Shedding Layers: An Honest Talk on Skin Removal Surgery and Recovery After Weight Loss
Welcome back to The Weight Loss Collab! In today’s episode, co-hosts Dr. Dovec and Hannah Schuyler, RD sit down with Dr. Irene Tower of BodyByBeauty for an in-depth conversation about body contouring surgery after significant weight loss. Whether you’re a bariatric patient considering surgery or just curious about the journey from massive weight loss to newfound confidence, this episode is packed with insight.
You’ll hear first-hand stories of patients who’ve transformed their bodies—and their lives—thanks to post-weight loss procedures, and learn why the process can be truly “mind-blowing.” Dr. Tower walks us through every step: from the importance of nutritional prep and achieving the right BMI, to setting expectations for healing, assembling your recovery support team, and the role of lymphatic massage in smoother recoveries.
We’ll also dig into the emotional and mental prep needed for the best possible results, why timing matters for surgery, and how their community-built support systems, including in-person groups and online resources, make the difference for patients navigating this big decision.
If you’ve ever wondered about the realities of post-weight loss body transformation, today’s episode is loaded with practical advice, real talk, and the positive energy that makes The Weight Loss Collab such a supportive and inspiring place to be. Let’s get started!
Transcript
She's a doctor. Hi, I'm Dr. Dovec and she's a dietitian.
Speaker:Hey, I'm Hannah Schuyler and together we are the weight loss
Speaker:collab. And today we are so excited to bring
Speaker:Dr. Irene Tower back of body by beauty.
Speaker:She is our cosmetic surgeon and some of our own body by
Speaker:bariatrics. Weight loss patients have lost a lot of weight.
Speaker:They've had some body contouring that they wanted to have done
Speaker:by you. And every single one that gets
Speaker:it slides into my DMs the night of their procedure
Speaker:and they're like, is this real life? Yes. They look
Speaker:insane. It's mind going, oh my
Speaker:God. Is that, that's what's so wonderful about what I do is because it's such
Speaker:an instant gratification, you know, it's like an instant change.
Speaker:It's right there. It's like one day you're got all this skin, the next day
Speaker:it's gone. It's like, it's mind blowing. It is mind blowing. And I really do
Speaker:get the mind blown emoji like over and over again. And people are
Speaker:crying and, and not only that, they're writing me the day of too, so they're
Speaker:not really even in that much discomfort. Right?
Speaker:Yeah. And again, even that day because we know it takes a while for it
Speaker:to like really truly look what it like what it's going to be like. But
Speaker:even that day it's like, oh my God, it's
Speaker:insane. It's insane. Yeah, it makes it fun about everything. And you're right, people
Speaker:do really good with it and it's shocking because you would think that it would
Speaker:be so uncomfortable. But I think we have like a good cocktail
Speaker:of things that we use in the OR and afterwards and people come
Speaker:out actually doing really good and the next day they actually surprise me
Speaker:and they walk in and they're like, I'm here. You
Speaker:know. Yeah, someone was here early the other day for work. She came
Speaker:in at like 7 or something. And you know right next door to the hotel
Speaker:that a lot of the patients stay out, especially the first night. And she was
Speaker:like, yeah, I saw the patient walking around at 7 o' clock in the morning,
Speaker:just walking, getting her, her steps in
Speaker:already just to help, you know, with that. And she was like, oh, good morning.
Speaker:Like not expecting to see you right now. So. Well, and I
Speaker:think that's what we're going to talk about today is a little bit about the
Speaker:pre op, the prep, how you just set expectations, but
Speaker:also how do you enable them to have the smooth recovery and, and all
Speaker:that you do to make sure that they don't just have a great recovery, but
Speaker:they have optimal results, especially with their healing, their
Speaker:nutrition. And, you know, this is a huge, kind of a comprehensive experience
Speaker:now. Absolutely. And it's just important to be at the right,
Speaker:the right time after your bariatric surgery or after your weight loss journey.
