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Can Plastic Surgery Actually Make You Feel More Confident? · The Glow Show

• 0:00
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Most women don't wake up one day and decide to make a massive change in their life.
• 0:05
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Usually it's a small thought that over time will end up becoming a larger decision.
• 0:11
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Usually there's a moment or a feeling that leads to that decision.
• 0:16
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But then what happens after?
• 0:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Does changing on the outside actually help you change on the inside?
• 0:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: In my practice, I talk to women all the time about changes that they're looking to make
• 0:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: with their body.
• 0:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And they're often unsure how to think about these changes.
• 0:32
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: They may know what they want to change, but they're usually asking themselves a bigger question, which is, am I actually going to feel better with this change?
• 0:42
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So today I'm talking to Brianna, who was actually one of my first breast augmentation patients.
• 0:48
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And now, years later, she works in our practice as an office manager and patient coordinator.
• 0:54
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: She's experienced this from both sides, first as a patient and now in the office as she helps counsel other women.
• 1:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Welcome, Brianna.
• 1:07
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Hi, guys. Thanks for having me, Dr. Parcells.
• 1:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Thanks for being here today.
• 1:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay, so I want to just dive in.
• 1:14
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You were one of the first patients in our practice to have a breast augmentation.
• 1:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yes, I was.
• 1:19
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I want you to take me back to you having those beginning internal conversations with yourself about wanting to have a breast augmentation.
• 1:30
  Breanna Redstone: So kind of like all through, like once I hit pre-beardy, like in high school and then really more in college, like I realized that like I was really flat chested and I didn't like how like clothes were fitting me, how tops were fitting me.
• 1:42
  Breanna Redstone: I always like worked out, like I was active, I did sports.
• 1:45
  Breanna Redstone: So like, and then I would put these tops and I was like, I don't like fill them out.
• 1:48
  Breanna Redstone: I don't like how I look in them.
• 1:50
  Breanna Redstone: I have like a really close family.
• 1:52
  Breanna Redstone: And so I never really like, I was like, oh, what would my parents think if I want a breast augmentation at 19 years old, like 20?
• 1:58
  Breanna Redstone: Like it was not even like a thought in my mind to like ever voice these like concerns that I was like feeling.
• 2:04
  Breanna Redstone: But then I would look around and like all my friends, like they loved what they were putting on.
• 2:08
  Breanna Redstone: And like we would get ready to go out.
• 2:09
  Breanna Redstone: And they're like, oh, that looks so great on them.
• 2:10
  Breanna Redstone: And I just never had that like moment where like I would like put in clothes on and be like, I love how that looks on me.
• 2:15
  Breanna Redstone: And I was like taking care of myself in other aspects.
• 2:18
  Breanna Redstone: I'm like, I should love how clothes are like fitting on me and like all of those things.
• 2:23
  Breanna Redstone: So then years have been gone by.
• 2:25
  Breanna Redstone: I still was just kind of like internalizing this, like never really like to talk to anybody
• 2:29
  Breanna Redstone: about it.
• 2:29
  Breanna Redstone: And then my last year of college, one of my friends got a breast augmentation and I hated
• 2:35
  Breanna Redstone: how hers looked.
• 2:36
  Breanna Redstone: They were way too big for her body, like so unproportional, like hard as rocks.
• 2:42
  Breanna Redstone: Like I was like, okay.
• 2:43
  Breanna Redstone: So then I was like, you know what?
• 2:45
  Breanna Redstone: Not for me.
• 2:45
  Breanna Redstone: I'm just going to accept who I am, figure out like what I like, whatever.
• 2:50
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so I know you have a really close relationship with your mother and your grandmother, Nan.
• 2:57
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: At any point, had you said to them when you were like 18 or 19, like I were having trouble shopping for a prom dress or I don't want to go out to an event or you were just kind of like this stinks but it is what it is.
• 3:11
  Breanna Redstone: I was just kind of like, this stinks.
• 3:13
  Breanna Redstone: And I didn't want them to judge me for wanting bigger boobs because, like, my mom has great boobs.
• 3:19
  Breanna Redstone: We actually did a breast reduction on my mom.
• 3:21
  Breanna Redstone: Like, she has big boobs.
• 3:23
  Breanna Redstone: So I was just like, okay, like, this is just my body.
• 3:25
  Breanna Redstone: And, like, how are they going to accept me, like, wanting a breast augmentation?
• 3:28
  Breanna Redstone: So I never really, like, voiced it out loud because I was afraid of being, like, judged by them.
• 3:33
  Breanna Redstone: And I am really close to them.
• 3:34
  Breanna Redstone: And their opinion matters a lot to me.
• 3:36
  Breanna Redstone: So I didn't want to, like, say anything and then, like, them perceive it the wrong way or, like, judge me for it.
• 3:41
  Breanna Redstone: So I didn't say anything for a long time.
• 3:43
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's so interesting to hear you say, I just didn't even want to be judged by them, even despite your close relationship.
• 3:50
  Breanna Redstone: Exactly.
• 3:50
  Breanna Redstone: And I think because we are so close, like, that was just like their opinion means the most to me.
• 3:56
  Breanna Redstone: And I was like, well, what if they don't support it?
• 3:58
  Breanna Redstone: And they're going to think I'm crazy and all these things.
• 4:00
  Breanna Redstone: Like, so I didn't.
• 4:01
  Breanna Redstone: And my family by no means is judgmental at all.
• 4:04
  Breanna Redstone: So, like, I should never have been worried about that.
• 4:07
  Breanna Redstone: But I just felt like it was just – and again, because I think it wasn't talked about how it is now.
• 4:11
  Breanna Redstone: Like it was a hush-hush thing.
• 4:12
  Breanna Redstone: Like people weren't openly talking about plastic surgery that I didn't know how to like confidently have that conversation back then.
• 4:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So it's interesting because I went through a very similar experience that you went through.
• 4:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: The women in my family all have small breasts.
• 4:31
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And around that age, I thought to myself, God, that would give me so much confidence.
• 4:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I come from a very conservative family.
• 4:38
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: My father's a surgeon.
• 4:40
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I knew immediately that was not going to fly.
• 4:43
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so for that reason, we never had that conversation.
• 4:47
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So I totally empathize with you being 18 at that point and saying, I'm not going to bring
• 4:55
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: this up.
• 4:56
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So it was just kind of this thing in the back of your mind about, I'm just going to live
• 5:01
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: with it.
• 5:01
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And it's going to be a non-issue.
• 5:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then life goes on.
• 5:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then there must have been something internally that made you.
• 5:10
  Breanna Redstone: I think it was really just like when I was like trapped in the house for COVID for so long and just wearing sweats and wearing whatever, like not really getting out there.
• 5:18
  Breanna Redstone: Like and then when it was like the world is like reopening again and everybody was going out and doing things.
• 5:23
  Breanna Redstone: I was like I did it.
• 5:24
  Breanna Redstone: I was like I want to feel good.
• 5:25
  Breanna Redstone: I want to feel my best self.
• 5:27
  Breanna Redstone: I still don't like how tops are fitting on me.
• 5:29
  Breanna Redstone: I don't I did a lot of online shopping during COVID, like got a lot of things.
• 5:33
  Breanna Redstone: And I didn't like anything.
• 5:34
  Breanna Redstone: And I'm like, now I'm older.
• 5:36
  Breanna Redstone: I was more, I wasn't 18 anymore.
• 5:38
  Breanna Redstone: I think I was like 25, 26.
• 5:40
  Breanna Redstone: And I was like, I feel like I can just kind of say it and just see where it lands now.
