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Alright guys —you’ve been asking, so now we’re answering.

As you all know, I had a breast repair surgery (+fat transfer) at the beginning of the year (if you didn’t know — you can listen to the whole story here — plus it will provide A LOT of laughs for your day because I hit the mic with Anne Claire on this episode).

After 6+ years of living with a breast augmentation surgery that was not done well — I decided it was time to feel good about my body again.

There were many things wrong with the previous surgery from placement of incision to size of implant, so I knew this wasn’t going to be a straightforward surgery — and I needed the best.

Enter: Dr. Unger.

I first heard about him from our girl Karee Hayes, and I immediately felt comfortable from my first conversation with him.

It was a surprise to me when he suggested a combination of implant AND body fat to create the most natural looking aesthetic, but hey — he’s the expert! 

You guys followed along every step of the way as I shared my journey on Instagram leading up to surgery, and I wasn’t about to leave you hanging on the magic that Dr. Unger performed.

So I knew the best way to answer your questions was to bring him on the podcast. And we are covering EVERYTHING.

Dr. Jacob Unger is a board-certified plastic surgeon and the president and owner of Nashville Plastic Surgery Institute at Maxwell Aesthetics in Nashville, TN, as well as a member of the prestigious American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. He specializes in aesthetic surgery of the face, nose, eyes, breast, and body, as well as reconstructive surgery following cancer.

In this conversation, we are leaving NOTHING on the table. We are chatting about:

• That black mold in your breast implants is actually a MYTH (I know, I was shocked, too)
• The issues I had from previous surgery (that you can avoid by listening) and how Dr. Unger fixed them
• The best place for your incisions (this was insightful news for me!)
• How to achieve the natural hang of a breast after surgery
• Best options for revisionary breast surgery 

But I figured while I had Dr. Unger on the mic, I was going to answer ALL your plastic surgery questions, not just breast augmentation. Check below for the answers to all your questions like:

• How to get rid of stretch
• How to find the best plastic surgeon in your area
• What are the options in the neck lift world

This episode is all things educational AND entertaining. It’s the biggest resource you didn’t know you needed before making your next (or first!) plastic surgery decision.

Plus, you’ll learn what a boob hammock is. And who doesn’t want to know that?!

To learn more about Dr Unger, follow him on socials and visit his website:

https://www.maxwellaesthetics.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drjacobunger/?hl=en

YOUR QUESTIONS:

• Can we get rid of stretch marks?
  • Yes they can be helped, no they cannot be made to go away fully. It’s a nuanced answer. Yes and no. So radio-frequency micro-needling can actually help to tighten skin, which can help tighten stretch marks to stretch marks. So the layer of the skin is called a dermis. When the dermis breaks apart or thins out, then all you see is the epidermis or the top layer of the skin. That’s a stretch mark. So if we’re able to tighten things up in that area, using heat and energy to help shrink things down, you can make the appearance of that stretch. So yes, they can be helped. No, they can not be made to go away.

• Do you need to wait until a certain age to get a neck lift?
  • No, I’m doing a neck lift on a woman tomorrow that is 37 years old. But some people like to wait until they’re 70 and they want to get, you know, as much skin out as possible. The younger you are the longer lasting the results, but yes, you’ll continue to age. So don’t expect to get a neck lift or a face of a 40 years old and then when you’re 75 say, well, why is my skin sagging? Well, gravity.

• How can I find the best plastic surgeon in my area?
  •  So the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, ASPS and the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, ASAPS. They both have find a doctor applications. The key is to make sure your plastic surgeon is board certified and you need to ask your a plastic surgeon, what they are board certified in. There are some boards out there that are not recognized. The ones who really know where the nurses in the hospital. So if you have any friends who are nurses in the hospital, they’re the ones who see surgeons operating.  They are a great resource. I think it’s very important to make sure you connect with your surgeon, to make sure they have the appropriate credentials, interview your surgeon, make sure you’re comfortable and make sure you feel you’re being listened to.

• What’s all the buzz about the Deep plane facelift?
  • This is a really hot question right now because it’s really popular on social media. You cut right above the nerves, right below that layer and pull on that layer from the undersurface. That’s a deep plane facelift, formally speaking. Now, any plastic surgeon who does a lot of facelifts or a facial plastic surgeon for that matter worth their weight in salt, gets their result on that layer, whether you pull out or cut on it from the top or the bottom, it really has no impact on results. And that’s been well-proven, it is about your surgeon and what your surgeon does.  But everyone needs a calm down deep plane facelift. It is just, it’s a trending hot topic

• What’s the range of cost of a breast augmentation
  • Well, it depends on where you’re in the United States. You can find them on a billboard for as low as probably $5,000 all in, I would be very weary of that. Then they can go as high as $20,000. It depends on the city and the surgeon. I think it’s important that your procedure is done not only by a board certified plastic surgeon, but in an accredited facility. Breast augmentation – sure it’s simple. It’s quick. It’s easy. My patients feel very good. Some of them go out to dinner the night of their surgery. That doesn’t mean it’s not a serious surgery and that’s because you’re still performing surgery along the rib cage. There can be bleeding, there can be issues with breathing and lungs, and it’s just not something that should be taken super lightly.

• What’s the recovery from a tummy tuck?
  • It’s not so bad these days due to advances in numbing medicine. It’s an annoying recovery because you’re walking around bent over due to the removal of all the skin and you can’t stand up straight. But we rely on the body to stretch back out. That’s how we have children.  

• When should breast implants be replaced?
  • I tell my patients, 10 to 15, maybe 20 years for the average lifespan. There is a 0.7% risk of rupture annually. So that accumulates over time. But typically 20 years later, gravity didn’t stop working on you. And so the vast majority of the time that we’re doing surgery on patients is to replace implants because they want to change something else about the breast. And we’re not going to of course, re lift the breast or change the shape of the breast on a 20 year old implant and leave it there.

• Can I get just a breast lift after breast feeding to fix the sagging skin?
  • Yes absolutely. If you do a lift, the nipple position rises, the skin envelope gets tighter. The shape overall gets better, the breast tissue laying on your tummy goes away.All of that is great. What it does not do is create long-term upper pull or upper breast fullness, and that’s because your skin and breast tissue has learned this with breastfeeding and children and gravity.But if you want around her fuller and more balanced breasts overall and implants, the only antigravity device that we have.

• What’s the smallest CC that they make?
  • The smallest one on the market right now is probably around 125 for 140 CCS.

• What is the recovery of breast augmentation?
  • Many women will go right back to work. Attitude has so much to do with it. And six weeks is my rule until essentially giving people a complete release to go back to any activity they want.
• Is a neck lift the only option for saggy neck skin?
  • No, but it’s probably the best option based on how much saggy skin you have. There are some tightening and energy based devices, both internal and external that can help the things. But the more you do, the more you get. It depends on what exactly you want your results to look like.