Speaker:However you've gotten there, you have to really be stable
Speaker:for at least three to six months. And this is something, even if you're going
Speaker:to use your insurance, they really like hone in on that. They want to make
Speaker:sure that you're at a place where now that things are stabilized,
Speaker:your nutrition is optimized and that you're going to do well
Speaker:with surgery. And that's one of the most important things we
Speaker:want you to do well. And it always seems like
Speaker:a lot of bariatric patients will struggle a little bit more with
Speaker:wound problems and things like that, and we don't want
Speaker:you to have to go through any of that. So it's real important to optimize
Speaker:nutrition beforehand. So whether that's increasing your
Speaker:protein and making sure you're getting enough per pound of
Speaker:ideal body weight per day, and really that may be
Speaker:more than what most people are used to. So I do emphasize that right
Speaker:before surgery. Yeah. And that's, you know, I was going to ask, what is your
Speaker:generally your recommendation as far as that goes? Like, do you have a number that
Speaker:you set or do you just kind of. It's pretty high. I say take your
Speaker:whatever your ideal body weight. And ideal body weight doesn't
Speaker:necessarily mean the weight that you have to be at. Right. It's just what the
Speaker:recommendation is. So for your ideal body weight is 130 pounds,
Speaker:you need about 130 grams of protein. So you're saying so
Speaker:one gram per pound, ideal body weight. Gotcha. So that's almost
Speaker:what bodybuilder squall. Yeah. And I know that it is a lot, but
Speaker:undergoing surgery and healing is like having
Speaker:to rebuild your body. Like, you have to heal tissue. So it
Speaker:does take quite a bit of protein in order to undergo that healing
Speaker:process. Yeah. And just so you know, if you want an easy way to
Speaker:calculate that ideal body weight number for women,
Speaker:it's every. For five feet is 100 pounds and then
Speaker:five, five pounds every inch over that. So if you're five, six,
Speaker:it's 100 pounds plus 30. So 130
Speaker:pounds for women. Yeah. So and again, that's like you were Saying this is
Speaker:like. This is just an old, like, equation. And it's not. It's not what
Speaker:we're aiming for. For most people, it's a pretty low number. It's pretty thin. And
Speaker:then it's always like, plus or minus 10%. But it's just
Speaker:like an easy way to do it. And it, to me, it kind of gives,
Speaker:like, what would your absolute, like, leanest weight be like if we were just
Speaker:feeding a completely lean body, which. Especially women. No woman
Speaker:is going to have a completely lean body because it's not how we're
Speaker:designed. And then men, it's a little there. It's 106 plus 6
Speaker:pounds per inch. Oh, that's smart for. For that. So like a
Speaker:man who is, you know, 5, 10 is 166.
Speaker:Yeah. And then patients that have had, like, so much weight loss, some of that
Speaker:weight is skin. And everyone always wonders, well, how much does it actually
Speaker:weigh? Right. And it's going to be different for everyone, but
Speaker:it really isn't as much as you think, honestly. But it does range between, like
Speaker:£7 to even £15. So it's somewhere usually in that
Speaker:range. And at least that's at like, 1:1
Speaker:surgery. Right, right. We can't take everything off all at once,
Speaker:you know. Right. Do have to break things up normally.
Speaker:So we had a previous episode with you, of course, and we talked on that
Speaker:one a lot about the different procedures you do, how much operative
Speaker:time a patient can undergo. Now we're having patients that
Speaker:have already had their first surgery and they're coming back to their next one. And
Speaker:you talked a little bit about, you know, the arms are necessary to
Speaker:help you to kind of get up. And now some patients are going for their.
Speaker:Their arms next, I think. Is that. Is that how you're doing this? You
Speaker:know, all patients are going to be a little bit different. Some talk me into
Speaker:doing a lot more than I really think that they should do, but they've
Speaker:done well. So every patient is a patient by patient type
Speaker:of decision. And it's. It's a lot of discussion back and forth.
Speaker:How much help do you have? All of these things and factors make
Speaker:us decide what is right for each patient. So what's right for
Speaker:somebody may not be the right order for someone else. But
Speaker:like you said, when you're having your abdomen done, it
Speaker:is better to have your limbs available to help you get up
Speaker:and move around. So usually breast and tummy is a good
Speaker:combination, but some people like to split it up into upper and lower
Speaker:so doing arms, breast, and maybe back, back. L.
Speaker:And then the lower body. And. And that works too. And it's just
Speaker:a. Usually ask what bothers you most, and let's focus on
Speaker:that first and get through that one, and then we can kind of break it
Speaker:down after that. You're doing a lot of our patients and you're doing a lot
Speaker:of this. How. I know that this is a big part of your practice in
Speaker:California, but it's a really big part of your practice. From
Speaker:our body by bariatrics, family and community here that are all, like,
Speaker:very eager to get over and get their consults with you and just talk about
Speaker:their kind of like, pain points and things that they would love to enhance
Speaker:and improve. How. What do you think about these
Speaker:patients and this becoming kind of, I think, really
Speaker:your specialty here? I mean, it's really rewarding. I
Speaker:mean, I like it. I feel so connected to these
Speaker:patients because I really do sympathize with the
Speaker:struggles that they've gone through. You know, it's been such a journey
Speaker:and going from, you know, being overweight and
Speaker:not wanting to show their body to now having all this extra skin and
Speaker:still feeling the same way. And to get to the point where
Speaker:I can help them see their body in a new way and feel really
Speaker:confident about it. I mean, they've been wonderful. Oh,
Speaker:we. We love it. And there's. There's like a little group of them. They. They're
Speaker:even forming their own little support group. They do. They have a Facebook group and
Speaker:everything. Do. Yeah. I love it. They are. I know. It's such a
Speaker:tight knit community and everyone's so supportive of everybody else and
Speaker:they like. I see patients, like, sharing, like, tips and
Speaker:tricks and all this stuff, and it's. It's just really. It's great.
