone. And, you know, I did not want that. I wanted it very subtle.
- [36:53]
B
Yeah.
- [36:53]
A
And you have shown me time and time again. Like, I had someone at the gym the other day be like, this is such a weird question. I'm so sorry. It's. It's a compliment. But, like, are your boobs real? That's the best compliment. You like, this is the best question you could ever ask me. It's such a compliment.
- [37:07]
B
Absolutely.
- [37:08]
A
And that's with implants and the lift.
- [37:10]
B
Yeah.
- [37:10]
A
So like you said, I think it can be so natural. And trust me, there are. There are examples out there where you're like, I don't want plastic surgery because it looks so obvious. That's not someone's style, and someone could love it. But I feel like a lot of women want work done that they can't tell was work done.
- [37:29]
B
Absolutely.
- [37:30]
A
So with my situation, will you kind of, like, walk through because you're going to explain it better than me of why a lift was necessary in addition to the implants.
- [37:40]
B
Yeah. So a lift is necessary when the breast tissue kind of has fallen over the natural crease. All of us have a natural crease. It's where our breast. When we were young, our breasts develop on a certain point on our chest wall, and that has a very definitive crease. And when that tissue falls over that crease, it has a looseness to it, and it changes the position of where your nipple sits. And so when this happens, if you only put in an implant, it's actually going to further accentuate the low point of the nipple. It's actually going to push it further down until or unless you go so big that you fill up this space so much that it's kind of obnoxious and oversized. And so the only way to correct that is to remove the extra skin that has been stretched either from pregnancy or breastfeeding or significant weight change or just time and gravity. One of the things I tell my patients to do if they're curious that they need a lift is the pencil test. Can you.
- [38:42]
A
Yeah, you did that with me.
- [38:44]
B
Can you. Can you hold a pencil under your breast?
- [38:48]
A
And I sure could. On both sides, baby.
- [38:51]
B
Yeah. And so the pencil doesn't fall out. That's probably a good indication that you need a lift. And the misconception about a lift, I think, a lot of times is that the scars are deforming. They're horrible, and you're not gonna be able to conceal them. That's not the case.
- [39:08]
A
I'll show mine right now. Also, I will say that was my thing, was I told you. I said, I don't want the anchor scar.
- [39:15]
B
Yeah.
- [39:16]
A
Because I'm always in a bathing suit, and I feel like I love a little underboob, and I didn't want a big scar. First of all, you didn't even do that to me. I just have a lollipop, and you put my implant in that. So that was really cool. I woke up and I was shocked. I thought I was gonna have a scar under my boob, and I ended up not. The other thing, too, is, even if you did do that incision under my boob, my scars have healed to almost nothing that it wouldn't even have even mattered. I'll show right now, and Scott can zoom in, but can you see that? Scott with no nipple I mean, that's crazy. It's literally like white. And it hasn't even been two years. And I really didn't do much scar treatment, to be honest. And, I mean, it just amazes me. Like, you're gifted.
- [40:04]
B
You know, a lot of it is picking the right size. I think a lot of people who go bigger, it's harder to do a lift. When you're talking about a augmentation and a lift, you're doing two things that are kind of contradictory. A lift is tightening and compressing the breasts, and an augmentation is expanding it. So the bigger you go, the less tight you can get. And if you do try to tighten it, that's when the scars widen and stretch and become, you know, unsightly. And so it's all about finding that balance. And, you know, there are scar treatments that people can do that are really helpful. And I think it's just really important to talk to your surgeon about those things. There's a reason they're recommending a lift. Whether it's a lollipop or an anchor. It just depends on how much extra loose skin that you have. You know, if we can get away with less scars, that's obviously what we want to do. But you have to listen to what the patient is saying, too. And if you want, you know, a more youthful breast and the only way to get that is with the lift, then, you know, that should be taken into serious consideration because otherwise you're unhappy for sure.
- [41:10]
A
And I, like I was talking about before, had naturally really big boobs before I had kids, I was a 34 double D. So obviously with gravity expanding with pregnancy, breastfeeding. I mean, I breastfed Stevie till she was 14 months old, so a very long time. And I just had. I needed to fill that space, you know, because I lost all of my volume. And so that helped a lot. And we did a 330cc. And I remember you said you. Because it's so funny, my left boob was the one that Stevie prioritized. She loved nursing from that side, so it was much bigger. And so you told me you took some tissue out to kind of even it out. Yeah, which is why my implants are the same size. Because sometimes people have different size implants.
- [42:00]
B
Right. It just depends on the level of asymmetry. It was enough that we needed to do something about it, but not quite so asymmetric that we had to go different size implants. And that's one of the reasons in surgery, sometimes it takes longer for some patients versus others. Because we do have to trial different sizes. We have, we sit you up while you're asleep and look at everything, see, you know, where the implants are sitting, make sure they look as symmetric as possible.
