#7: Meredith Reclaims Her Body

You are listening to the Barrett Plastic Surgery Podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Barrett, Board-Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon located in Beverly Hills. I specialize in cosmetic surgery of the face, nose, breast and body. I'm passionate about natural-looking results and this podcast is dedicated to those deciding if plastic surgery is right for them and revealing all the latest beauty secrets. Thanks for tuning in.

Dr. Barrett: So we have…this is the Barrett Plastic Surgery Podcast and...the Natural Plastic Surgeon Podcast. We have Meredith, you are here today. And you, you’ve had surgery a couple months ago, right?

00:37 MEREDITH TELLS US ABOUT HER SURGERIES

Meredith: I had a breast augmentation with a lift. I did the textured implants.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: I forget the cc’s.

Dr. Barrett: 300.

Meredith: 300. I was just looking to...mean or...regaine some symmetry after breastfeeding for a while.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So came to you and had a great experience. I also did liposuction.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: On my stomach, my arms and my chin.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: Loved that experience as well.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. And then you had a little bit of fat grafting as well.

Meredith: I did.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

01:09 LIP AUGMENTATION

Meredith: Fat grafting to my lips.

Dr. Barrett: Yep. Due to my...that was, that was kind of me, like, just recommending a little bit to you right?

Meredith: Absolutely.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. So it, it's, it was something that was just...you weren't even thinking about and I brought up and I just kind of brought up conservative...We actually did your lip injections today...with Juvederm.

Meredith: We did.

Dr. Barrett: So we were on the conservative side with the fat because it was kind of a new concept for you. I'm glad we did because it served as a good base. Your lips look absolutely fantastic. They look extremely natural right now. So we, just...are they, is the numbness kind of wearing off right now?

Meredith: Yes.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: Yeah, I feel great.

Dr. Barrett: I was like....I was like…we're about to do a podcast with Meredith and she wants to get her lips done. They're gonna be numb. I hope she's gonna be able to talk. Do you feel okay talking?

Meredith: Yes, I do.

Dr. Barrett: Okay, all right, so I guess that, that tells you how easy it is to get lip injections. But…

Meredith: Yeah, it is easy.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: A little bit of pain but it's worth it. And I think it's more of just an uncomfortable, unfamiliar feeling than a true pain. At least for me.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that's an interesting way of putting it. Meredith, so tell us your story. Like, you have one...you’re 33.

Meredith: 34.

Dr. Barrett: 34 now. Happy birthday.

Meredith: Thank you.

Dr. Barrett: When was that?

Meredith: June.

Dr. Barrett: Okay. We just…we just missed it.

Meredith: Yeah.

Dr. Barrett: Alright, so you're 34, you have one..

Meredith: One daughter.

Dr. Barrett: One daughter.

Meredith: She's almost three.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: So yeah, she was about two-and-a-half when I came in. That was one of my biggest hesitations about doing a surgery at that time was, how am I going to take care of her?

Dr. Barrett: Right.

Meredith: Because I'm a single mom. So...

Dr. Barrett: Exactly.

Meredith: Yeah, I was really afraid about not being able to lift her after surgery. And...that was my main concern.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: So….

Dr. Barrett: So how did you get past that? What did you do to, kind of, resolve that?

02:50 FAMILY WAS HELPING

Meredith: I enabled the help of my parents, my family, and everyone was willing to step in and help me. And the recovery wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, like, I was not supposed to be lifting things for six weeks. And she was about 30 pounds at the time. So that’s something I couldn’t be lifting, but I got stools for the house and things so she was able to wash her hands by herself. And...

Dr. Barrett: That's kind of cool. And she kinda, she can kinda, like, be a bigger girl. And you know, did she understand that you had surgery?

Meredith: She did. Yeah. And she understood that she couldn't, you know, jump on mommy or mommy wasn't able to lift her. But it did give her some independence too, to learn to do new things by herself. So...

Dr. Barrett: That's cool.

Meredith: Yeah, a positive experience.

Dr. Barrett: I guess a, a side benefit of getting breast surgery.

Meredith: Yeah.