• 5:45
  Breanna Redstone: You know, like.
• 5:46
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: The feeling didn't change.
• 5:47
  Breanna Redstone: The feeling never went away of like how I felt in clothes, how I felt like that never went away.
• 5:52
  Breanna Redstone: But I think just like COVID changed a lot of things.
• 5:55
  Breanna Redstone: Like everyone got quarantined together and then you were with each other all the time.
• 5:58
  Breanna Redstone: Like there was no like, not that there was no like judgment anymore,
• 6:02
  Breanna Redstone: But I just felt that like if I'm going to say it, like now is the time to say it.
• 6:06
  Breanna Redstone: Like we're getting back out there in the world.
• 6:08
  Breanna Redstone: Things are changing.
• 6:09
  Breanna Redstone: Things are different.
• 6:10
  Breanna Redstone: Like what's the worst they say?
• 6:12
  Breanna Redstone: Like that's a dumb idea.
• 6:13
  Breanna Redstone: You shouldn't do it.
• 6:14
  Breanna Redstone: But I'm 25 years old now.
• 6:15
  Breanna Redstone: They're not like controlling my life.
• 6:17
  Breanna Redstone: Like not respond, you know.
• 6:19
  Breanna Redstone: Yes.
• 6:19
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 6:20
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You're paying your own bills.
• 6:21
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 6:21
  Breanna Redstone: I was like I can just say it and that's it.
• 6:23
  Breanna Redstone: Like so I said it to my grandma who –
• 6:26
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You said it like off the cuff.
• 6:28
  Breanna Redstone: Like off the cuff.
• 6:28
  Breanna Redstone: I literally was just like trying on something one day.
• 6:31
  Breanna Redstone: Like we were in my room and I was like trying on something and I was literally like, I wish
• 6:34
  Breanna Redstone: I had boobs.
• 6:35
  Breanna Redstone: That's all I said.
• 6:37
  Breanna Redstone: Literally that – I'll never forget.
• 6:38
  Breanna Redstone: I was like, I wish I had boobs.
• 6:39
  Breanna Redstone: And then she goes, do you want to get a consultation?
• 6:41
  Breanna Redstone: Let's not tell anybody.
• 6:44
  Breanna Redstone: She's online making a bunch of consultations.
• 6:47
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: She finds you.
• 6:48
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So you come in.
• 6:50
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We have a consultation together.
• 6:52
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then are you the one that's like, I'm doing this?
• 6:56
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Like I can't remember.
• 6:57
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: How long did you think about it after your consultation?
• 7:01
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: that day I booked which is crazy because we usually don't let patients book the same day
• 7:07
  Breanna Redstone: no so it kind of was just like we were going there and I just felt that like everything I said to you
• 7:13
  Breanna Redstone: so like my goals when I wanted a breast augmentation what I wanted to take away from it was that I
• 7:19
  Breanna Redstone: didn't want like besides like my immediate family because they would obviously know but like anybody
• 7:23
  Breanna Redstone: that just looked at me off the street I didn't want them to be like oh my god look at those
• 7:26
  Breanna Redstone: girl's fake boobs that's not what my intentions were that's not what my goals were I just wanted
• 7:31
  Breanna Redstone: like a breast that I felt like fit my body and my frame and that when I put clothes on like looked
• 7:37
  Breanna Redstone: nice on me and like didn't hang low and wasn't like falling off of me because I had nothing to
• 7:41
  Breanna Redstone: keep them up that's what my main goals were and then after speaking to you and like expressing
• 7:48
  Breanna Redstone: those goals you everything that you said like matched my vision of what I wanted and what I
• 7:54
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: explained to Nan that I wanted. Do you think if Nan responded differently, do you think if she said
• 8:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: no, girl, like, or if she had had implants and been like, this is, there's drama, just they're
• 8:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: not perfect, I don't like mine, or if she had voiced a strong opinion, that would have swayed
• 8:16
  Breanna Redstone: you? 1000%. Okay. 1000%. Because that was like my biggest fear going into it, like that I was
• 8:22
  Breanna Redstone: going to be judged by them and that like they would think it's like a dumb idea. So the fact
• 8:27
  Breanna Redstone: that she was so supportive was like reassurance for me that like, okay, this is something that I
• 8:32
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: can do, that I want to do, that is okay to do. I love that. I think in seeing women in our practice,
• 8:41
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I'm always like so happy when I see mothers, daughters, sisters, like the female support
• 8:48
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: that comes into the practice.
• 8:49
  Breanna Redstone: It's a big thing.
• 8:50
  Breanna Redstone: And like even like,
• 8:51
  Breanna Redstone: I'm sure we'll talk about this too,
• 8:52
  Breanna Redstone: but like post-recovery,
• 8:53
  Breanna Redstone: like having a support team is big
• 8:55
  Breanna Redstone: because regardless if it's something that you wanted,
• 8:58
  Breanna Redstone: you're changing your body.
• 8:59
  Breanna Redstone: And so like you might think that you're prepared for it,
• 9:02
  Breanna Redstone: but you're not always fully mentally prepared
• 9:04
  Breanna Redstone: for that in the beginning.
• 9:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 9:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then I love that you,
• 9:08
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: well, I don't love,
• 9:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: but I find it interesting
• 9:11
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: that you didn't tell your mother.
• 9:13
  Breanna Redstone: We didn't tell her, right?
• 9:14
  Breanna Redstone: We weren't going to tell her until it became real.
• 9:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 9:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So the research is to investigators on the road.
• 9:21
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 9:21
  Breanna Redstone: We were just going to – because we're like, why are we going to, like, say anything to her, hear her opinion if nothing's going to come from it?
• 9:27
  Breanna Redstone: That's kind of how we felt on it.
• 9:28
  Breanna Redstone: We're like, we're just going to go to the consult, see what happens.
• 9:32
  Breanna Redstone: If we decide to book anything, then we have to tell her.
• 9:36
  Breanna Redstone: Obviously, we have to tell her.
• 9:38
  Breanna Redstone: So it's quite funny because we ended up booking, like, that day.
• 9:41
  Breanna Redstone: So we'll never forget.
• 9:42
  Breanna Redstone: She's like, all right, now we've got to tell your mom.
• 9:43
  Breanna Redstone: But wait.
• 9:44
  Breanna Redstone: Did you, like – you put a deposit down.
• 9:46
  Breanna Redstone: Put a deposit down.
• 9:47
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Then did the two of you just like get in the car and start laughing?
• 9:50
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Like what happened?
• 9:51
  Breanna Redstone: Hysterically laughing.
• 9:52
  Breanna Redstone: We both look at each other and she's like, you're really doing this.
• 9:54
  Breanna Redstone: I'm like, yeah, I'm really doing this.
• 9:56
  Breanna Redstone: And it was kind of more like there was like some dates presented to us and there was like
• 10:00
  Breanna Redstone: one like further down the line and one like sooner.
• 10:02
  Breanna Redstone: And she's like, take the sooner one.
• 10:03
  Breanna Redstone: Just take it.
• 10:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 10:05
  Breanna Redstone: That was like then Nan was like the driving force of it.
• 10:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 10:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And you were on board because you had been thinking about this at this point for close
• 10:13
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: to eight years.
• 10:13
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yes.
• 10:14
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 10:15
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Did Nan ever want a breast augmentation?