- [42:27]
A
Yeah. I remember being in nursing school and I sat it on someone getting a boob job. And I will never forget when they were strapped to the table and they set them completely up like they're standing. I was like, what the. And the doctor had me like, stand back and tell them if they were even or not. And I'm like a 21 year old nursing student, like, yeah, you look great. I don't know what to say.
- [42:48]
B
Yeah.
- [42:49]
A
But it's so interesting. I could think about myself in surgery just like. Yeah, completely asleep. You had some options to get some very vulnerable content of me in there. What do you think is a woman's way of approaching patient care in comparison to a man?
- [43:07]
B
You know, I think we just go in with a little bit more compassion and empathy, you know, a little less quick to judge, a little less quick to insert our own opinions. I think oftentimes men come in, you know, either dismissive or wanting you to see things their way. And so as a woman, I feel like I'm very open to, you know, hearing them out and then, you know, kind of trying to lay the expectations a little bit more gently than just saying, no, this is what we're going to do and this is why, you know, trying to make it make sense. Whereas I think a man's approach is a bit more harsh.
- [43:49]
A
Yeah. I've had actually personal friends that, I've had experiences with male plastic surgeons where they want to get their boobs done and they kind of explain what they want and they recommend the most massive implants for these women and that's not what they want. So then they just wasted consultation fees.
- [44:11]
B
Yeah.
- [44:11]
A
By booking that. And now they want to go to someone else. Because in the moment when they're saying that and they're not hearing what the patient has to say, why would they want to be unconscious in surgery with you when you're explaining what they should do and they're not wanting that, they're not going to trust you to operate.
- [44:32]
B
Oh, absolutely. And I, and I think that's a lot of what I, what I see is just that kind of insertion of your own ideals of beauty. It doesn't matter what I think is beautiful at the end of the day. I mean, I'm, I have a certain limit. Right. Like I'm not going to do something that's going to harm you or cause you problems in the long run. But if you want to be a little bit smaller or a little bit bigger and it makes sense and it's reasonable and it's safe and it's appropriate, why doesn't. It doesn't make a difference to me. You're the one who has to live with that result the rest, you know, for the rest of the time. And so I think that a lot of people just kind of get used to a certain aesthetic, and that's the aesthetic that they want to, you know, impart on everyone. And it's just. That's just not the case. Not. Not every woman wants the same thing.
- [45:20]
A
Yeah. What do you think is a healthy work life balance and a way to have both. Right. A very successful educated career, but also family life at the same time.
- [45:38]
B
You know, I think it's hard. It's hard. I mean, I'm guilty of it. I'm. I take work home with me routinely. It's just hard not to stop caring and, you know, worrying about people and, you know, you do a surgery and you, you know, there's a lot of unpredictability. So you're concerned that, you know, did. Did everything go right? Are they going to heal? Well, are they going to be happy?
- [45:58]
A
That's one thing I love about you, is that whether it's myself as a personal friend or also people I know that I've gone to as patients, is you genuinely check in and make sure that the person is happy.
- [46:09]
B
Yeah.
- [46:09]
A
And I love that. And I think it should be more like that in plastic surgery.
- [46:13]
B
Yeah. I mean, that's, for me, that's like, the joy of it is like seeing somebody so happy. And so until I get that, you know, confirmation that that turned out the way they did, because, you know, you always worry, did something get lost in translation? Did I understand, you know, what their goals were? And you try to really ask pointed questions to make sure that that happens. But back to your question on maintaining balance. I mean, it's hard. I. I still struggle with it. I have been so focused on my career for so long that it's hard for me to take a step back and be like, okay, now it's like, time for me. Time to, like, you know, tune out. But, you know, I found new hobbies, which I didn't have time for hobbies before, so it's been very cool to explore and find new things that I enjoy doing. But for me, it just comes down to surrounding myself with people that I love, whether it's My friends or my family, and then just doing things together, experiencing things, going on trips, hanging out, grabbing dinner, trying the new restaurants, whatever it is. That's kind of how I try to find balance.
- [47:17]
A
And you. You're on a bit more of a set schedule now where you're. You have weekends off.
- [47:23]
B
Yeah.
- [47:23]
A
Your Monday through Friday.
- [47:24]
B
Yes.
- [47:25]
A
And you're done at what, like five usually?
- [47:27]
B
Yeah, typically, you know, it depends. Some surgery days go long, but I mean, these days, if I'm done after six, it's an. It's an exception. So.
- [47:36]
A
Yeah.
- [47:37]
B
Yeah. So that's been really nice. Setting boundaries with my schedule is really important. I'm very guilty of not saying no to people, so I. I find it hard to just draw those lines. But doing so has kind of given me more time to do things that I enjoy. Working out, being active, traveling, all those things.
- [47:57]
A
Well, and I will say, because I know, I know how much you want a family and to find your person. And you will. Yeah, it will happen. But I will say, I think there's such a benefit to you being done with school, opening your practice, having more of a set schedule. That's like. Although it's very different, it is like a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 situation, which a lot of working moms have. And I feel like that is going to be so nice and relieving for the time when you do have a family.