03:34 PROTOCOL AFTER BREAST AUGMENTATION

Dr. Barrett: Just for all the viewers and my listeners out there. The protocol for breast surgery if we use an implant...no exercise for the first two weeks, you could do walking. From two weeks to four weeks you can do exercise, but it's no upper body. It's no heavy lifting. Week four to week six you can go jogging or things like that. And then week six, you can actually get back to using your upper body. The main reason we do that is because when we place an implant, we place it partially underneath muscle. And so if you were to really agitate that muscle, it could actually push an implant out of position. So we spent a lot of time on that pocket placement. That's why we, we tell people that.

The other reason is sometimes you can get bleeding as far as six weeks out from a major muscle strain from a breast augmentation procedure, and I actually, I actually had one not too long ago. She was about three weeks out from her surgery, she pumped gas and she kind of pulled on it a little too hard. She got in her car, and the one breast just swelled up. And it was like hematoma. It's not life threatening, that situation, but it's super annoying because she had to come back. We had to drain all the blood...put the implant back in...and she's doing fine, but it's just like, what a headache!

Meredith: Right.

Dr. Barrett: You know, you just had surgery, now you gotta have another one. So, all right, so tell us more about you. Where are you from?

04:46 MEREDITH IS FROM CALIFORNIA

Meredith: I live in Westlake Village.

Dr. Barrett: Okay, now…are you originally from California?

Meredith: I am.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: Yeah, I'm from Northern California.

Dr. Barrett: Okay, and then you moved down here. Your family's here. And what point did you decide you wanted to have surgery? I always like to kinda know because it's, like...It’s not like you just wake up, I mean, did you just wake up one day and you’re like, I want to come into this operating room and get, you know, surgery, you know? How does that happen?

05:15 DECIDING TO HAVE SURGERY

Meredith: Well, I actually had a major life change. I got divorced.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: And I was still breastfeeding at that time. But I waited until I was done breastfeeding to see, kind of, where my breasts ended up naturally, after that experience. And once everything had settled a bit, I realized I wasn't gonna have the fullness I had prior to having my daughter. There was asymmetry that wasn't there before. So once, you know, everything had kinda settled down, I wasn't producing milk anymore, I said, okay, this is the time, and I want to do this thing for myself.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So that's when I decided.

05:50 BREAST ASYMMETRY

Dr. Barrett: That's fantastic. I want to touch on something you mentioned, asymmetry. Did it happen with breastfeeding?

Meredith: Yes.

Dr. Barrett: Why did that happen?

Meredith: My daughter preferred one side over the other. To feed. So, and that one actually ended up smaller.

Dr. Barrett: The one that she preferred ended up smaller? Interesting.

Meredith: Yes.

Dr. Barrett: Interesting.

Meredith: Yeah, I thought it would be the opposite. But that one ended up much smaller.

Dr. Barrett: It's funny I…my wife…we just had a daughter and she's now 14 months and when it comes to breast...because we’re…we...breastfeeding is good for kids. And I'm, like, okay make sure you alternate. It’s like, she favored one over the other and I was, like, no, no, no, like, you know, if we need to do surgery. It’s going to be harder, you know? Let's go back a little bit further. So you decided to, kind of, you wanted to do this. And you made sacrifices as a mom, you sacrifice your body, your sleep everything else. You decided to do it. What was your next step? How did you...what like...what did you research? Who did you...where’d you go for information?

06:51 WHERE MEREDITH DID HER RESEARCH

Meredith: I looked at a lot of surgeons in my area and there's great surgeons out in Westlake Village also.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: But I am a listener of The Skinny Confidential and Lauryn, and she had mentioned you. So I looked into you and I just...I trust her opinion. And I also saw that you're board-certified, and I just liked your demeanor. You seem very trustworthy, you know, you know what you're doing. And I ended up, like, having a consultation here. Loved all the girls that work here. They've been all very great along my journey. And so that was really what made me make the decision to have surgery in Beverly Hills. And you know, I do make the drive to come here, but it's been worth it for me.