• 10:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: never she just wanted to be supportive for you yeah okay yeah so you're you're laughing on the
• 10:24
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: car ride home you can't believe we can't believe it's happening and then we're calling my mom and
• 10:27
  Breanna Redstone: and I don't when I called my mom on the car ride home and we're telling her like I think that she
• 10:32
  Breanna Redstone: didn't think it was serious because I was like no like I'm getting a breast dog and like we were
• 10:36
  Breanna Redstone: laughing because we were just like what did we just do like and she was also so supportive about
• 10:42
  Breanna Redstone: it and then I think my like next appointment like my pre-op appointment I had both of them come with
• 10:46
  Breanna Redstone: me because I wanted my mom then, once she was on board and supportive, like to meet you,
• 10:50
  Breanna Redstone: to meet Rachel, to meet the team.
• 10:53
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: What if she wasn't?
• 10:55
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: What if you called her and she was like, Brianna, get home.
• 10:57
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We're having an intervention.
• 10:59
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Like, I know that's not your mom.
• 11:00
  Breanna Redstone: I know.
• 11:01
  Breanna Redstone: I, to be honest, I don't know what I would have done then because at this point it was
• 11:05
  Breanna Redstone: something that I still wanted so much.
• 11:07
  Breanna Redstone: And like one of the biggest women in my life was so supportive of it.
• 11:10
  Breanna Redstone: So I think I would have been in like a hard place.
• 11:13
  Breanna Redstone: But I think I ultimately would have still went through with it because I know that it is something that I really wanted.
• 11:18
  Breanna Redstone: And I did have support from somebody to validate my feelings that I wasn't crazy for it.
• 11:25
  Breanna Redstone: So even if she wasn't fully on board with it, I think I definitely still would have moved forward with it.
• 11:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 11:31
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I mean, it was just such a big decision for you.
• 11:33
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And you moved on it pretty quickly, which is like it's interesting because it's not routinely like that's not routinely how we run our practice.
• 11:42
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We usually ask patients to please sleep on it, talk with friends and family.
• 11:46
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We'll usually call you back in a week.
• 11:47
  Breanna Redstone: We'll touch base then.
• 11:48
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's a slower process.
• 11:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But at this point, I guess it was not.
• 11:52
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It was not.
• 11:52
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 11:55
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then we're doing the pre-op visit.
• 11:56
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You're getting your medical clearance.
• 11:58
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 11:59
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And any hesitation at all?
• 12:02
  Breanna Redstone: Honestly, no.
• 12:04
  Breanna Redstone: I didn't have like any hesitation, I think, until I was like, okay, this is happening.
• 12:08
  Breanna Redstone: I'm prepared for it.
• 12:09
  Breanna Redstone: You well informed me of like the different types of implants, what types I was getting, why I was getting them.
• 12:14
  Breanna Redstone: So I felt like after the conversations that we had, I felt like this was a good educated decision.
• 12:19
  Breanna Redstone: I was safe about what I was doing, where I was going to was like an accredited facility.
• 12:24
  Breanna Redstone: Like all of those things like checked out for me that I was like, OK, this is safe.
• 12:27
  Breanna Redstone: This is a good operation. It's not that much anesthesia because that's another thing.
• 12:31
  Breanna Redstone: I'm like, I'm young, I'm healthy, but I'm going under anesthesia for what?
• 12:34
  Breanna Redstone: You know, so it was a shorter procedure.
• 12:37
  Breanna Redstone: I did what I needed to do to make sure I was good for it.
• 12:40
  Breanna Redstone: I'm like a baby with pain, so I was nervous about what my pain was going to be like afterwards.
• 12:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It was your first big surgery.
• 12:46
  Breanna Redstone: It was my only surgery at that point.
• 12:48
  Breanna Redstone: I never had anything else done yet.
• 12:50
  Breanna Redstone: So I never even had a cavity or a root canal or anything.
• 12:54
  Breanna Redstone: So it was my first real surgery.
• 12:56
  Breanna Redstone: So I was really nervous of what that recovery was going to be.
• 12:59
  Breanna Redstone: And that's kind of more where my nerves were starting to come from.
• 13:02
  Breanna Redstone: What's the after going to be like?
• 13:04
  Breanna Redstone: I wasn't so nervous to get them.
• 13:05
  Breanna Redstone: It was just like, what's going to happen after?
• 13:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so then what happened after?
• 13:12
  Breanna Redstone: Day one, I didn't.
• 13:13
  Breanna Redstone: So that night you go home.
• 13:15
  Breanna Redstone: I was wrapped up really tightly in like a bra and an ace bandage.
• 13:18
  Breanna Redstone: So like I didn't see anything.
• 13:20
  Breanna Redstone: I was in like a little bit discomfort.
• 13:22
  Breanna Redstone: But I took some like pain meds.
• 13:23
  Breanna Redstone: And then I went to sleep and I was fine.
• 13:26
  Breanna Redstone: Then day one, I go to my post-op appointment.
• 13:28
  Breanna Redstone: My mom and Ann both take me.
• 13:30
  Breanna Redstone: They come to the office and you unwrap me.
• 13:33
  Breanna Redstone: And they were very swollen.
• 13:34
  Breanna Redstone: And I wasn't – we talked about them being swollen.
• 13:36
  Breanna Redstone: We talked about them being high.
• 13:38
  Breanna Redstone: But like seeing them that swollen and high, I was just like – like that's not what I wanted in my head.
• 13:44
  Breanna Redstone: Did you have like flashbacks to that friend?
• 13:46
  Breanna Redstone: Yes.
• 13:47
  Breanna Redstone: That was my first thing I thought of.
• 13:48
  Breanna Redstone: I was like my boobs are going to look like hers.
• 13:51
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah.
• 13:51
  Breanna Redstone: And I was like this is not like – and then I remember you saying like no, they're going to soften out over time.
• 13:57
  Breanna Redstone: This is the size you put in.
• 13:58
  Breanna Redstone: It's not going to be that big.
• 13:59
  Breanna Redstone: Like we had a whole conversation about it.
• 14:02
  Breanna Redstone: And then I was like, okay, you put like the bra break on to help them settle down, everything
• 14:06
  Breanna Redstone: like that.
• 14:08
  Breanna Redstone: And then I still went home.
• 14:09
  Breanna Redstone: I remember I was in the car and I was crying.
• 14:11
  Breanna Redstone: And Nan goes, well, they're not shoes.
• 14:12
  Breanna Redstone: You can't return them.
• 14:15
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So this is really interesting because it has not happened in our practice.
• 14:22
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But I have colleagues in which this has happened where on the day one or between the first week,
• 14:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: The patient has a complete mental breakdown and says, I want these out of me.
• 14:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so I'm glad you did not have that situation.
• 14:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But it's a real ethical dilemma because you're deciding, well, is this – to your point, it's your first surgery ever.
• 14:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You're young.
• 14:46
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You think you made an educated decision.
• 14:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then you wake up and you're like, absolutely not.
• 14:53
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: This was the biggest mistake of my life.
• 14:56
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so I'm curious, this didn't happen to you, but I'm curious, like, did you ever have any
• 15:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: friends or talk to anybody that this has happened to?
• 15:07
  Breanna Redstone: I haven't.
• 15:08
  Breanna Redstone: But I think, like, even seeing, like, our patients now, like, mental health is so important.
• 15:13
  Breanna Redstone: And to be in, like, a good headspace for surgery, because, again, like, you can be so educated.
• 15:17
  Breanna Redstone: You can think that you have everything figured out.
• 15:20
  Breanna Redstone: And, like, I was in that, like, day one, like, panic.