- [48:27]
B
Oh, absolutely.
- [48:28]
A
Where, you know, when your kids are in school, you know, you can go pick them up after school when you're done with surgery or whatever. Like, there are obviously pros and cons, but I think there are much more pros in the situation that you're in.
- [48:39]
B
Oh, for sure. I mean, I set my schedule. I mean, I could, you know, take off whatever day I wanted and rearrange my schedule if needed, which is so nice. It wasn't like that prior to coming out into practice, so.
- [48:51]
A
To have your own practice.
- [48:52]
B
Exactly. Yeah. So, you know, I'm looking forward to this next chapter. I think it'll be an exciting one. There's a lot of new things that are going to happen. And just grateful for your support.
- [49:03]
A
Oh, you're so sweet. What do you think is changing in the field for women, both. Both as patients and surgeons?
- [49:10]
B
I think as patients, what is changing is we're not scared to do little things as much anymore. And I think that we're going to find ways of slowing down the aging process and we're going to be more proactive in, you know, doing the Botox and filler when it's appropriate, or doing the lasers and the other treatments when. When we can, so that we're slowing down, aging and we're not worried about, you know, what are people going to think or whatever.
- [49:41]
A
Which I think that is one of the positive sides of social media, I agree, is people. The thousands of messages I've got, you know, after getting my boobs done or my nose done, when I. I talk about how much I. How long I've wanted to do it.
- [49:57]
B
Yeah.
- [49:57]
A
And a lot of women are in the same boat, but they didn't see or haven't experienced that. And so they're really scared. And they're like, you made me take the leap. You made me go do my consultation with miha. You made me want to go get my nose done. Because if it makes you feel better, go do it for yourself. And so the fact that that's becoming more normal now, I think is a good thing.
- [50:18]
B
Yeah, I think that that is, you know, with the good comes the bad, too. So, you know, there's the other end of the spectrum where people are overdoing it, but I think. I think that's getting reigned in. I think that was maybe a product of COVID and having too much time on our hands also.
- [50:35]
A
Reality tv.
- [50:36]
B
Yeah.
- [50:37]
A
Yeah.
- [50:37]
B
But I think that that's ultimately the goal. Everyone wants to just look and feel their best, and I think it's not so taboo to want those things anymore. And I think that's so positive. I think that, you know, the body positivity and all of that is huge because, yeah, every one of us is insecure. Name. Give me the name of one person who's not insecure about something, you know, about themselves. And so being able to talk about it more openly and have, you know, people that have either maybe shared that experience or gone through it themselves is. Is awesome. And like, people like you who are so candid about the experience, because then it doesn't feel so foreign when you go through it. I love when my patients come in and they are asking me all of these, like, super detailed questions about implants or recovery and downtime. They're like, okay, yeah, I know, you know, three months till they drop. And, you know, saline silicone. And they are just. Have done this research because they have had exposure to it through people like yourself and others who've shared their journeys from, like, day one until, you know, they're healed. And so I think having that information out there is huge. Totally.
- [51:50]
A
I was going to say, we have so many people that submitted questions, so I'M going to go through those all with you.
- [51:57]
B
Okay.
- [51:57]
A
But before we get into it, I want to ask, is there any advice that you would give women that are wanting to get into the medical field?
- [52:08]
B
You know, I feel like the medical field is changing a lot. There's a lot of red tape around it. And, you know, a lot of things have come into light about, you know, insurance companies and all of that. Don't let that deter you. If that. If it's medicine is truly your passion and it's truly what you want, don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. You can't have it all, because it is possible. There's so many of us out there that have gone through it and are so grateful. I honestly cannot imagine doing anything else. I am so happy and fulfilled and I would wish that for anyone. So, you know, I'm always happy to be a resource to people. I think finding people who view life and career the same way as you is really great. I've had some amazing female mentors along the way. And so find those people in your life and, and use their guidance. There's nothing that replaces experience. And so just, you know, do what, what's going to ultimately make you happy and don't let people discourage you.
- [53:11]
A
Yeah, I, I know for a fact I kind of look through these questions. So the first question I want to ask you, because I know everyone's going to want to know, let's talk about breast implant illness.
- [53:23]
B
Oh, yes.
- [53:24]
A
Because that is, I'm asked still to this day, have you experienced any symptoms of that? And I'm like, no. But we had talked about this so much before because I, I also expressed my concern. And before I got them done, I talked to the implant company and they also went through it. So can you kind of go over breast implant illness?