Dr. Barrett: You know, Beverly Hills is such a funny thing. I'm not from…I'm from Virginia, and it's, I…what you…your words, just, they mean a lot to me. And I'm really glad that you had such a wonderful experience. Never in my life...I mean, I remember when I was growing up in Warrington, Virginia. I was watching Dr. 902...on a TV show. I was like, what is this place, Los Angeles? You know this far-flung thing called plastic surgery and all this other stuff…I never in my mind…in my wildest dreams, I thought I'd be actually out here...doing it. So even though I am in Beverly Hills, I really don't look at myself as kind of, like, this….I’m not, like, “Hollywood.” And you know, I'm really into my patients and natural-looking results and giving…get, you know, doing, doing good work and I, and I, and I never take that, I try never to take that for granted. And so that's, that's great that, that you had that experience. I'm really happy to hear that. So, you went...you came in for a consultation?

08:23 MEREDITH TALKS ABOUT HER CONSULTATION

Meredith: I did.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: Came in for a consultation. I believe that was in October and it took me a few months to want to really commit.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So, but once I did, I think things moved relatively quickly. I know that you have a surgery calendar that you book out a few months in advance or..

08:40 SURGERY CALENDAR BOOKS EARLY AND HOW TO CHOOSE A SURGEON

Dr. Barrett: Which is key, by the way, as a lot of people think, oh, if they just want surgery, they can just go and sign up. But like, my surgeries are booked out about two months now...in, in advance and so it's like… and then we're already booking into, like, right now, it's July...we're actually filling up the calendar for like November/December which is when a lot of people want their surgeries because, because of the holidays. So if you find a surgeon, that's, oh yeah, we could just do it tomorrow, hey, maybe they're not busy for a reason. And it's like, you know, I...I try not to be...I really don't want to be that busy. But I also, you know, but also if you find a good surgeon, sometimes it takes a little while to get on their schedule. So that's something to keep in mind.

Another thing you mentioned is board-certification. That's actually really important...that...if you're gonna be treated by a plastic surgeon you want to make sure that they're board certified. That means a lot of things. It means they went to Med School, it means they went to, like, a qualified residency. That means that they’ve passed certifying exams. It means they've also collected cases over a period of a year and submitted to the American Board of Plastic Surgery that reviewed and said, hey, you're a good, able, competent plastic surgeon. That to me is the bare minimum that you need to do.

And then beyond that, you need to find somebody that does the procedure that you're interested in, has good before and after results. Things that you've probably looked at either my Instagram or my YouTube or my, my website. And then ultimately, you want to make sure it's a good fit. When you go in for that consultation...and that's why I was asking about the consultation, you know? And some of the things you said,  you want to make sure that they, kind of, are...they’re on the same page with you in terms of what your goals are. Because you don't want to come out and be, like, you know what, these are just way too big for me. I'm not...this is not the look I was looking for. Even though it was done safely, there's no complications. It could be the wrong size. So that's great that you mentioned that. The other thing you mentioned was Skinny Confidential, and she's amazing. We did her surgery here. She has an incredible podcast and I'm glad that that actually got out to you and kind of spoke to you in terms of what we do here.

Meredith: Mmm hmm. And I saw her results and I thought her results were phenomenal for what she was looking for and you were able to deliver so...

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. Great.

Meredith: Yeah.

Dr. Barrett: All right, so, consult’s done, deciding to do the surgery. Did it take a lot to come in...to show up the day of surgery or...what were…

Meredith: It did. I was very apprehensive about the anesthesia.

11:07  FEAR OF THE ANESTHESIA

Dr. Barrett: It’s interesting, everybody cares so much about the anesthesia. You know, tell me about that. What were you thoughts on that?

Meredith: I just had this fear that I was going to go under, and I wasn't gonna wake up.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: And like I said, I'm a single mom. So I just kept thinking about my daughter.

Dr. Barrett: Right.

Meredith: So that was really scary. But the anesthesiologist that you had that day was also just great and very affirming that everything was going to be great. And you know, how many cases every...anesthesiologists do every year...and how the lack of complications...or you know, the percentages and things that and that was just, like, felt really good.