Speaker:I love it. I love the day that you operate on our patients. And that
Speaker:night they, like, again, they come into my direct messages and I get all these,
Speaker:like, naked photos and I'm like.
Speaker:I'm like, this is kind of peculiar, I guess if you were to let me,
Speaker:the outsider look at it. And I'm like, wow, like, all the fire
Speaker:emojis. I stopped, like, just gets, like, unsolved. Listen to.
Speaker:She loves it. I love this news. I love it. I love the surgery. Please.
Speaker:Yes. So used to getting those. But yeah, I guess it may be kind of
Speaker:new for you. Yeah. I'll be like, oh, this is a new one. But I
Speaker:love it. And it's just awful just watching the whole transition, the whole
Speaker:journey is. It's amazing. Yeah. So speaking
Speaker:of kind of our patients, obviously that's who. Who we tend to focus on. But,
Speaker:like, besides the protein and being steady for about three
Speaker:to six months, what else, or is there anything else as far as preparation that
Speaker:you recommend? Either mental, physical, like,
Speaker:what do you. What do you think about that? So just to touch on physical
Speaker:real quick, it's not just being stable, but being at a good BMI to
Speaker:be at a good place for surgery. And BMI isn't everything,
Speaker:so there's definitely some exceptions, but you want to
Speaker:get somewhere close to BMI of 30, and that may not
Speaker:be reasonable for Everybody, but above
Speaker:35 really increases the risks of wound problems
Speaker:and infections. Just things that we don't want to
Speaker:have happen. You know, we want you to have a good, smooth recovery. So
Speaker:if your BMI is still 35 or over, I
Speaker:would encourage you to try to, you know, meet again with you guys,
Speaker:bariatrics, because you guys are so good at helping get people down
Speaker:to where they need to be. And so, you know, kind of just referring them
Speaker:back to me either follow up with you. Yeah, well,
Speaker:that. And I also think that sometimes you might see those people and they get
Speaker:the surgery. If they were to get the surgery done, then maybe they lose more
Speaker:weight afterwards and now they're not satisfied with their results
Speaker:anymore and either need another surgery or revision or
Speaker:whatever it might be. So that's the other thing. Yeah,
Speaker:the excitement, you know, because, like, people have already lost £100, but
Speaker:even though they're not quite at the right BMI, they're like, they feel already ready
Speaker:and they're already struggling with things that the extra skin is
Speaker:bringing is like the rashes and the problems and their clothes
Speaker:fitting. And so you get so excited about the.
Speaker:Even the prospect of getting that removed that, you know, you just kind
Speaker:of. You push forward. But it's really important to try to
Speaker:be at a really good safety of mind. Yeah. And like you said,
Speaker:like, there's also like just mentally. Right. You know, to
Speaker:be ready to undergo it is a recovery. It is a process.
Speaker:You have to mentally prepare yourself that it's not going to be
Speaker:instantaneous. Like, one step. Like, if there's a lot of skin
Speaker:that we have to plan out, this can take a full year to get you
Speaker:through all your surgeries before you're going to get to that end point. And even
Speaker:just those couple weeks of recovery after any of them, you know,
Speaker:I know you said it's. We try to make it as Best as possible, as
Speaker:smooth as possible. But that still can be a lot and be really challenging
Speaker:and working with your family and caretakers and all that. Well, it's a
Speaker:lot of prep. You got to make sure that you have support and that the
Speaker:kids are going to. Who's going to take the kids to school and you know,
Speaker:who's going to cook for you and who's, you know, are you going to meal
Speaker:prep before? There's just a lot of planning and, and we, you know, try
Speaker:to help out with all of those things. But there is a lot involved and
Speaker:you have to be ready because it's, it is a big undertaking.
Speaker:Hi. And I'm so impressed by it. Like you said, there are a lot of
Speaker:details that you just recognize from being, you know, the
Speaker:activities of daily life. But we have a hotel that's right
Speaker:next door. Yeah, we have the hub to suites. And you guys have
Speaker:like a very generous offer for that for the out of town patients.
Speaker:Yeah, we like to. Especially if you're driving more than 45
Speaker:minutes, it's tough to have surgery and then jump in a car and be
Speaker:there for. So we really do support, you know, you staying next door
Speaker:at the hotel. We'll cover that for you. And the first lymphatic that you have
Speaker:here. Oh, wow. We do have someone who's wonderful. She meets you here
Speaker:at the office, she'll do your first lymphatic, you know, just to kind of help
Speaker:in it. And it sounds like, oh, gosh, someone's going to give me a massage
Speaker:the first day. Like, it sounds horrible, but it actually makes people feel really good
Speaker:and it really does relieve some of the tension that they're feeling in that first
Speaker:day. Tell us more about that. I didn't know that you were doing
Speaker:it the very day after surgery. I didn't know that. Yeah.