• 15:25
  Breanna Redstone: like, what did I do? But I wasn't at that point, like, oh my God, I need to get them removed. I was
• 15:29
  Breanna Redstone: just like, what did I do? Right. You know? So, but there really is realistic, like you hear about it
• 15:34
  Breanna Redstone: all the time. Like people are like, I've hated, like I've had somebody like, we've done like a
• 15:38
  Breanna Redstone: revision on somebody one time and she was like, I hated my boobs the day I got them done. That's
• 15:42
  Breanna Redstone: right. Yeah. You know? So like we've seen those types of patients too, that like since day one,
• 15:46
  Breanna Redstone: they hated them and they continue to hate them. So it's a very real thing that like can happen
• 15:52
  Breanna Redstone: because you are changing your body and you've looked so one way for so long and now you're
• 15:58
  Breanna Redstone: seeing yourself, which you always envisioned in your mind that you wanted, but maybe it's not
• 16:03
  Breanna Redstone: really, you know? Like, so that's a really, and I think for you must be like when you're doing
• 16:08
  Breanna Redstone: these procedures, like you're thinking about that. Yeah. There's definitely that buyer's remorse
• 16:13
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: component that you want to make sure you're screening patients for to make sure that that
• 16:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: doesn't happen. I think as an all-female practice, we don't necessarily get patients who are being
• 16:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: brought in by their husbands or a boyfriend or someone who's just sort of trying to encourage
• 16:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: them. I always try to screen and say, are we doing this for you? Even reductions. I'm not
• 16:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: really interested in what your husband or your boyfriend or your partner thinks in terms of your
• 16:40
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: size. What's going to be comfortable for you to live in, where, et cetera. And I think part of
• 16:46
  Breanna Redstone: screening process too, like making them sleep on it, making them like take a few days, talk it over
• 16:51
  Breanna Redstone: with loved ones, like making sure that this is something that they want, not just like putting
• 16:56
  Breanna Redstone: the deposit down the day of, like is helpful in that screening process because it makes them,
• 17:01
  Breanna Redstone: if they really want it, then they're good. Then we're going to have more conversations about it.
• 17:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I agree. I openly talk about the tummy, a tummy tuck that I had my tummy tuck when my daughters
• 17:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: were three and five. And I chose one of my friends that I trained with to do the procedure.
• 17:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I remember getting ready for that surgery. I was nervous, but excited. And so that I always
• 17:25
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: feel like is a good place to be. Nervous because you're taking the procedure seriously, but excited
• 17:30
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: because you've done the homework, you've done the research, you feel comfortable with your surgeon,
• 17:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: and you're looking forward to that transformation.
• 17:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So I think that is probably the healthiest attitude of nervous but excited.
• 17:44
  Breanna Redstone: What do you think?
• 17:45
  Breanna Redstone: I always say to patients too, because I always like to wish our patients good luck before
• 17:49
  Breanna Redstone: surgery, and I always say, if you're not nervous, then we're nervous because you need to have
• 17:52
  Breanna Redstone: some sort of nerves because it is major surgery.
• 17:54
  Breanna Redstone: It is elective.
• 17:55
  Breanna Redstone: So you need to be a little nervous that you've had all the information, that you know the
• 18:00
  Breanna Redstone: risks, you know the reward, you know all of that.
• 18:02
  Breanna Redstone: Like that nervousness is okay to have.
• 18:05
  Breanna Redstone: And that's how you felt.
• 18:06
  Breanna Redstone: That's how I felt.
• 18:07
  Breanna Redstone: Going into surgery.
• 18:08
  Breanna Redstone: You felt nervous.
• 18:09
  Breanna Redstone: But I was excited for this is something that I always wanted.
• 18:12
  Breanna Redstone: That I was excited to then see my outcome.
• 18:15
  Breanna Redstone: Right.
• 18:15
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Right.
• 18:15
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then, yeah, the post-op recovery is also a part of the roller coaster, which is that you're swollen.
• 18:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Because when we do your surgery, you're asleep on the table, but you're not swollen.
• 18:25
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So we have the benefit of seeing that final result before the dressings go on and the swelling and all of that.
• 18:31
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And it's so important to be counseled to understand what to expect after your procedure.
• 18:38
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah.
• 18:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So how long do you feel like it took you to recover?
• 18:43
  Breanna Redstone: I want to say I think like the first two weeks was kind of like some days I was like, oh, they look great.
• 18:50
  Breanna Redstone: And then they would be a little swollen depending on like what I was doing that day.
• 18:53
  Breanna Redstone: Like they were just still like settling and like fluffing.
• 18:56
  Breanna Redstone: So like that first two weeks was kind of like a push and pull.
• 18:59
  Breanna Redstone: It was like some days I was like, wow, they look great.
• 19:01
  Breanna Redstone: This is what they're going to look like.
• 19:02
  Breanna Redstone: And then other days I was like, oh, they're still big.
• 19:04
  Breanna Redstone: Like what's going on?
• 19:05
  Breanna Redstone: You know?
• 19:05
  Breanna Redstone: So from like an actual pain recovery standpoint, tolerable, very tolerable compared to a few
• 19:12
  Breanna Redstone: years later, I got my tonsils out.
• 19:13
  Breanna Redstone: That was a whole different piece.
• 19:15
  Breanna Redstone: That was horrible.
• 19:16
  Breanna Redstone: Don't wish that on anybody.
• 19:18
  Breanna Redstone: But the mental part of it, just like getting used to like, now this is my body.
• 19:23
  Breanna Redstone: Now, like trying on these tops that I wished for so long to like look good on me.
• 19:27
  Breanna Redstone: And I was like, oh, wow, this looks different.
• 19:30
  Breanna Redstone: This is what I wanted.
• 19:32
  Breanna Redstone: This looks different though.
• 19:33
  Breanna Redstone: It's like even though you can want something so much, but it's still different.
• 19:36
  Breanna Redstone: So then you just kind of have to like adjust to it and this is your new normal now.
• 19:40
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yep.
• 19:41
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yep.
• 19:43
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I felt the same way after my tummy tuck.
• 19:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I felt like I was numb for at least 8 to 12 months.
• 19:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Swollen tight internal scar tissue for limited motion and activity.
• 19:54
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Like not fully back to baseline for about 8 to 10 months.
• 19:58
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then the scars take two years to mature.
• 20:00
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah.
• 20:02
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But – and I remember that feeling also because I say to patients when you have that procedure, it's not like you're going down three sizes in your clothes.
• 20:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's just everything you own and wear fits better.
• 20:12
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 20:13
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Sometimes, yeah, you can go a size lower.
• 20:14
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But we're not like breaking your hips and like moving your ribs in.
• 20:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We're just contouring your tissue.
• 20:20
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So, yeah, I always say you have to give yourself grace.
• 20:24
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Like, yeah, you might be able to go back to the gym around four weeks, but you're not necessarily going to see your final result for a few months at least after surgery.
• 20:31
  Breanna Redstone: And, yeah, like even with me, like I always like love the gym.
• 20:33
  Breanna Redstone: I love different like workouts and stuff.
• 20:35
  Breanna Redstone: So like with me, I was so nervous to like get like a mal like implant position or something like that.
• 20:42
  Breanna Redstone: So like I avoided like arms and upper body for a long time.
• 20:45
  Breanna Redstone: I think I was like almost like three months till I started like feeling comfortable to like even do anything arm related.
• 20:51
  Breanna Redstone: That was just me because I was just like psycho about it and I just didn't want – I just got these and I was starting to like them.
• 20:58
  Breanna Redstone: I was like, God forbid, like I do something to mess it up.
• 21:01
  Breanna Redstone: Like I want to just be extra careful in that.
• 21:03
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Absolutely.
• 21:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: No, you're a good patient.