- [53:46]
B
Yeah. So breast implant illness, for those of you that don't know what that kind of means or entails, it's a constellation of symptoms that mimic autoimmune symptoms. So joint pain, fatigue, brain fog, memory problems, muscle aches, they're very non specific. Some people get rashes and they go through some testing, they go through lab work, they go through imaging. Nothing really is coming back. They can't find a diagnosis for why they're feeling that way. And so these women wonder, hey, is it my implants? Are my implants producing some of these symptoms? And they'll go on to have them removed and they'll feel better. And we really don't have any sort of blood test or Scientific link that connects these symptoms to the implants. What we do know is that over time, for whatever reason, these women and their bodies don't agree with the implant. It's like developing an allergy over time. This is completely my opinion. This is not based in any research. So I don't want people to take this the wrong way. I think that it comes from a kind of multifaceted exposure to different environmental factors. So I have never seen a population that's had such a high level of autoimmune. Like, everyone's got food intolerances. Lots of people are on thyroid medication, lupus, rheumatoid. Those are just becoming fairly common diagnoses. And so what I think is that we get enough environmental exposure, whether it's through our food, our water, you know, whatever it may be, microplastics, that we get enough of these chips stacked against us, and then implants are another one of those chips. And that just tips our body over the edge. And it's just like, we can't handle all of these things. These. None of these things are meant to be in our body, and we have too many. And so by removing one of those exposures, your body's able to reset and feel better. So do I think it's the implants themselves that are making people sick? Not necessarily. But do I think it's real? Absolutely. You can't explain people feeling better.
- [56:05]
A
Well, and what the implant company talked to me about on the phone before I got my boobs done, because I was asking him a ton of questions, and they were saying that there were certain implants that people were getting that were linked to certain things like lymphoma. Those have all been recalled. Those are not implants that can be used in women's bodies anymore.
- [56:24]
B
Correct. So the. The lymphoma was related to a specific implant that had a rough surface on the outside. It's a textured implant. And so that was scientifically linked to a lymphoma and other cancers. And so those scents have been recalled. And any patient that's had that sort of implant has been notified. So that's completely separate from this breast implant illness. The symptoms for that are completely different than. Than what these women are experiencing.
- [56:54]
A
Totally. And I have people in my personal life that thought that they were experiencing breast implant illness because they had a change in health after having their implants in for a few years, and they kind of were just out of options. And so they decided to take out their implants to see if they felt better. And unfortunately, they didn't. It wasn't fixed fixing the actual medical issues going on with their body. But I completely empathize with them in the sense of when you're out of options, you don't know what else to do, and you're so miserable, of course you're going to take a foreign object out of your body to hopefully feel better.
- [57:31]
B
Absolutely. And that's kind of what conversation I have up front before surgery. And then if that patient does walk in my door, you know, that's kind of the guidance that I give them, is that let's run all the tests, so let's make sure that there's not some treatable cause here. And then if we are out of options, it does make sense to remove them to see if that they're contributing. I mean, worst case scenario, we let things cool off, we get your health better. And then if in a year or two you're like, hey, I'm not better, but I want them back, we can have that conversation again for sure. But it's just one of those things. I hope with time we find out more about what's really going on. And it's just like, what's hard is there's no specific type of implant that's associated. It doesn't matter if it's saline or silicone. Doesn't matter if it's over or under the muscle. Doesn't matter how long you've had them in. Some people experience symptoms pretty quickly in a year or two. Some people, it takes them 10, 15, 20 years before they start experiencing symptoms. So it's one of those things I think that research is hopefully going to help us understand better. But until then, it is one of the risks I talk about when patients go through implants that, you know, this is an unknown. There's no way for me to tell, you know, having you sit here in my consultation that this isn't going to happen to you.
- [58:45]
A
Okay, I love this question because you and I have talked about this, because I. I'm doing better, but I do have issues with my loose skin on my stomach. And what makes me laugh is I'm like, listen, I was a big girl when I got pregnant, okay? Everyone knows this. If you didn't, I gained like 65 pounds with one pregnancy, and I think 75 with the other. How I didn't get stretch marks is amazing to me. But as I've gotten in more shape. No, as I've gotten in better shape, I should say. And finally shedding the last bit of my baby weight, four Years postpartum, the smaller I get. I don't have, I'm not filling out my skin anymore. So the more weight I lose, the more loose skin I am getting. And I'm like, what the, like, can I get a break? So we've talked about, I've talked to you about a tummy tuck and you've always said like, no, you're not doing a tummy tuck. But I'm getting a lot of people asking, is it possible to get a tummy tuck and not have that weird looking belly button?
- [59:50]
B
So it depends. So there's a variation to a tummy tuck called a mini, where we don't make a scar around your belly button, but it's a limited result. And a mini tummy tuck, you go just to the level of the belly button and just pull the skin below the belly button out so you don't create that scar around the belly button.
- [60:09]
A
But how far is that scar? Is that a hip to hip scar?
- [60:11]
B
It's. The scar is still the same. It's only called a mini because it's. You're not going past the belly button. The problem with that is you can only do the muscle repair below the belly button. So if you have any muscle separation above, it doesn't treat that. And then if you have any loose skin above your belly button, it doesn't treat that. So it's very limited for like an ultra thin patient who doesn't really have a lot of laxity above the belly button and it's all just kind of down low. But otherwise there's really no great way to do a tummy tuck without creating that scar around the belly button. There are techniques that we do in surgery that helps make that scar less visible. But you know, everyone has their belly button tricks, but I wouldn't say anyone's look, you know.