Speaker:So let's do even better actually with lymphatics.
Speaker:And if we wait too long, then already you start getting
Speaker:congestion in your tissues and everything starts to swell more.
Speaker:So the sooner you can start getting those lymphatics to be stimulated
Speaker:and start removing the fluids, the better you're going to feel. And hopefully
Speaker:we can even bypass that really tense, stiff,
Speaker:swollen stage that some people enter. And if we can avoid
Speaker:that, it really does make your recovery so much nicer. Wow.
Speaker:Can I just get a probiotic massage? Absolutely can. It is actually
Speaker:recommended for people to get lymphatic. Just in general. It's amazing how
Speaker:much water that your body retains and just being able to
Speaker:like stimulate Your lymphatics and get things moving. I mean,
Speaker:anyone could go again. I better upset your data.
Speaker:I wasn't sure. The woman that comes in, she's very, very
Speaker:friendly. Yeah. Oh, that is great. Well, I'm
Speaker:going to take advantage of that. I'm going to tell Dr. Lane in her final
Speaker:days of pregnancy as well that she needs to get over them. Make sure she
Speaker:can do that. Her legs are probably. They're so swollen.
Speaker:Doctor. Poor Dr. Lane. I know. She needs some help right now. Love her.
Speaker:I know. She only has days left. Literally days. We are measuring it in days.
Speaker:So maybe she'll have my first one. September
Speaker:11th over here. Oh, be a little. She that early?
Speaker:She's due next week. She's due. No, she's due October 1st.
Speaker:Okay. So she's being induced that day. So we have, I think,
Speaker:who knows how many surgeries the day before because we're going to just squeeze. Working
Speaker:right up to it. We can't out of that. So speaking of squeeze,
Speaker:we're going to squeeze the lymphatics, we're going to squeeze everything back. Getting back
Speaker:on track here. So. Okay, so there's the physical aspect,
Speaker:there's also the planning aspect, and, you know, taking
Speaker:advantage of you guys covering that hotel stay.
Speaker:That's huge as well. What other things
Speaker:do you feel like you really need to do or know on the front end
Speaker:to make sure that you have just this incredible recovery? Well,
Speaker:we really try to spell out everything that you need. And we just recently had
Speaker:someone that had surgery with us, and they said, you know, it would be nice
Speaker:if some of these things were included. So we are going to put together kind
Speaker:of a care package that has most everything you need
Speaker:file before and after surgery just to cover those bases.
Speaker:So you're not sitting there on Amazon trying to find everything that we recommend that
Speaker:you get. And so we're going to try to make it a little
Speaker:bit easier for patients. And just. Here you go. These are things that you need,
Speaker:but it's like little things like the foam padding, you know, for under the
Speaker:garment, getting an extra garment, because if you just have one garment, then
Speaker:you want to wash it and that kind of thing. And so just
Speaker:adding a little bit more, you know, value
Speaker:by having you have these things that you don't have to worry about. Oh,
Speaker:I like that. So it is awesome. It's so cute. Like, even though, like, your
Speaker:details are amazing, they have sometimes drains
Speaker:and they have this, like, little, just like a lanyard, like, keychain type
Speaker:thing. This Body by beauty on it. They're super cute. And then
Speaker:she, like, looks the. The JP's up to them, the drains up to
Speaker:them. I love it. It's nice to have something you could take in the shower
Speaker:with you and. Yeah, that makes sense. Have those drains and just
Speaker:dangle it. It's a daily life. Bulls, probably. That would have hurt. And yeah, I'm
Speaker:like, man, she thought of everything. Yeah, it's really cool. Well, it's kind of funny
Speaker:because of the difference between the bariatric surgery and yours. Like, yours is
Speaker:obviously open and it's big, big and all this. And we're just so used to
Speaker:these, like. And we're like, yeah, take it to
Speaker:our garage. You'll be fine. I know. No big deal. You're not a
Speaker:Jackson boat. Head on, head up. And you don't need compression garments. Here's get
Speaker:on a walk, maybe at. Times grab a pillow. You're good. I
Speaker:know. It's so different. It is so different. But I mean,
Speaker:hey, it's. It is what it is. Ours does not have instantaneous results.
Speaker:That is true. It takes a much longer time. It is true. And I think
Speaker:that that is sometimes, like, you look down and like, well, could you remove a
Speaker:little fat in there? We get that question. Or I look the same.
Speaker:Yeah. In fact, you probably. You probably gain a few pounds from the
Speaker:iv. Yeah. With this hunting full of fluid, you're going to be heavier than when
Speaker:you left here. So you're welcome for your weight loss surgery.