11:43 COMPLICATION RATE OF ANESTHESIA

Dr. Barrett: Yeah, the complication rate for major complications for, for normal, healthy people like you. It's like one in, like, a million to have a major…I mean, you're more likely to be struck by lightning than to have something like that happen. So I tell people this all the time...you’re, like, more likely to have surgical complications than you are from anesthesia. But that thought, where does that come from? Does it come from TV or like...

Meredith: I think so.

Dr. Barrett: It's gotta come from TV. Like, I went to sleep and I never woke up. Or celebrities that have, you know that...So there have been some celebrities, celebrity’s relatives that died during surgery. There's one person in particular, and that person had a heart attack recently, prior to the operation. So that's why I mentioned as long as you're healthy...and we always check, we always check your health, we always check your labs and basic things to make sure that you are within that ASA Category One. Which puts you in that category where very, very rare to have something bad happen. But, it...was this, the operating room that you were in?

Meredith: Over there I believe.

Dr. Barrett: Next door? Yeah, so very similar to this one. We have monitors and equipment that hospitals have, you know, so we're monitoring you on multiple levels. We have board-certified anesthesiologists that, that you, that you mentioned. And so we don't, we don't cut corners in terms of safety. That's like the last thing I want to do. I want to be able to focus on your results. And then eventually your post-op care.

Meredith: Right.

Dr. Barrett: So, day of surgery happens. You come in, you get on the table, then what?

13:09 SURGERY DAY

Meredith: Fell peacefully asleep…and then I woke up and I went to Serenity.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: For two nights.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: And that was really great too…it just…also gave me the peace of mind knowing that I was in the care of medical professionals there, just because I was probably a more apprehensive patient.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So, I spent two nights there and, you know, learned how to take care of myself. Not that there was a lot to do but it was very reassuring being with medical professionals there.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: Nurses and things.

Dr. Barrett: It is nice.

Meredith: And then was able to go home. And you know, I had help with my family. But it was much…the recovery was much quicker than I anticipated.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: Yeah, I had planned...my mom, you know, was very helpful and had offered to stay for the full six weeks of recovery. I think she went home after, like, two-and-a-half.

Dr. Barrett: Two-and-a-half weeks.

Meredith: Yeah. So, and, you know, she probably didn't need to be there that long, but it was really helpful.

14:10 SUPPORT AND RECOVERY

Dr. Barrett: That's great. Yeah, that's, it's so important to have that help and support when you do decide to kind of go through this. Because it is, it is, like, your upper body. I mean, that's…we use it, we don't realize how much we lift things on a daily basis, especially as a, as a parent.

Meredith: Right.

Dr. Barrett: You know. It's just, it's just incredible what we do. And so it's really key to have that support network, at the time of surgery.

Meredith: And during the recovery I remember, you know, it’s a recovery. You're limited in doing certain things and there's some discomfort. But you know, being on the other side of it, now, one thing that Rachel said in my consultation is people always say they wish they had done it sooner. And I, now being on the other side, I can say I'm one of those people...that I only wish I had done it sooner but...

Dr. Barrett: They tell that to me too. They're like, I have two things. It was easier than they thought and...which you just said...and then they wish they had done it sooner. But it's, like, mentally getting people to that point, I think is the hardest part, you know? As long as you do your research, as long as you find good qualified people that, like, that, that really care about patients. Because I've seen some horror stories, even here in Beverly Hills. Where you hear a lot about it is people go overseas...like, I mean, like, look, there's two things you shouldn't be bargain hunting for, you know, parachutes and plastic surgery. So that's, that's my thought on that. And this is your body you only get one...you only live once. Right? So let's do it. Let's get, let's, but let's do it right. You know what I mean? So...and I think you did it right. You look fantastic. Your results are amazing. How are, how are things fit...So tell us about...tell us about your breasts, and how has it changed your look, and how do you feel in clothes and so forth.

15:45 MEREDITH TALKS ABOUT HER NEW BREASTS

Meredith: The most important thing to me was how I felt in clothes.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: And just having, like I said, more symmetry, more lift. I had lost a lot of volume.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So it's been great. I feel...I fill out my tops better. I just feel more confident and that's something that I was looking for, you know, just for myself. So...