• 21:05
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I see these young women on social media a couple days after their breast dogs and they're like pulling their hair up and using their elbows and shoulders and I'm like, oh my God, please stop.
• 21:13
  Breanna Redstone: There's these like two influencers I follow and they're twins and they got breast dogs at the same time.
• 21:20
  Breanna Redstone: And I just actually last week I saw a video of them and they were like – they were like college athletes, like very athletic.
• 21:25
  Breanna Redstone: And they were doing like push-ups.
• 21:27
  Breanna Redstone: And I'm like, you guys are only like two months – not even like a full two months out, maybe two months.
• 21:31
  Breanna Redstone: And I'm like, and you guys are doing push-ups?
• 21:32
  Breanna Redstone: I would never.
• 21:34
  Breanna Redstone: I know.
• 21:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I know.
• 21:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It takes a while for that capsule of scar tissue to heal.
• 21:37
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You have to be really careful.
• 21:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 21:40
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So you've now had your breast augmentation five years.
• 21:44
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Five years.
• 21:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: How is it going?
• 21:47
  Breanna Redstone: Amazing.
• 21:47
  Breanna Redstone: It was honestly the best decision I ever did.
• 21:50
  Breanna Redstone: they're like a part of me now like nobody off the street can be like oh my god look at those
• 21:54
  Breanna Redstone: girls fake boobs like they look natural to me they fit my body they I don't I honestly forget
• 22:02
  Breanna Redstone: that I have breast implants sometimes to be honest because they just have like been a part of me
• 22:06
  Breanna Redstone: everything that I wanted to wear I've been in numerous amount of weddings like bridesmaids all
• 22:12
  Breanna Redstone: I loved all my bridesmaid dresses because I just feel like they fit my body so well now so success
• 22:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Like it's the confidence boost that you thought it would be.
• 22:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: That I needed.
• 22:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah, exactly.
• 22:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Have you ever had any thought of like wanting to go bigger or wanting to go smaller or feeling
• 22:30
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: like they were making you sick and wanting to have them taken out?
• 22:33
  Breanna Redstone: As of right now, no.
• 22:34
  Breanna Redstone: I don't have any like thoughts of like wanting to change my implant, change my size.
• 22:40
  Breanna Redstone: I don't have kids yet.
• 22:41
  Breanna Redstone: So I think like in the future, depending on if I have kids, if I breastfeed, what my body
• 22:45
  Breanna Redstone: changes and looks like, that can definitely be like a conversation.
• 22:48
  Breanna Redstone: But like right now, like in the – obviously like those first few weeks I thought that they were too big.
• 22:54
  Breanna Redstone: But once they like settled and became me, I was like this is actually a great size.
• 22:57
  Breanna Redstone: And then I was like don't think that I would have wanted to be bigger because I never wanted to feel like I'm toppling over, like I'm top heavy.
• 23:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You can like dress them up or dress them down.
• 23:08
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Exactly.
• 23:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I'm jealous, Brianna.
• 23:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I wish I got breast dog when I was 25.
• 23:14
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: What do you think was the biggest shift in terms of having them?
• 23:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Was it more self-acceptance?
• 23:20
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Do you feel like people notice you more now?
• 23:23
  Breanna Redstone: I don't think people notice me more now.
• 23:26
  Breanna Redstone: And that wasn't really like my intention of getting them.
• 23:29
  Breanna Redstone: I think that I just feel like when I'm trying on clothes or I'm trying on dresses, like I have more – like I love fashion and I love clothes.
• 23:36
  Breanna Redstone: And so I just feel like I have more options at my disposal now because I feel like more things look better on me because I have something to fill out some of those tops that I didn't normally have or those dresses, you know, like or if I want to wear like a backless dress and like that's high neck, like my boobs don't get in the way of that because they're not too big, you know.
• 23:55
  Breanna Redstone: So like I just feel like I have so many more options to like express my style and feel good in what I'm wearing.
• 24:02
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: No, that – yeah, that makes sense to me.
• 24:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I feel like the majority of women who get breast augmentation, because it is the most popular cosmetic surgery in America, have realistic expectations.
• 24:16
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We see this in our practice where patients – and maybe it's just because our practice attracts a conservative breast augmentation.
• 24:22
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So I'd say on average, augmentations are ranging anywhere.
• 24:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I mean, we're seeing even very small implants, like 100 to 150.
• 24:31
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah, tiny babies.
• 24:32
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then like maxing out maybe 350.
• 24:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We're very conservative in our practice.
• 24:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But like in other parts of the country, you see much bigger augmentations.
• 24:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So I find it just interesting how much the culture of where you live has an effect on what the aesthetic looks like.
• 24:52
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Do you think if you lived somewhere else or do you just think inherently you want a more natural look so this was a good fit for you?
• 25:00
  Breanna Redstone: I think inherently I want a more natural like just because I am like an active person.
• 25:04
  Breanna Redstone: So I didn't want like what I was getting to like disrupt my life.
• 25:08
  Breanna Redstone: And I didn't want like them to get away of like things that I like to do.
• 25:11
  Breanna Redstone: Like I love to do Pilates and hot yoga and all of that type of stuff.
• 25:15
  Breanna Redstone: So like I always think like because we see like patients with big breasts like they have neck back, neck back, shoulder pain, all of those things.
• 25:23
  Breanna Redstone: Like they're hunching over because their chest are weighing them down.
• 25:26
  Breanna Redstone: So like I never wanted anything like too big because I didn't want to be like, like, you know, like I didn't want something weighing me down, especially not having anything before.
• 25:36
  Breanna Redstone: Like I couldn't have imagined like going really big because what would that have been like for me?
• 25:41
  Breanna Redstone: Right.
• 25:41
  Breanna Redstone: I would have been like even more of a crazy change.
• 25:43
  Breanna Redstone: So for me, I don't think it was location-wise, but I can see why, like, if you're surrounded by people in an area that everybody just has these big perky breasts, like, if you're going to get a procedure, why wouldn't you go that big then?
• 25:57
  Breanna Redstone: Like, I can see that too.
• 25:59
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's like the style of the demographic of the area.
• 26:03
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: No, I agree.
• 26:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I know there are other cities where it's much – the breast augmentations are much larger.
• 26:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I was recently at a breast meeting and one of the surgeons was presenting and he was in a city in which it is very common to have very large implants.
• 26:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: He routinely puts in 500, 600, 800 CC implants on women who are like 5'4", 5'6".
• 26:31
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So these are like women your size who are triple your size in terms of the implants.
• 26:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I was looking at his before and afters as he was presenting.
• 26:42
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And my like visceral reaction is, oh, my God, those are so big.
• 26:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But then I'm also thinking, well, there's a market for this.
• 26:53
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: There are women who want to go that large.
• 26:57
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: That is their sense of femininity and identity.
• 27:00
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And he's providing that resource for those women.
• 27:05
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And those women are really happy too.
• 27:07
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah.
• 27:08
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So I just – I think it's so interesting that this day and age we're really lucky with social media in this aspect to be able to see the work of different plastic surgeons and gauge what's going to be the right fit for you.
• 27:24
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Because being in New Jersey and New York, we're much more conservative about sizing as opposed to the South and the West Coast.
• 27:30
  Breanna Redstone: And I agree with that too.
• 27:31
  Breanna Redstone: I think like where locationally, like where we live, and I don't know if it just, again, like to our practice because we are more on the conservative side.
• 27:37
  Breanna Redstone: But I would say like 99% of the women that come in for breast augmentation are more similar to like me and want just a little boost and want just to feel better in their clothes.