Speaker:Absolutely. So, okay. So they decide. So
Speaker:even before they decide they're going to have surgery, obviously it all starts with a
Speaker:consult and you guys are still. You have a deposit that you'll return to them
Speaker:if they attend it. And so you're still essentially doing free consultations.
Speaker:Essential. Yeah, that's great. Virtual and in person. Yep, both. And so we've
Speaker:been doing a lot of virtuals because of the travel package we offer, you know,
Speaker:with the hotel stay. So even if you have to travel in from out of
Speaker:town, you know, we cover the two weeks that we want you here in the
Speaker:hotel and your lymphatic. So we've been getting a lot of your older
Speaker:patients. Other. I don't say older, but patients back from Maryland.
Speaker:Yeah, were there. So we get some of that. And, you
Speaker:know, I'm still getting some patients from California from where, you know, I was
Speaker:practicing before, so still kind of getting. It's
Speaker:interesting to me, like, the whole travel for surgery is
Speaker:kind of a new thing for me, but it's working out really well. Well, I
Speaker:mean, I would absolutely travel for something like this.
Speaker:Like, I'm going to be like, I don't want to be inconvenienced. Like, if I'm
Speaker:going to commit, I'm going to commit. And I think that's what a lot of
Speaker:people think. Like, I want the best results. Well, you. You also travel for
Speaker:other doctor's appointments. I do. It's like, dumb stuff, like dentist
Speaker:appointments. Like, she's like, yeah, I'm going up. To Pittsburgh for the day.
Speaker:I do. I'll be back. I do do that. Okay. That is true, I guess.
Speaker:But that's. But, but, but I do agree that this is the kind of thing
Speaker:that, like, you're looking for a specific result and it's so
Speaker:visual. And, like, you offer that. Yeah. You know, and not everybody
Speaker:offers. Oh, yes. I mean, just. It's true. It's like,
Speaker:who do you trust? And. And people trust you. And now
Speaker:that you're starting to do, like, people in the area. Oh, my gosh, you're getting
Speaker:so busy. Yeah. I love it. I love seeing it. This place is, like, bustling
Speaker:and coming alive. And, like, I do. I just, like, pause, stand back
Speaker:and watch. Like, I could so easily watch you and, like,
Speaker:like, what you're doing, watching your business grow, it's like one of those moments of,
Speaker:like, you know, stop and enjoy the view. Like, it is
Speaker:pretty amazing. No, it's true. It's good to kind of take a step back and
Speaker:just see, like, how far it's come just in the last, like, three or four
Speaker:months. Yeah. You've barely been here. Yeah, I know. I mean, seriously,
Speaker:we. We did our first surgeries in April. You did your first surgeries in May.
Speaker:And then now, like, every month, it's like, more and more and more. And now,
Speaker:like, close to the end of the year, a lot of people like to do
Speaker:it during breaks. Thanksgiving break or the Christmas time. The December
Speaker:period is really, really busy for all of us. And so if you
Speaker:want to have that surgery during one of these breaks before the end of the
Speaker:year, if you're a teacher, you're going to recover. It's time to get in.
Speaker:Yeah. Those days book up really quick. Oh, I don't know. So, like, you may
Speaker:not have anything in October, but then you're like, all your November and your December
Speaker:is already. I know, I know. I was just telling you, for us, I was
Speaker:like, we might need to open some more hospital days in
Speaker:December. We always end up with needing. I love Room
Speaker:as soon as I get off. You're looking at. But yeah, so you're booking up,
Speaker:you're getting busy, people are meeting you, loving you. I think that the biggest thing
Speaker:that people are kind of surprised by is how down to earth you are.
Speaker:And I think that people just really, they feel your
Speaker:sincerity and they feel like, oh, you just.
Speaker:You're here on a Saturday, like taking out trains, looking at them, meeting
Speaker:them. You're just so, like, approachable. Well, I just
Speaker:think it's like, I know how I would want to be treated in that situation,
Speaker:and then what would make me feel comfortable. And one of the things is, like,
Speaker:having that follow up with your surgeon. They. I think, especially
Speaker:in something that I do because there's so many limbs and there's like,
Speaker:you know, incisions and all things, and any little thing that, you know,
Speaker:people just get uncomfortable if there's any little thing that's going
Speaker:wrong, and then they can't get a hold of their surgeon. So I think that's
Speaker:one thing that kind of sets me apart, is you can always get a hold
Speaker:of me. You know, I text my patients. We have a good
Speaker:connection. If there's any questions, they're sending me photos. I'll
Speaker:see them in the office. I see them for all their visits. And so,
Speaker:I don't know. I think it's exactly how I want to be treated. And so
Speaker:that's what I try to do for my patients. I love that. The end.