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: It's been great.

Dr. Barrett: What would you say to a patient or prospective patient out there that's thinking about getting, you know, it’s a mom, they're done breastfeeding...not planning on having kids anytime soon again. What would you say to them in terms of whether or not to do it or not? Or any advice?

Meredith: I would say at least go get a consultation.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: Then you can collect the information. Check that box and then make a decision, you know, an informed decision.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So…

Dr. Barrett: Was there anything surprising that…what was the most surprising thing that happened?

16:43 PAIN AFTER SURGERY

Meredith: Most surprising...I think how little discomfort there was afterwards. I expected there to be a lot of pain. I did the injection that helps you for three days....

Dr. Barrett: Yes.

Meredith: Post surgery.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So I think that really helped.

Dr. Barrett: We actually just had another podcast guest on and she had a lot of pain when she woke up. She opted not to get that. The reason why I…we make it an option because it's so expensive. So if people want it, they just have to pay extra for it. But she just mentioned that she, if she would go back she would get it. So you got it. And, like, you had exactly the result that we wanted. And that is you wake up, you’re pain free. You're just...your pain’s not an issue. Because pain can be, kind of, debilitating as it was for that previous patient. And it sucks and no one wants that. But you get through it eventually.

17:29  LIPOSUCTION EXPERIENCE

Meredith: Right. For me I think the liposuction was actually the more uncomfortable portion.

Dr. Barrett: Because we can't do the pain medication for there. Yeah. It’s too, it’s too spread out. We did multiple areas. So it would be, it would be too toxic to, to spread that pain medication all around through your whole body. We could put it in focal areas like the muscle for the for the breast implant, but to put it in all these different parts, it just, it wouldn't be safe.

Meredith: Right.

Dr. Barrett: And then, so the liposuction. Tell us about that. Because people hear about liposuction all the time and, and they've probably seen some bad work out there. Maybe they've seen some good stuff. How have your results been?

Meredith: I think it's been great. I was originally considering a tummy tuck, I decided I didn’t...Again, as an apprehensive patient, I just didn't think that was the right time for me.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: Um, but did decide to go through with the liposuction and I think it's…just changed my shape, which, which is I think is a positive thing for me, just eliminated some of those fat deposits that I had that maybe were a little bit more stubborn just from genetics and from carrying a child.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: So it's a positive experience.

Dr. Barrett: Where...What were your stubborn areas? Everybody has them.

Meredith: My flanks.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: Mostly. And we did my axilla, as well. So the bra strap area.

Dr. Barrett: Which looks great, by the way.

Meredith: Yeah, and we also did my underarms. So tricep area.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. So...

Meredith: Oh and chin. That was actually what I was most looking forward to. Actually, I just think it's really changed my profile.

Dr. Barrett: Totally.

Meredith: So I've been very happy with that.

Dr. Barrett: I mean, it's almost, looking at you now, it's almost like you had a neck lift, to be honest. But you didn't. You just, you just had a little extra stubborn area of fat there, and we were able to remove it. All right, so what's next for you? What's on the horizon? Any big plans...any travel...any exciting things?

Meredith: Small little trips around California. I have a sister...or a brother that's getting married, so soon to be a sister-in-law. So I have bachelorette parties and things coming up so...

Dr. Barrett: That's exciting.

Meredith: That'll be fun.

Dr. Barrett: Where's that bachelorette party?

Meredith: Nashville.

Dr. Barrett: Oh, nice.

Meredith: Yeah. Have not been to Nashville since I was a kid. So it will be a different experience.

Dr. Barrett: They call it Nashvegas.

Meredith: Okay. I love Vegas.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. So it's, like, imagine, imagine Las Vegas with like a southern spin.

Meredith: Right.

19:50 HONKY TONKS

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. Or a honky tonk spin right. So...

Meredith: Well cool. I love live music too. So I hear there's a lot of that.