• 27:47
  Breanna Redstone: They don't want to look like – and there's nothing wrong because she looked phenomenal, amazing.
• 27:51
  Breanna Redstone: But like Pam Anderson and Baywatch with those big boobs, like that's not the trend that we're seeing, the implant sizes that we're ordering.
• 27:58
  Breanna Redstone: But there is that population that do want that.
• 28:01
  Breanna Redstone: And it does look good, but it's just not what we're seeing here.
• 28:05
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: No, I agree.
• 28:07
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: There's been a lot of talk over the last 10 years.
• 28:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So when I finished training in 2018, there was a recall of the textured implants of one specific manufacturer.
• 28:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so that was a very scary time for a lot of women, especially our reconstructive patients who had implants placed for reconstruction after breast cancer.
• 28:27
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: because the textured implants were implicated in a breast implant lymphoma.
• 28:33
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Thankfully, most patients have smooth devices.
• 28:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But around that same time, there was a rise in popularity of women expressing concerns about their breast implants,
• 28:42
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: something called breast implant illness.
• 28:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so this is something we commonly counsel patients on,
• 28:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: because it's not a formal diagnosis in the sense that I can't send you for an ultrasound or a mammogram
• 28:56
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: or blood work to say, yes, you've got breast implant illness.
• 29:00
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But there are hundreds of thousands of women who believe that their implants are making
• 29:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: them sick.
• 29:05
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We see them all every day.
• 29:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: We see, yes, we see and talk to these women all the time.
• 29:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so they're often enraged about either not being informed properly about the risks of
• 29:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: implants, the lack of research that's going into this.
• 29:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: As someone who has implants, what are your thoughts on breast implant illness?
• 29:25
  Breanna Redstone: Well, I have to say that even for my initial consultation with you, like you really like you talked about that in our consultation.
• 29:32
  Breanna Redstone: Like I didn't know what breast implant illness was when I came in for a consultation.
• 29:36
  Breanna Redstone: And you literally laid out a texture device and why your texture free practice.
• 29:40
  Breanna Redstone: Like so that was already off the table.
• 29:42
  Breanna Redstone: Then you showed me silicone implants and you said that these are FDA approved.
• 29:47
  Breanna Redstone: They're safe.
• 29:47
  Breanna Redstone: But then you said about the women and you told me all about that.
• 29:50
  Breanna Redstone: So then I did more research of that on my own before I even got them done.
• 29:54
  Breanna Redstone: And it didn't sway me enough because there is also so many women that have breast implants that don't feel like they've made them sick.
• 30:01
  Breanna Redstone: And we don't know necessarily if the implants directly are making the women sick.
• 30:06
  Breanna Redstone: Are they enhancing the symptoms?
• 30:08
  Breanna Redstone: What's going on there?
• 30:09
  Breanna Redstone: So I was like, I feel like I'm young and healthy enough to take the risk to put the implants in.
• 30:14
  Breanna Redstone: But now being on the other side of it and being in the office and seeing a lot of women in their 30s and 40s and saying like, oh, my implants really are making me sick.
• 30:24
  Breanna Redstone: Like it is something to consider like that I think about going on.
• 30:28
  Breanna Redstone: And like sometimes I'm like, oh, but I'm like, no, like I'm healthy and I'm fine.
• 30:32
  Breanna Redstone: So I know that like I don't feel like my – I personally don't feel like my implants are making me sick.
• 30:36
  Breanna Redstone: But it is something that's like in the back of my head sometimes like when I'm in these consults talking to other women and they're talking about their symptoms and how they feel.
• 30:45
  Breanna Redstone: So I do think about it, but I don't personally think that mine are.
• 30:48
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I think it's so important to understand what it is that we know about breast implant illness before you go in.
• 30:57
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: When you have a breast implant placed, you sign a consent form understanding the black box warnings.
• 31:03
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: They are on the implant boxes, which doesn't really make sense because the patients aren't seeing the implant boxes.
• 31:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But the idea is that you're having a thorough consent with the patient.
• 31:12
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I know in our practice, we make patient-signed consents, understanding that they are not
• 31:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: forever devices.
• 31:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: They're man-made.
• 31:20
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But yeah, we do treat women who identify as having breast implant illness in our practice
• 31:24
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: all the time.
• 31:25
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Our recommendation is get that full medical workup to make sure there's not something
• 31:30
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: else going on, autoimmune condition, Lyme disease, et cetera.
• 31:34
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then ultimately, you do you.
• 31:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So you have the right to have them in and are out.
• 31:38
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But it just depends on what you feel like is right for your body.
• 31:43
  Breanna Redstone: and I feel like a lot of the women we are seeing that are identifying as breast implant illness
• 31:46
  Breanna Redstone: have also had their implants in for like a longer time and they're ready for body changes whether
• 31:51
  Breanna Redstone: like the breast implant illness symptoms were driving the cause or they were kind of feeling
• 31:56
  Breanna Redstone: this anyway and then them on top of it it's like a snowball effect it's like we don't know what's
• 32:00
  Breanna Redstone: coming first but it's like they are kind of just at a point where like they've had their babies
• 32:06
  Breanna Redstone: their family's complete bodies have changed symptoms in their life have changed area they've
• 32:11
  Breanna Redstone: move. They've done different things. So it's like all different factors that are going into it that
• 32:15
  Breanna Redstone: it's like, I'm feeling run down. I'm feeling tired. I just want to change something and I can control
• 32:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: this and I can change this. I agree completely. Yes. What do you say to or what would you say to
• 32:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: someone who has had their implants in and then all of a sudden has a change of heart and is like,
• 32:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I just want to have these out? I would say to the patient, like, you know your body best. So you
• 32:41
  Breanna Redstone: to do what's best for your body. And if you think explanting is what you need to do to feel your
• 32:47
  Breanna Redstone: best, then do it. I also say there's not bridges burned. So if you do an explant and then in three
• 32:52
  Breanna Redstone: years you live without them and then you're like, you know what? My symptoms aren't getting better.
• 32:56
  Breanna Redstone: I don't feel better. Like you can then have another surgery. If that's something that you
• 33:00
  Breanna Redstone: wanted to do, you're entitled to that. It's not like once you explant, like you can never get an
• 33:05
  Breanna Redstone: implant placed in again. So I think that's like, we talk about like breast implant removal regret
• 33:11
  Breanna Redstone: because that's also a thing because you've had something just like it was such a change for me to
• 33:16
  Breanna Redstone: like get them put in like now I've lived with them for so long and I love them like I can't imagine
• 33:22
  Breanna Redstone: what I would look like if I didn't have them but if I thought that they were the cause of making
• 33:26
  Breanna Redstone: me sick would I do that option in that avenue I think with the data that I have with what I know
• 33:32
  Breanna Redstone: working in this field I think I would do that but I would also know in the back of my head
• 33:36
  Breanna Redstone: in maybe three years, I live with them out. I hate them. I hate how I look. I have those same
• 33:42
  Breanna Redstone: insecurities that drove me to get them in the first place because every majority of women that
• 33:46
  Breanna Redstone: have breast augmentation, there was something that drove them to get them in the first place.
• 33:50
  Breanna Redstone: That doesn't necessarily go away because they're not feeling good about like with their health.
• 33:56
  Breanna Redstone: Those thoughts are still there. So it's like, do they come to terms with that now and think like
• 34:00
  Breanna Redstone: their overall life quality is better? They've served their purpose. They got over those
• 34:04
  Breanna Redstone: insecurities and now they're just ready to move on. Or some people are like, you know what? Those
• 34:09
  Breanna Redstone: insecurities are still there and I still don't feel great. So maybe I'm going to get them back in.