Speaker:That's awesome. It's so good. I know. It's actually funny. I was dealing with one
Speaker:of our patients via text earlier, and your
Speaker:husband comes in and is like, hey, this. Patient just texted me about labs,
Speaker:whatever. And I was like, oh, yeah, I'm. Literally also texting her right now. We
Speaker:got it. We're good. But it was funny because it was just like a B
Speaker:respond to it. And that's what's nice about all of us being under the same
Speaker:roof. We can share patients and
Speaker:issues. I can send them back to you. You sent them to
Speaker:me. And it just. It works out and I don't know, it's a good thing.
Speaker:We all like each other. We love each other. Yeah. So
Speaker:much. And I. I mean, I think that's so true, but not.
Speaker:This is super unique. I know everybody knows it, but I
Speaker:really do not know. Another bariatric arm
Speaker:and arm with cosmetic kind of body contouring,
Speaker:nutrition, like truly comprehensive, like I said, like
Speaker:medical weight loss. If you need that to help you to get down to that
Speaker:lower bmi, like, all these different things, so easily and accessible
Speaker:and, like, really great results. Like, I don't know any
Speaker:other program in the United States that does this. I really don't. It's never
Speaker:just under one roof, in one place where you can just
Speaker:get everything done. That's all it does. So,
Speaker:I mean, everything. All the greatness that comes out of that side. Yeah,
Speaker:Yeah. I think I'm draining any profits that we might
Speaker:have. I mean, I go constant. Like, she's like, put me in her
Speaker:schedule constantly. Yeah. But even there, some of our
Speaker:patients, we've seen some. Some results, especially in facial. I'll show
Speaker:revolving. That was a couple that I wish. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
Speaker:Incredible. I mean, everybody looks great. Absolutely. Yeah. The dealers are great. Like jaw
Speaker:droppers. Absolutely. That, too. Yeah. So we
Speaker:talked a lot about the. Before the preparation, you know, staying
Speaker:very close, getting in close touch with you after
Speaker:surgery, everybody is always like, I want to be the most successful
Speaker:patient I want to be, getting my steps in and all of that. What do
Speaker:you recommend is too much? Too much? Like, is there cancer? Be.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure. And I think it's when the patient starts feeling
Speaker:really good, and it's that period between, like, where the drain comes
Speaker:out and that week right there. Because, you know,
Speaker:they haven't been doing too much. So their drain fluid comes, you know, gets low,
Speaker:and I'm like, okay, let's take the drain out, and they feel great. And then
Speaker:they, like, go to the mall or they go to Disneyland, and then,
Speaker:like, the next week, they're full of fluids. So there's definitely, you know, you
Speaker:still have to be really gingerly about your healing up to at least
Speaker:week three or at least a week until that drain comes out. Once the
Speaker:drain comes out, you have to make sure you're not doing too much
Speaker:too soon, because now we're just relying on your body to kind of get rid
Speaker:of all that extra flister that the drain was doing. So if you
Speaker:overdo it, well, you can kind of, you know, create problems.
Speaker:Do you still recommend lymphatic at that point? Excellent. Right after
Speaker:10 to 16 lymphatics is like, okay, well, it's a
Speaker:lot. It is a lot. And the more lipo that you get with your
Speaker:procedure, the more contouring that we're going to be doing,
Speaker:you're going to be up on that higher number. If we're just doing skin
Speaker:removal without lipo, there is less of an inflammatory response. So
Speaker:maybe don't need quite as many. But they're still very beneficial
Speaker:and highly recommended. But definitely you can do too
Speaker:much. So I always try to tell patients, even if you feel good, even
Speaker:if you are feeling guilty about not doing dishes or doing
Speaker:laundry, like just let it go. Never really. You'll see that.
Speaker:I do. I feel guilty sometimes. But I mean you just really gotta.
Speaker:It's a short period of time when you think about it. Just let your body
Speaker:heal. Because it does take a lot to let for your body to heal. And
Speaker:if you're doing something else, it's taking away from that healing. Yeah.
Speaker:And with that too. I mean, from my. Again, from my perspective, you're still trying
Speaker:to get all this protein in. Yeah. Like protein is healing and
Speaker:that's. You know, we've said this before, with any surgery you need
Speaker:increased protein. Like it's just the standard protocol after any type of surgery. And
Speaker:again, especially with these, when you have these bigger, you know, bigger wounds,
Speaker:incisions like that, that just need. And you want that ideal
Speaker:heat optimization. Appealing. Yeah. Do you recommend any
Speaker:other kind of supplementation after or. Or during or before that
Speaker:you guys use juvent. Is that what the one that you use? I've.
Speaker:In other. Other places. Yeah, I know it's been used before. We, we don't really.