- [61:01]
A
Yeah, natural.
- [61:02]
B
That's true.
- [61:02]
A
I don't think that they're concerned about the scar. I think it's more so it doesn't look like a natural belly button. You know, it just looks like so tiny. Like you can look at someone and say, oh, you had a tummy tuck.
- [61:14]
B
Yeah.
- [61:15]
A
You know, which I don't think it's a bad thing, but I think a lot of these women, like I was saying, they want a subtle result. But when you're, I mean, you were telling me that you. I think we were talking about this how you had someone with like a mole up here or something and it was like cut off because they pulled the skin so taut.
- [61:32]
B
Yeah.
- [61:32]
A
That you have to Make a new belly button.
- [61:34]
B
Yeah.
- [61:34]
A
Or else you'd have no belly button. You'd look like a weirdo.
- [61:36]
B
Yeah, exactly. That's the only other option.
- [61:39]
A
You walk around. No belly button. Hey, no belly button. How's it going? All right. Your least and most favorite surgery to probably perform.
- [61:47]
B
Ooh, I have a lot of favorites. I. Tummy tuck is such a good surgery. I mean, it's just like so transformative. I, like take all that skin off. It's like, it's massive. Also, same thing with like a breast reduction when you just like massively reduce breasts and they're like cute and tight and perky. It's just. It's so satisfying. So those are probably like my two favorites. Just cuz they're just life changing. Yeah, I guess. Least favorite is probably a thigh lift.
- [62:18]
A
I've never even heard of that.
- [62:19]
B
Yeah, most. What most patients, it's like, could I get that done? It's mostly for patients who've lost a lot of weight. It's a inner thigh lift where you have an incision kind of starting at the top of your knee all the way up into your groin, and you pinch all that skin of your inner thigh out.
- [62:39]
A
How many sutures would that take?
- [62:41]
B
Oh, it's a ton. It's just a hard area too, because when you're suturing in the groin, it's like, it's just not fun. And I this, the scars are, you know, pretty visible when you're wearing shorts. And so I don't know. It's not my favorite.
- [62:55]
A
What surgery takes you the longest? Would it be like a full mommy makeover?
- [63:00]
B
Yeah, I would say a typical mommy makeover takes between like five and six hours. I try to limit my surgical time. I think that that's one of the things that I'm really cautious about is like not doing too much surgeries. I don't think anyone needs to be under anesthesia for like 8, 10 hours, an elective procedure. And so I try to, you know, tell people, you know, what can we do safely within a reasonable amount of time just to, you know, keep you out of harm's way longer you're under anesthesia, you know, higher risk for complications and things like that. I think a mommy makeover facelifts take a four or five hours too.
- [63:35]
A
God, it's so amazing. And like, like you can do all that. Isn't that crazy?
- [63:40]
B
Yeah.
- [63:40]
A
I mean, for you, it's just like every day.
- [63:42]
B
I know.
- [63:43]
A
It's like, it's kind of weird. Talk me all day.
- [63:46]
B
Yeah, it's kind of weird to think about. Like, I mean, if I think of it at, like, a very organic level of, like, actually what I'm doing, I'm like, oh, that is kind of creepy and bizarre.
- [63:54]
A
You could change my entire body head to toe. It's insane. All right. Do you suggest waiting to get a breast reduction until after you have children?
- [64:04]
B
That's probably one of the surgeries that I say. No, you don't. You shouldn't wait. Because women who are in that position where they're considering a breast reduction, their breasts are already so huge. To then go on and have a pregnancy and have them even bigger.
- [64:18]
A
Yeah.
- [64:18]
B
Would be so painful.
- [64:20]
A
Yeah.
- [64:20]
B
The only caveat is, if you're really dead set on breastfeeding, that's the surgery that you're most likely to have issues, like, mechanically, because we basically dismantle the breast completely. We only leave a very small area connected to everything. That's the area around the nipple and stuff. So there's a chance you're able to breastfeed? I've had some women who've had reduction be able to breastfeed, but it's really disruptive. And so there's a. There's a chance that you wouldn't be able to breastfeed. So if that's really important to you, I kind of go through those things with them and see kind of, you know, risk factors. This benefit. Is it more important for them to get this weight off, or is it more important for them to. To breastfeed?
- [65:03]
A
And I think kind of piggybacking off of that, because I know a lot of women ask. This is implants before pregnancy.
- [65:11]
B
That one I'm a little bit more cautious with. Only because your breasts change so much. And it just depends. Like, getting pregnant and having a baby sometimes can take time. So if you're not thinking about it in the next one to two years, I say it's reasonable to have that result because then you can enjoy it for some time. But as long as you know that after you're done having kids, you're gonna have to have an adjustment, it's gonna look different. And it's also better at that initial surgery to go, you know, maybe a touch smaller to give your breasts a little bit more room to have some changes with pregnancy, because you don't want them to get so big and so stretched out that, you know, at the next surgery, they're like a reconstructive procedure.
