Episodes

Around 48 to 72 hours after surgery, swelling peaks, the anesthesia haze lifts, and a lot of women look in the mirror and feel like they've made a mistake. Dr. Diana Breister has been in plastic surgery long enough to know th...

At ten or eleven years old, Dr. Hector Salazar watched his grandmother step off a plane looking dramatically younger than she had a month earlier. She had quietly traveled out of town for cosmetic surgery, healed through the ...

Dr. Diana Breister, a board-certified plastic surgeon who has done mommy makeovers in San Diego for over twenty years, joins us to talk about everything that happens after the six-week post-op visit. You can do planks, but no...

Six months after her breast implants came out, a young woman handed Dr. Luke Swistun a full, untouched bottle of Xanax — the same prescription she had been burning through at three to four pills a day before the explant. Stor...

When breast implant illness support groups started telling each other to ask their plastic surgeon for an “en bloc capsulectomy,” they were borrowing a term from cancer surgery — and asking for something most surgeons knew wa...

Most patients walk into a breast augmentation consultation hoping to leave with answers. Ella walked in with research, reference photos, and a clear vision — and then made the deliberate decision to trust her plastic surgeon’...

Filler is an easy first step — quick, pretty much reversible, affordable. But there’s a moment patients know well: you’ve been filling the same area for years, and something still isn’t quite right. Dr. Kiersten Riedler, faci...

Nearly four years ago, Janelle woke up from breast explant surgery, placed her hands on her chest, and felt free for the first time in 22 years. She's back to share what life looks like on the other side: not just the physica...

After his César Awards appearance, the internet decided Jim Carrey might be a clone and honestly, the reaction wasn't totally unwarranted. Dr. Johan Brahme, a San Diego plastic surgeon who has helped well over one thousand pe...

Bigger isn’t always better, and women are realizing it after living with breast implants. San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Luke Swistun talks about the shift toward smaller, more natural-looking breasts. Everyone on social media is calling them “yoga...

Lipo or tummy tuck—how do you know which one you need? San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Hector Salazar and Monique talk through the difference between liposuction and a tummy tuck, and why the right choice isn’t always obvious. Skin quality, muscle...

More than half of people who travel abroad for cosmetic surgery end up needing additional medical care when they return home. Monique and Hannah discuss the hidden risks of medical tourism, from missing post-operative care an...

Dr. Salazar returns to share how HD Lipo has evolved over the last five years and why realistic expectations are just as important as technology. Learn about HD Lipo recovery timelines, the importance of compression, how long...

One in seven Americans plans to use a GLP-1 by 2026—and it’s already changing plastic surgery. Monique talks with Janelle, COO of La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, about how GLP-1 medications are reshaping weight loss, surgical planning, and...

Why does breast implant removal sometimes cost as much—or more—than getting implants in the first place? It sounds backwards… until you hear what actually goes into explant surgery. Explant surgery isn’t just about removing i...

Surgery doesn’t end when the procedure is over—and that’s the part most people don’t hear enough about. San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Hector Salazar explains why what happens after can be just as important as the surgery itse...

You get a full pre-op booklet and a nurse walks you through every detail, but when surgery day is getting close, it’s easy for things to go in one ear and out the other. To help make sense of it all, Jocelyn, one of our trust...

Meet Jocelyn, a clinical nurse at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre who helps guide patients through surgery and recovery. With more than 16 years of experience, Jocelyn has a calming, confident presence that instantly puts pe...

Are Motiva breast implants living up to the hype? When San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Breister first started using them, they were brand new to her. Now that they’ve become part of her regular go-to, she’s back to share ...

Fat might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to looking younger, but in the world of facial rejuvenation, it’s basically gold. According to Dr. Johan Brahme, it’s one of the most powerful tools we have for rest...

The deep plane facelift is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after procedures in facial rejuvenation—and for good reason. Unlike traditional facelifts, it repositions the deeper layers of the face, delivering natural-lo...

Nearly 40 years, thousands of patients, and a career that started unexpectedly in a National Guard medical unit—Dr. John Smoot’s story is full of the wisdom, wins, and lessons you only get from a lifetime in plastic surgery. ...

Who says plastic surgeons can’t rock out after hours? For Dr. Johan Brahme, music isn’t just a hobby—it’s part of how he approaches life and surgery. He shares how growing up in a musical family inspired him to play bass in m...

I n this festive holiday episode, Monique chats with friends from the LJCSC Dream Team about all the little things that make Christmas feel special, from favorite songs and decorations to family traditions and must-have holid...