Speaker:I just like, I always like just find a protein. Like if you. A protein
Speaker:shake is good. If you can't eat that much protein a day and just find
Speaker:one that agrees with you and everyone's different. I mean there's some protein
Speaker:shakes that don't sit well with every adi but just find one that works for
Speaker:you and is palatable and you're going to actually drink a. Yeah. So you like
Speaker:the shakes for us once they kind of get beyond
Speaker:the healing pattern and they're off of like the full liquid diet or
Speaker:pureed and they're on regular food. We would prefer that you get
Speaker:it from regular food sources. Absolutely. I have the same. But some
Speaker:people have a decreased appetite after surgery and then they're
Speaker:kind of feeling constricted in the garbage. So for them
Speaker:to like sit there and eat like breast, chicken breast,
Speaker:it's just. And for infra bariatric patients specifically, they already have
Speaker:that restriction. Yeah. And to get like 100 plus grams of
Speaker:protein, realistically, you need a supplement.
Speaker:The only reason or whatever. Yeah. If you can get it from your
Speaker:diet, I mean, that's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, that can be tricky. Got you.
Speaker:And what about those like unflavored kind of like protein powders just like
Speaker:whatever they do or do you prefer like a. More of a shake or something
Speaker:like. That ounce, whatever the instant, just get the protein in. I don't really care
Speaker:how you do it. Yeah. And I know that you do a lot of other
Speaker:things on just weight loss patients. Of course you have.
Speaker:You've done some mommy makeovers, you've done breast
Speaker:augmentations, you know, lipo on the arms only,
Speaker:like, I've seen all kinds of things. Yeah. I mean, I like
Speaker:doing a variation. And that's one of the reasons I chose this profession is because
Speaker:it has so much variety. And every patient's going to be
Speaker:very different. Their aesthetic is going to
Speaker:be different. Like what somebody thinks is beautiful is not going to be with
Speaker:someone else. And I try to work with whatever. That's what you're. None of my
Speaker:patients are going to look the same. I have a really
Speaker:deep dive discussion on what they want to look like. What
Speaker:do you see for yourself? And obviously, as long as that's something
Speaker:realistic, that's what we try to do. And whether it's just lipo in the
Speaker:arms or high def lipo of the abdomen or bigger breast, I
Speaker:mean, there's. Less how much you can do. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:So we, we kind of got to like week 3 ish or so post op,
Speaker:we have gotten the drains out. I feel like the next biggest question you probably
Speaker:get asked is like, when can I work out again? When can I return to
Speaker:a totally normal activity? Yeah. So the most common is when can I have sex?
Speaker:Oh, yeah. When can they have sex? And then when can I work out? I
Speaker:usually say when it's comfortable for you and there's no open wounds,
Speaker:you know, so that could vary for people. And I just normally
Speaker:say, just keep it boring at first. Yeah. But
Speaker:at six week is when. Six weeks is when someone can, I say, return
Speaker:to kind of gym activity where they're doing a little bit more. More
Speaker:heavy lifting, pushing, pulling. But I think heavy,
Speaker:it's more, you know, heavier. And not really. If you were
Speaker:lifting weights before, not what you were lifting before, but
Speaker:definitely six weeks is a good turning point. And if we did any type
Speaker:of muscle work, you can't work out your abs till three months.
Speaker:Wow. Okay. Yeah. So you have to be pretty careful between
Speaker:that six weeks to three months not to do too much because
Speaker:we do use permanent sutures to repair the muscles. But it does take
Speaker:time for that fascia to really, like, seal up and see
Speaker:a good solid repair. Yeah. Wow. Three
Speaker:months. You do have an intensive healing.
Speaker:I know you guys are so Short. Right. Well, I say the next day they
Speaker:could go back to the gym. Nice. Post OP Day 1 Bess is
Speaker:like. Get in the pool and walk around. I say you can get a wet.
Speaker:You can go and you can work out after bariatrics because there's just four tiny
Speaker:little incisions with waterproof skin glue over them. Yeah. And so we,
Speaker:we do encourage them to move. And so I mean I want people
Speaker:to be sensical. I mean it's like cardio. But I don't even put like
Speaker:you have to wait this long or have this specific lifting restriction. I
Speaker:don't put that on them. Well, yeah, the incisions are like so small. There's no
Speaker:really breast skilled hernias or anything on those painouts. So I mean for
Speaker:me it's like I don't want my repair to fall. Oh, absolutely. No, totally
Speaker:100% makes sense. And like you're saying with especially the abdomen repair
Speaker:which most people are getting that with the tummy tucks or with the
Speaker:skin removal or with whatever it might be. And like you want that, you want
Speaker:that knitted nice and tight together because. It'S
Speaker:not just a mommy thing. It is, you know, when you've been overweight and
Speaker:100 pounds plus overweight, you have that,
Speaker:your abdomen's been absolutely, you know, extended and
Speaker:there is really a good degree of muscle separation. And again the
Speaker:diastasis right there, all that. Yeah. So
Speaker:do you do interrupted sutures or you run it? Just have a curiosity. Both. So
Speaker:I do a double, a double layer closure. So the first one is interrupted
Speaker:sutures and then I do a running procedure over it. Wow. Yeah,
Speaker:that's tight though. That's tight. I want to come and see one of your
Speaker:procedures someday or some of it. I always do for the. The whole thing
Speaker:is long. She's long. I know. I feel good now pretty
Speaker:much. So next step, somebody is interested whether
Speaker:they've want body contouring or just want an enhancement to their
Speaker:physique. How do they get you? How you know, what
Speaker:is it like the whole thing. So you can fill out a consultation form on
Speaker:body by beauty.com just the website. There's a lot of,
Speaker:you know, little areas that you can fill out a consultation. You know, we
Speaker:call the office and make an appointment that
Speaker:way. But the best way is to go through the website. Yeah. Perfect Body by
Speaker:Beauty.com. Yeah, I love it. And it says request a consult right there
Speaker:at the very top in multiple places. And it's easy to find. And
Speaker:I know Once they kind of get in, they'll get the consult and then the
Speaker:texting and all the other forms of communication begin. Yeah,
Speaker:absolutely. And even if you're not quite ready for surgery and you just want to
Speaker:have a conversation, I'm good with that, too. You know, it's. It.