- [65:53]
A
What about for breastfeeding? Because I know there's an under and over the muscle option. Does that matter when it comes to the ability to breastfeed?
- [66:01]
B
It shouldn't. So either way, you're going under the breast tissue. As long as you're not disrupting any of those ducts that drain the breast tissue to the nipple, you should be okay. So that's why in those patients, I don't typically love the around the nipple incision. I go underneath. That way I avoid all of those connections. I'm not creating scar tissue around that area. And so either way, under over the muscle, you still can breastfeed. Saline or silicone one is not more harmful to the breast milk. I think that's really important to know. The silicone doesn't leach out into your breast tissue and. And get transferred to your infant in any way. That would be horrible. Yeah, for sure.
- [66:44]
A
So can you raise the nipple higher without boob implants?
- [66:48]
B
Yeah, that's a lift.
- [66:49]
A
That's a full lift.
- [66:50]
B
Yeah.
- [66:50]
A
Okay.
- [66:51]
B
So you can do a lift without implants for sure. And that's how you change the position of the nipple.
- [66:56]
A
What surgery would you never get?
- [66:59]
B
Oh, that's okay. Oh, bbl. I had to think about that for a second.
- [67:06]
A
Yeah. Sing it, Scott. Yeah. I can't picture you with the bbl. You know, I saw someone the other day. Here's my thing. When women go on ozempic and they turn. They have toothpick legs.
- [67:22]
B
Yeah.
- [67:23]
A
And then they get a bbl. Your legs are gonna snap in half.
- [67:26]
B
Yeah.
- [67:27]
A
Your contra. Like, it's just. It's a contradiction. Like, you can't. It's just crazy to me.
- [67:33]
B
Yeah.
- [67:34]
A
Okay. Actually, I don't know this BBL because there's like, fat transfers you can do where you can, like, suck fat out of your stomach and put it in your ass. Is a BBL an implant?
- [67:45]
B
No, no. BBL is when you do that fat.
- [67:46]
A
Oh, okay. But can't you put butt implants in?
- [67:50]
B
I would say the majority of plastic surgeons will not put in butt implants because unlike your breasts, you're constantly sitting on that area. It's not a, like the cleanest area. So infection extrusion, all of that is like a lot more likely in that area.
- [68:06]
A
Where's the incision for that for a bbl?
- [68:09]
B
The bbl, because you do it with the fat. It's just little post, like liposuction, little holes.
- [68:14]
A
And is it like under your ass cheek?
- [68:16]
B
Yeah, usually on the underside.
- [68:19]
A
I know, I'm like, kind of.
- [68:20]
B
But that's why. That's why those patients, you know, they have a period of Time of like three months where they can't sit.
- [68:25]
A
Yeah. Don't they, like, sit on a donut?
- [68:27]
B
Yeah, they have a little donut pillow. That's crazy.
- [68:29]
A
Can you imagine me drop my kids off at school sitting on that in my car? It's actually insane. Someone did ask me if I had one, and I said thank you, but no.
- [68:36]
B
Yeah.
- [68:37]
A
And Miha would tell you if I did.
- [68:39]
B
Yeah. She did not, guys.
- [68:40]
A
No. Okay. What are some scar treatment recommendations that you have?
- [68:46]
B
So I think it's really important to treat scars from the beginning. I think some people try to treat scars a little too late.
- [68:52]
A
So remember me, had just did a scar revision on me because I did not treat my scars because I was told that they were going to go away and they didn't. So then you cut them out of me and re sutured them. Thank you for that.
- [69:05]
B
Yeah. So a lot of it has to do with how the incisions closed initially. The more tension on the incision, the more likely you are to have a wider, thick scar. So you want to be mindful of, you know, kind of things that you do if the surgeon tells you not to be active. That's why the more forces you're putting along that scar, the worse it's going to heal. So follow the directions of your surgeon as far as your restrictions. Next, I would say, you know, starting at week two or three, you should do some kind of silicone treatment, whether it's a silicone patch or a silicone gel. People's skins are different in their level of sensitivity. But the silicone patches work really, really well. And so you can start those at about two weeks out. Keep your scars out of the sun. Once your scars pigment, it's so hard to lift that pigment. There's no laser that can kind of get that pigment out of that. So just be overly cautious. I'll even tell my patients that first summer after a surgery, tape your scars went under your bathing suit just so that the scar. The sun doesn't go through your swimsuit, even to pigment it.
- [70:11]
A
Yeah.
- [70:11]
B
And then know when to intervene. If you're. If you can run your hand across your scar and it's thick and raised, you need to go see someone. You either need a steroid injection or a revision or laser, depending on that. But also be patient. Scars take a full year to heal. There's going to be variations in the color. It's going to be really red and pink at from about, you know, two to six months. And then after six months, it'll start to fade. But be patient, it does take a full year.