• 34:13
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah. I mean, that circles back to our whole conversation of confidence, like the external
• 34:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: drive, that external factor being surgery. Is that the complete picture of confidence? Is it a piece
• 34:25
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: of it? Is it completely unrelated? Like where do you think it lies? I think it's like a toss up,
• 34:32
  Breanna Redstone: to be honest. I think it's like a bit of both. I think that your confidence should always come
• 34:39
  Breanna Redstone: from within. It shouldn't be like what you look like on the outside. But I think if you feel
• 34:44
  Breanna Redstone: confident in your everyday life and the clothes you put on and the things that you're doing,
• 34:47
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: that helps drive your inner confidence as well. Yeah. And just being realistic about
• 34:53
  Breanna Redstone: expectations. I was going to say like expectations are a big thing. And like you create a picture in
• 34:57
  Breanna Redstone: your head and that you have to be like, okay, just because I created this picture in my head
• 35:02
  Breanna Redstone: doesn't mean that like my body can achieve what I created in my head. So you have to like really
• 35:07
  Breanna Redstone: sit with like your main concern, your main goals and see that like if that can be met and how that
• 35:14
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: can be met. I agree with you. I think especially in extreme cases, we'll have a patient and I've
• 35:20
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: only seen this in my practice once or twice where we'll have a patient come in, she'll want a breast
• 35:26
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: augmentation. We'll do it. She's thrilled. Six months to a year, she's thrilled. It's been a
• 35:32
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: game changer in ways that she didn't even think it was possible. Just over her expectations,
• 35:41
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: it was over the moon in terms of what we were able to accomplish, just exceeded every expectation
• 35:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: she had. And then we usually see her back two or three years out and she says, I want to go bigger.
• 35:51
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I've had to have this conversation a handful of times with women where I'm like,
• 35:55
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: why are we going bigger? This matches your body perfectly. The last time I saw you and every other
• 35:59
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: visit up to that, you were thrilled. You still like them. So what are we doing? Like, what are
• 36:07
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: we seeking here? And sometimes I think it's they want that rush again, that rush of, oh my God,
• 36:16
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: this literally changed my life. This one operation just changed my life. I've got so much internal
• 36:22
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: and external validation. It was a dopamine rush. And now that surge has leveled off.
• 36:30
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So it's like, what's the next? What's the next thing? And that's where
• 36:34
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: plastic surgery can become, you know, we always joke Botox is a gateway drug, but
• 36:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: it is such a powerful injectable in the same way that a breast augmentation is such a powerful
• 36:44
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: procedure that you've sort of unleashed. And I don't know if unleashed is the wrong word,
• 36:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But you've basically created a situation in which this woman has gone from insecure about this particular part of her body and not wanting to go out into the world, sort of hide herself, to all of a sudden becoming this unshelled, exuberant version.
• 37:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And you don't want to necessarily, like, tame that in.
• 37:12
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But you also don't want to feed into something that's going to become an unhealthy habit or lifestyle.
• 37:17
  Breanna Redstone: Obsession with it.
• 37:18
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 37:19
  Breanna Redstone: Like you see people too, like there's people on the internet, like you see them on TV,
• 37:23
  Breanna Redstone: like that they're up, that they've had like 75 plastic surgical procedures.
• 37:28
  Breanna Redstone: And it's like, where is that line?
• 37:30
  Breanna Redstone: Like, where is it like, okay, I'm doing something for myself and I'm doing this so that I feel
• 37:35
  Breanna Redstone: good.
• 37:35
  Breanna Redstone: And then it's like, now I'm doing it for like an outwards reaction from other people.
• 37:40
  Breanna Redstone: I think that's like the line that you tread with, like when you start, cause it's like,
• 37:43
  Breanna Redstone: okay, I'm initially doing this for myself.
• 37:46
  Breanna Redstone: I'm doing this, but now I'm getting this attention.
• 37:48
  Breanna Redstone: and I like how this attention is.
• 37:49
  Breanna Redstone: So maybe now the attention is faded a little bit.
• 37:51
  Breanna Redstone: What do I do now to get that attention again?
• 37:53
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: That's right.
• 37:54
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's a very slippery slope
• 37:56
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: and you can counsel patients all you want,
• 37:59
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: but sometimes this is beyond what you expect.
• 38:04
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then how do you continue to counsel
• 38:08
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: and advocate for them while being kind
• 38:10
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: and not offering that larger augmentation
• 38:14
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: or that next surgery?
• 38:16
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: because you will always find someone to do.
• 38:18
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I always say to patients,
• 38:19
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: you will find someone will agree to do something to your body.
• 38:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: There will always be,
• 38:25
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: it's usually not a board certified plastic surgeon.
• 38:27
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's usually a cosmetic surgeon,
• 38:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: but you will find someone who says yes to you.
• 38:32
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And we saw that with the death of Kanye West's mother
• 38:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: being done at a strip mall,
• 38:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: having a surgery in which she was not a suitable candidate
• 38:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: for general anesthesia.
• 38:41
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Someone said yes.
• 38:42
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So you will always find a yes person.
• 38:43
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And it's really up to you as a responsible adult to figure out where that line is.
• 38:51
  Breanna Redstone: And you think of somebody too like Kanye West's mom who has access to things that the average person doesn't even have access to.
• 38:57
  Breanna Redstone: And like it could still happen to them because people might have said no to her.
• 39:03
  Breanna Redstone: But this was something that she really wanted.
• 39:04
  Breanna Redstone: And she didn't take that advice in.
• 39:06
  Breanna Redstone: And she just went with whoever said yes to her.
• 39:10
  Breanna Redstone: You know?
• 39:10
  Breanna Redstone: So it's like you have to do your research.
• 39:13
  Breanna Redstone: research is important. You have to feel like, I always like to say, and you like to say this too,
• 39:18
  Breanna Redstone: like surgery is a partnership. Like as much as like you want us, like we want you to, you know,
• 39:23
  Breanna Redstone: like we have to make sure that goals, everything aligned, you're medically cleared. Like we want
• 39:29
  Breanna Redstone: the best outcome from you at the end of this. So like if we have to delay your surgery a month to
• 39:34
  Breanna Redstone: two months, because something is wrong in your labs, like we're not doing that because we don't
• 39:37
  Breanna Redstone: want to operate on you. We're doing that because at the end of this, like we want you to be safe
• 39:41
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: and have the best outcome. I agree. I also think that the company you keep is so valuable if there
• 39:50
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: is, whether it's plastic surgery or whether it's spending money on an expensive home or
• 39:57
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: a car or whatever it is. And we see this with high profile individuals and celebrities whose,
• 40:05
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: they don't look right. When you look at photos of them, they have veered in the wrong direction
• 40:11
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: point. And when people ask me, I say usually they're around yes people. And so they're not
• 40:17
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: around a friend or a family member who says, you look ridiculous or don't do that to your face.
• 40:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: They have moved away from those trusted sources for one reason or another. And they surround
• 40:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: themselves with yes people. And they're always in pursuit. And they're in potentially also,
• 40:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: They're in an industry that is obsessed with youth.
• 40:39
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And so they have set themselves up to be with the yes friends and the yes surgeons.
• 40:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And it's jumping off the deep end to the unrecognizable.
• 40:50
  Breanna Redstone: It's more like a hype man instead of like something realistic.
• 40:53
  Breanna Redstone: And like they're just like guessing you because like they know that like they can pay for it and that they can do it.
• 40:59
  Breanna Redstone: So why not just say yes to them?