Speaker:Sometimes people want to prepare and just what is
Speaker:it? And so even if they're not quite stable yet, or maybe they haven't reached
Speaker:that goal quite yet, but that's okay. You can still come and we
Speaker:can talk about the future. Yeah. And maybe even help them set
Speaker:some of those goals as well. Like, this is where I'd like you to be
Speaker:in. Because sometimes people are like, exactly where to
Speaker:be. Yeah. So awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming back on
Speaker:the podcast. You're always welcome. Thank you. She's just down the hall. Yeah. But
Speaker:it's super interesting, and I know that a lot of people are going to be
Speaker:listening because they. They've been watching their fan club.
Speaker:Yeah. There's a lot of analyzing, zooming in on pictures, getting
Speaker:very close. What do they have? Looking into other strangers,
Speaker:DMs based on the pictures they see. Like, that's me.
Speaker:That's my journey. I lost £100. I had that same kind of
Speaker:body composition. I want that, too. How was it? And
Speaker:our patients, the other thing about them is they love to share, which I know
Speaker:that you're almost like, whoa, I'm not used to that either.
Speaker:They will pay it forward. When they were trying to decide that they wanted it,
Speaker:they were trying to look for other examples. And so they're like, put me out
Speaker:there. I'm just so thrilled. I love that you're right. I'm not used to that
Speaker:because of this. And it was so hard. It was like pulling teeth to get
Speaker:people to want to share their photos with other people. People. But I love
Speaker:that they're like that. It's so important because
Speaker:it makes you feel like you're not alone. They're not. They're absolutely not alone
Speaker:in that. And speaking of, I just wanted to say one last thing, is that
Speaker:we do have our Body by Mindset retreat coming up very soon, and
Speaker:you're going to be a speaker there, and I think so. If
Speaker:you're attending that retreat, and even if you're not, I think that's the, you know,
Speaker:an opportunity for people to get to know you. And I'm really excited. And that's
Speaker:something that, yes, this is a community, and we do love to come together. And
Speaker:no one is alone. And no matter where you're at, your journey. So,
Speaker:yeah, I'm excited for it. People come and find me and just ask me questions
Speaker:and just hit my brain with whatever they other questions. Yeah, we said she
Speaker:is very approachable and very nice and down to earth and dryly really
Speaker:funny. She laughs at my jokes, you guys. Yes,
Speaker:she does see things. I'm funny. That's why I keep her around.
Speaker:Well, we can find you on Instagram at Dr. Or PowerMD
Speaker:and then of course, at Dr. Body by
Speaker:Dr. Body by Beauty. And then your website, bodybybeauty.com and
Speaker:then 3, 8, 6, Dr. Tower is the phone number, so
Speaker:you can always give them a call as well. But like said, go ahead and
Speaker:fill out that consultation form online is the best way to get in touch. And
Speaker:then, as always, you can find us on Instagram at the weight loss collab, at
Speaker:Hannah Schuyler RD, at Dr. Dovik, at Body by
Speaker:Bariatrics. Everywhere where? Everywhere you can find us. We need to link
Speaker:all the websites. So you just get there. Yes, because we get people all the
Speaker:time that text us, like, I want. You know, I want your Tattler
Speaker:and I reach. We type your name a lot, too. We don't. We're like, this
Speaker:is her. Yeah, I know. Give them a call and then I. Tell your team,
Speaker:I say, hey, this. Person'S reaching out for you. Exactly. Just need to link our
Speaker:website. So we do. We will. Yeah. Hold it. That's it. Right at you.
Speaker:All right, well, again, thank you so much and we'll have you back again. Bye.
Speaker:Oh, bye.