- [70:39]
A
Yeah, I remember you were talking about because obviously with my lift, you can't wear underwire bras. And so that's when I bought every color of the skims, like fits everybody, triangle bralette. And that's all I wear now.
- [70:50]
B
Yeah.
- [70:50]
A
But I can see how if I was wearing like a really intense underwear bra, how that would rub the area and irritate it. And I'm just so glad I followed. I followed the directions that he gave me because. Yeah, all right. Someone asked, is there a way to fix my inverted nipples? I hate mine.
- [71:07]
B
Yes, actually, we can do. In the office, we basically, what's happened is your nipple is being tethered by either scar tissue or some of the ducts get shortened. And so we pull the nipple out, cut those bands that are pulling it down, and kind of suture it so.
- [71:25]
A
They don't have to go under for it.
- [71:26]
B
They don't have to go under for it. We can do it in the office under local. As long as, you know you're able to tolerate the numbing, you can do it in the office.
- [71:33]
A
I love that. How common is it for women to get boob jobs after having kids?
- [71:38]
B
I would say it's increasingly becoming more popular. Yeah, I would say. I mean, most of my friends who've had kids are either considering it or have had it.
- [71:46]
A
Also, can I just say, for people, I was always so anti boob job. I told it I would never get a boob job. I told him there's no way I will ever get my boobs done. Of course I said that because I was a 20 year old with a banging bod and 34 double D natural boobs. Yeah, saggy, you know, like you don't know what your boobs are going to look like postpartum.
- [72:11]
B
Oh, absolutely.
- [72:12]
A
When you're done breastfeeding. And when I looked at myself in the mirror and I didn't recognize myself, it wasn't for anybody but myself. My husband wouldn't give a. I don't care what people's. People's outside opinion is because I'm wearing clothes.
- [72:25]
B
Yeah.
- [72:25]
A
To everyone else. But like for myself, I just, I was like laying down to the side and my bottom boob was like a cereal bowl. It was so saggy and it made me really insecure. And so I just laugh at myself that, you know, 10 years ago I was like, I would never ever get implants.
- [72:44]
B
Yeah.
- [72:45]
A
Best thing I ever did for myself. People are also asking the average cost.
- [72:50]
B
For implants it ranges and I, I think it depends on your location and things like that. The costs that we have to manage, obviously there's a surgeon's cost, there's a cost of implants, there's a cost for the anesthesia and the or I would say in Scottsdale, a typical breast augmentation is probably around $10,000.
- [73:12]
A
Yeah.
- [73:13]
B
With a lift that does bump it up. Anywhere between like 15 and 18.
- [73:18]
A
Mine was $14,440.
- [73:21]
B
Yeah.
- [73:21]
A
And I remember that cuz I have weird photographic memory and I remember looking at the paper, but my implants were like 9, 500. My lift was like 5.
- [73:29]
B
Yeah.
- [73:29]
A
That's what I paid. But that was also two years ago and I feel like prices are going up.
- [73:32]
B
Yeah.
- [73:33]
A
But in comparison to some of my friends that got it done in Beverly hills, they're paying 25k.
- [73:38]
B
Yeah.
- [73:38]
A
You know, they're paying $10,000 more. And to be honest, my boobs look better. Just saying. Had a boob job in July of 2023, no sensation in my right nipple. What should I do and will it come back?
- [73:52]
B
So it's almost, it's been like a year and a half. That's a tough one. There's a chance it'll come back. I typically say, you know, at a year, 18 months, your sensation should come back. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can actually do to enhance it. What happens is your, your nerves come from the outside of your breast and sometimes those get stretched by the implants. Obviously the larger the implant, the more likely you are to have stretch on those nerves. And for some people, those nerves just don't recover. Yeah, I would, would be less optimistic that that's going to come back.
- [74:30]
A
Yeah, my, mine took like a year and a half. Yeah, I was like 18 months to come back, but I still have my stitch around my nipple, my areola. And for those that don't know, the reason it's there is because Michael was explaining to me that if you take it out too early, your nipple can expect. Your areola can expand in size.
- [74:47]
B
Yeah. Basically the force of that implant behind it kind of puts pressure on it enough that it'll stretch a little bit back. The stitch is harmless. I mean it doesn't cause a problem. It's one that can be taken out if we need to. If not, people leave it in. And definitely it's not, not gonna cause any for sure.
- [75:04]
A
Someone also asked for you to explain the difference between implants and a fat transfer in your breasts.
- [75:10]
B
So implants, you know, have a formed shape so you can more definitively go in and say, I am adding this to what you're starting with. And it has this shape. So you can expect X outcome. Fat is a little less unpredictable. So you have to remove fat from an area and transplanted into the breast for that fat to stick or to take. You know, needs like good blood supply and blood flow. So there's a limit to how much fat you can transfer at a time that's going to stick around. And also the fat is injected like almost like filler into the breast. You just kind of fan it in. And so there's not a definitive shape. It's really good if you have like a very focal area where you need volume. So for most women, it's like the upper half of their breasts. You can add some volume there, there. Some of that fat will melt away. And then if you have any changes to your weight afterwards, that fat is going to respond just like fat other places in your body. So although it is a great alternative to implants, it can't ever look the same as implants.