• 41:00
  Breanna Redstone: Why not just do it when it's like is that really what's best for me?
• 41:03
  Breanna Redstone: They're just hyping them up to be like, yeah, you can do it.
• 41:06
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's great.
• 41:07
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah.
• 41:08
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I agree.
• 41:09
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I agree.
• 41:11
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Your implant has not been recalled.
• 41:13
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But if there was a recall, would you have your implant?
• 41:17
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 41:17
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah, I would.
• 41:18
  Breanna Redstone: If there was like a recall on it, I think that like, yes, I love how I look and how I feel in clothes.
• 41:25
  Breanna Redstone: But like my overall health now that like I'm older and like my brother has like a baby and I want to get married one day and have a kid.
• 41:31
  Breanna Redstone: Like that all like that health is more important to me than like how I fit in a dress now, you know.
• 41:37
  Breanna Redstone: So like if my implants were recalled and like just like just God forbid, but who knows, like maybe one day like they'll say that implants aren't safe for anybody, you know.
• 41:45
  Breanna Redstone: And if I couldn't have implants again, like I think that I would be like my health is more important than this device because it did serve its purpose.
• 41:54
  Breanna Redstone: Like I do love how I – as much as I love them and I love how I feel in things, like I know that like I can now do alterations and do things to like then still give me a confidence boost that I need when I need it.
• 42:09
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 42:09
  Breanna Redstone: Because you went and you had it.
• 42:10
  Breanna Redstone: I went and I had it and it gave me a good confidence boost and it gave me – they've served their purpose.
• 42:15
  Breanna Redstone: They make me feel good in clothes.
• 42:16
  Breanna Redstone: They make me feel good.
• 42:17
  Breanna Redstone: Like I don't have to like think about that piece anymore.
• 42:20
  Breanna Redstone: Obviously, like if I were to change my body again and take them, I would have to do some thinking.
• 42:24
  Breanna Redstone: But I think how I approach it now and like how I approach style and different clothing, like I would have a better grasp on it now because I have been able to wear so many different things that I could then tailor them if I didn't have the implants.
• 42:35
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And that – yeah, that brings up a good point because I always do say to patients who want to be explanted, I say just remember at some point you – especially if it's cosmetic, you wanted these so much you paid for them.
• 42:47
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So you understood the risks and benefits.
• 42:49
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: They're man-made devices.
• 42:50
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You paid for them.
• 42:51
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: You signed consent forms for them.
• 42:53
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And it is so important to have grace for that particular period of your life.
• 42:58
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And it's okay to change your mind.
• 43:00
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah.
• 43:01
  Breanna Redstone: Especially too, like with patients, like especially we're women.
• 43:05
  Breanna Redstone: So our bodies change with like being like on our different phases, our cycle, our bodies
• 43:09
  Breanna Redstone: are constantly changing, whether we're fluctuating weight, five to 10 pounds, having babies,
• 43:14
  Breanna Redstone: breastfeeding, not breastfeeding, like our bodies are always changing as women.
• 43:17
  Breanna Redstone: So I think like allowing that grace for like, just because I looked one way in my 20s or
• 43:22
  Breanna Redstone: my 30s. That's not how I'm going to look in my 40s and 50s. And that's okay, having grace for that.
• 43:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Totally. I mean, I had my tummy tuck about five years ago. And I mean, it doesn't look identical
• 43:34
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: to the way it looked five years ago, but I have zero regrets about it. And it was that confidence
• 43:40
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: boost that I needed at that time. Having my children, but then feeling inadequate in my
• 43:45
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: ability to work out with my core muscles at the gym, just not liking that shelf, that little extra
• 43:52
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: tissue and just wanting to feel the way I feel on the inside, wanting to look that way on the outside.
• 44:00
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So it gave me that boost that I felt like I needed. But it's not a cure-all.
• 44:05
  Breanna Redstone: Because you still, yes, you had a semi-suck, but you still, you work out. You are being kind to
• 44:10
  Breanna Redstone: your body. You're fueling your body with good nutrition. Like you're doing all the other things
• 44:14
  Breanna Redstone: to, one, keep a good result for you, but also make you feel good on the inside.
• 44:19
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yep. Absolutely. Okay. So before we wrap, I like to end with something called a glow moment.
• 44:26
  Breanna Redstone: Okay.
• 44:27
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So what is something in your life that is making you feel good, feel as if you're glowing? It can be
• 44:35
  Breanna Redstone: product, a new habit. I really love my standing desk.
• 44:43
  Breanna Redstone: Yes.
• 44:43
  Breanna Redstone: So I recently got a standing desk.
• 44:46
  Breanna Redstone: And yes, I'm active in the practice.
• 44:48
  Breanna Redstone: I'll go into consults.
• 44:49
  Breanna Redstone: I'll help out when I need.
• 44:50
  Breanna Redstone: But majority of the day, I'm sitting.
• 44:52
  Breanna Redstone: I am.
• 44:53
  Breanna Redstone: So to be able on a busy day to have my desk standing and just running in and out and not
• 44:58
  Breanna Redstone: always in a sitting position but still being able to get work done is really great.
• 45:02
  Breanna Redstone: I love a standing desk.
• 45:04
  Breanna Redstone: Can I master a walking pad under my standing desk?
• 45:07
  Breanna Redstone: Not yet.
• 45:07
  Breanna Redstone: That's wild.
• 45:08
  Breanna Redstone: Not yet.
• 45:08
  Breanna Redstone: I can't do that.
• 45:09
  Breanna Redstone: I will fall off.
• 45:10
  Breanna Redstone: I'll get hurt.
• 45:11
  Breanna Redstone: So we don't need that.
• 45:12
  Breanna Redstone: But just being able to, like, switch from, like, sitting, doing things, and then standing, doing things, I feel like I am more efficient.
• 45:18
  Breanna Redstone: And, like, it's a good change in pace for me.
• 45:20
  Breanna Redstone: I love my standing desk.
• 45:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Okay.
• 45:21
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: All right.
• 45:22
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Amazing.
• 45:22
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: It's making me feel good all over.
• 45:26
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: So, yeah.
• 45:26
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I mean, thank you for today's discussion, Brianna.
• 45:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I feel like we really delved into that whole process of having a plastic surgery procedure.
• 45:36
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Just because you're changing something about your external appearance does not mean that it's going to solve any sort of internal conflict for you.
• 45:45
  Breanna Redstone: That's tough.
• 45:47
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: But for some women, it can make them feel like they're a better part of themselves, more confident version of themselves.
• 45:53
  Breanna Redstone: Yeah, it does.
• 45:54
  Breanna Redstone: It just makes you like, for me, I just felt like I did this.
• 45:58
  Breanna Redstone: I changed how I like saw fashion and I saw clothes and things fit me.
• 46:02
  Breanna Redstone: And then I just am now just carrying that into everything I do, regardless if I like have them or not in the future.
• 46:08
  Breanna Redstone: Like I have like feel good about myself and like what I, what I'm wearing now.
• 46:13
  Breanna Redstone: Good.
• 46:13
  Breanna Redstone: I'm just accepting that.
• 46:15
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Well, that's amazing.
• 46:16
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I'm glad you advocated for yourself and you had a phenomenal experience and you love your breasts.
• 46:22
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: I do.
• 46:23
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And I love my abdomen.
• 46:24
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Yeah, and that's it.
• 46:25
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then it got me a job.
• 46:26
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: And then you got a job.
• 46:28
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Awesome.
• 46:29
  Dr. Alexis Parcells: Thanks, guys.