Dr. Barrett: It's the best. Yeah, there's this Honky Tonk Row. You just go down and you just pop into any one of those music bars. And you can just…the acoustics in there are just set up so perfectly. I lived there for a couple months when I was doing an internship. And so I fell in love with it..it’s just a, it’s a small place but I ended up out here. But it's a, it's a fantastic place to have a bachelorette party. And then, where's the wedding?

Meredith: It's going to be in Tahoe. Lake Tahoe, California.

Dr. Barrett: Oh. Beautiful.

Meredith: Right.

Dr. Barrett: So just a bachelorette party and then you have Tahoe. What else? Any travel plans? When can we get you in a bikini? Or how are clothes fitting, like...

Meredith: Clothes fit good...

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: I'm really looking forward to coming back.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: For my tummy tuck eventually, like, soon hopefully.

Dr. Barrett: Okay.

Meredith: Um, yeah, clothes fit great.

20:42 WOULD SHE HAVE DONE THE TUMMY TUCK AND BREASTS TOGETHER?

Dr. Barrett: And going back, would you...would you think about maybe...if you could go back would you have done the tummy tuck at the same time as the breasts now? Or...

Meredith: Being on the other side? Yes.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. Okay.

Meredith: I, but I was just so apprehensive about the level of the downtime.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: With my daughter and not being able to lift her or, like, I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to get around or be hunched over. I also didn't want to scare her. And that was one of the things with the lip injections that I was most worried about. I just didn't want to come out scary looking.

Dr. Barrett: Right.

Meredith: Which I didn’t. I thought they looked phenomenal when I came out and then, you know, they went down after that.

21:15 LIP AUGMENTATION

Dr. Barrett: So that was a thing, yeah, because I knew that you were really apprehensive about it. And I was, like, I just wanted to kind of give you a nice base. And everybody's lips thin out as we get older. And it's just, it's just a natural thing that happens. And lips are kind of one of my specialties. And we could do it with filler like we did today. Or we could do it with fat, which we did during your operation. My hands are tied, because I was like, I know I could do more. I know that eventually she would like it, but I don't want to, like, I don't want you to be upset when you're trying to recover. You know what I mean, so...

Meredith: And like I said earlier, I appreciated that because you listened to me. I, I think it would have felt invasive if I had, like, woken up with something that I didn't ask for. You want to trust your physician. So I appreciated that.

Dr. Barrett: Yep. Yeah, and I know I could have gotten you through a tummy tuck too at the same time. But again, it's, like, I have people that come in like, Doc, I only want a neck lift. I'm like, okay, but your face is down here. Are you sure? And they’re like, yep. And I'm like, okay, that's fine. We'll just do your neck lift. And then they come back and they're like, you know what, I think I need my facelift now. And I’m just like, when people figure that out, it's like, it's hard. It's just like, there's information that I know, that if you were to know it, you'd be, like, okay, fine, but it's just there's no way that you could actually know what's inside, like, a plastic surgeon’s head.

Like, the, the, you know, what outcomes can happen and, and you have to develop a certain amount of trust too. You know, it's just like, there's so many, there's so many... there is, there is a fair amount of hacks out there that just...you don't know what to do. And so I think it's great that you had a good result and I think it's totally fine. Your recovery was a little bit shorter, and you got a, you got a taste for it. You got comfortable. And I, and I certainly recommend that. For people that are, that are anxious.

Meredith: For my personality, I think it worked. I know that I can come back and I'll feel more confident next time.

Dr. Barrett: I'm not going anywhere.

Meredith: And like you said, right. I have followed Tummy Tuck Journeys on Instagram or things that have gone south. And it's just, that's very frustrating for the patient, obviously, because they have to go back and do it again. And they go through all that downtime of recovery and pain, and then have to do it again. But I would come back here in a heartbeat.

23:12 COMBINING SURGERIES

Dr. Barrett: Yeah, well, thank you. I, I, I would say that, I would say the majority, about 70% of women who are thinking about both do it at the same time, and then it's about 30% that split it up. And there's something to be said for both. Recovery-wise, you condense your, your breast and your tummy procedure at the same kind of healing time, they’re both healing at the same time. Alternatively, your recovery for each of those individually is not as bad as that big recovery that you have for both. So there's pros and cons to doing exactly what you did and, and sometimes I like to just focus on one area. Like we got to focus on your breasts and the liposuction, which is only going to add to when we finally get to do your tummy tuck. We get to kind of fine tune and even more liposuction if we want to.