- [76:16]
A
And can't your body absorb that fat too? So it's just gone?
- [76:20]
B
It will absorb a portion of it, yeah.
- [76:23]
A
Someone also asked, because we kind of touched on this, but can you explain the difference between getting an implant over and under the muscle and why you would do one or the other?
- [76:32]
B
I typically do all my cosmetic augmentations under the muscle. It is just a more supportive pocket in my hands. So I think that the muscle provides a level of support that the breast tissue can't. And so long term, that implant stays in its position a little bit better. Also, it decreases your risk of capsular contracture, which is scar tissue forming around the implant. And so that's why I choose that pocket going above the muscle. Your implant is supported by a thin layer of what we call fascia and the breast tissue. And so a lot of those patients, they'll get an internal bra placed at the same time when they go over the muscle. And in my opinion, that's an additional foreign body that has to heal. It's just another layer of, you know, potential unknown of, of how that's going to heal that I just don't like. I also think that over the muscle looks a lot more augmented, a lot more round because you get more of that shape of the implant, whereas under the muscle you get the contour and the buffer of the muscle and the upper pole. So you still get a really nice cleavage line. It's just not so round and aggressive.
- [77:48]
A
A lot of People are asking about different celebrities and work that they think they've had done. And a lot of lipo things like there's been a lot of people in the public eye, and I'm not going to say their names because I'm not trying to get sued because I don't know work that they've had done. But I think for procedures that are getting more common, like chin lipo, arm lipo, what are your thoughts on things like that?
- [78:12]
B
I mean, I think in the right person, all those procedures are well suited. I think that the nuance with liposuction is like you've experienced the leaner you get, the saggier the skin gets. Yes. And that's the same phenomenon with lipos. So you want to make sure you maintain a nice layer of subcutaneous fat that that skin doesn't get wrinkly and ripply. So that's when you can see the telltale signs. I'm sure you've seen some bad lipo where it looks like the skin is all marbled or there it looks looser than it should. So you just have to be mindful. You just, just, you know, you can't over liposuction areas, especially under the chin. You don't want to have loose skin. The arms, again, another area where you don't want, you know, loose skin. So you have to go to a surgeon that's going to tell you, is this a fat issue or is this a skin issue? And you can't treat a skin issue with liposuction.
- [79:04]
A
Yeah, and there's certain, like, skin tightening procedures you can get done. And I remember when I got my nose done, I was like, so while you're in there, you want to do my chin lipo? And he was like, no, you don't have enough. And he talked about, like some sort of skin tightening internal thing. I don't know what it was, but I said, that sounds too scary. I'm not doing that.
- [79:28]
B
So there's a lot of different things out there. There are, you know, these skin tightening devices, I think a lot of them over promise. There's no way to tighten skin by heating it up. Theoretically, you're shrinking the skin, you're not tightening the skin. So the only way to tighten the skin is to remove it. If you have loose skin, just shrinking it from the inside with some heat isn't really gonna solve your problem long term. It's like a band aid for sure. If you have loose skin, you need to remove some of it to get it to be Tight. So I think people think that these, you know, whether it's like an RF or like some kind of thermal injury to the skin that kind of tightens it from underneath, or so they say. Tightens. It's very limited in its ability to give a result. So I say those things. Like, expect 20 to 30% improvement in what you're expecting. If you're grabbing your skin and pulling it like that, you need to cut it out.
- [80:33]
A
Yeah.
- [80:34]
B
You know, like, that you're asking for a lift of some kind. When you're. When you can pull on the skin, that means it needs to be.
- [80:41]
A
I know that's the one place, you know, I hate so much. But you were like, avery, you don't have enough. And I said, thank you. Thank you for making me feel better.
- [80:47]
B
Yeah.
- [80:48]
A
But it's just genetics and certain things in a woman's body, you can't change, and that's okay. Curves are in, people.
- [80:54]
B
Yes. Curves are in. And let people say no to you. It's okay. That means they're giving you sound advice.
- [81:01]
A
Yeah. Also, they're complimenting you. They're saying that you already look amazing. Saying.
- [81:04]
B
Exactly.
- [81:06]
A
Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you.
- [81:08]
B
Oh, my gosh.
- [81:08]
A
Such an open book. And thank you. So many people were so interested in this, and I'm so happy because I think what used to be so taboo is now normal, and I think it's healthy for people to hear from an actual plastic surgeon.
- [81:20]
B
Yeah. No, I love being a source of good information, so ask questions anytime. Happy to answer them.
- [81:26]
A
And happy. Almost. National Women Physicians Day.
- [81:29]
B
Thank you.
- [81:30]
A
Thank you. I think that's what it's called. Yeah. I love you so much. Thanks for being here. Hope you guys enjoyed Cheers. Cheers.