So it's great. Like where I really get excited for patients that I get to do multiple operations on because here we are, we got 90% of our goals on this one operation, now we have a chance to go back and make it 100%. You know what I mean? Because surgery is not an exact science. It's just with the fat grafting, we know we're going to lose about 30 to 50% of that fat, we don't know how much that's going to be. The fat has a mind of its own and the body heals in different ways that we don't understand. So as long as people have good expectations, like you have, it's, like, it's no problem. And it's, every now and then we get great, fantastic results like you have. Which I have some of your photos here, by the way, they actually, we put those together. So, just kind of an incredible difference. So some of these, we just kind of put those together briefly, but some, some major size mismatch and then, you know, you can see, kind of, some of the deflation there.

Meredith: Right.

Dr. Barrett: Before, and this is like one of my favorites for you. Just to see, kind of, that new projection there. But...

Meredith: Yeah, so interesting to see it side-by-side like this.

25:00 MEREDITH SHARES HER ADVICE

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. So, well, good. So what's one thing that you would tell that person thinking about doing this for themselves? That mom that's, like, you know what I'm, I'm, I’m not happy with the way my body looks. And I, I've never really been a believer in plastic surgery, but I'm not happy with my, how my body looks. What do I do? What would you say to that person?

Meredith: I think as moms, I mean, you hear this all the time, but it's harder to take it to heart and do it for yourself. But we do so much for our kids. And for everyone else, the household, that we put ourselves last and so...Do this one thing for this short amount of time for yourself...that’s going to give you these long term results and your confidence, your happiness. And you know, just enlist help from your family, friends, whatever it is, just to do this one thing for you. Because, you know, moms do so much for everyone else.

Dr. Barrett: They do. They do and it's, like, it's something that I think having children myself, I've kind of had an awareness, like, wow, my parents actually probably did a lot for me that I had no idea. My mother, you know, my mother, especially, made sacrifices. And, you know, there's something to be said for self-care too, because we do sacrifice, and mothers do sacrifice so much for their children, it's okay to take a moment to say, like, look, I need to do this. I need to do this for me, you know, and that's, that's something to be celebrated.

Meredith: And it's freeing in some ways, I think that I had so much of my mental space on a daily basis was thinking about my breast asymmetry or I'd really love to change this.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: And now that it's changed, I don't have to think about that all the time. I can dedicate that time to thinking about something else, something more positive or for my daughter...you know...there's...

26:37 FEELING CONFIDENT

Dr. Barrett: Tell me about that confidence. That's, that's, because that's refreshing. I love it and you come in with a smile and I'm, like, she, you know, you have such a fantastic result. I'm like, what's changed in terms of your confidence or how...what's changed with you...after the surgery? I know you're not thinking about things. I mean, you should...I think you're beautiful. You were beautiful before and, like, but obviously you were thinking about things that you didn't like...

Meredith: Right. It's just easy, I think, to get down on yourself that, you know? I feel, like, I don't feel like I looked like I did before pregnancy.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: And so I think that's one thing that we may do as moms. Like, I looked like this. Now I don't look like that. I would love, you know, in your…the vision of yourself in your head does not match up to the reality of today. And so, I don't know, we may idealize what our body was or want to get back to that space. And so for me, that was breast augmentation. And just to maintain…to regain, I wasn't trying to look for big, drastic results or to not look like myself.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah.

Meredith: I just wanted to, kind of, regain what I had, which was symmetry, some fullness. And then I felt like me again.

Dr. Barrett: Yeah. Awesome. Well, I think you have a fantastic result. I think you're, you're beautiful. I think you're a beautiful person and, and, I want to thank you for coming on and sharing your experience.

Thank you for listening to this podcast. If you want more information about plastic surgery and our secrets, please contact us.

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