How to Recover Like a Celebrity After Plastic Surgery

Dr. G (00:02):
You are listening to another episode of All the B's with me, Dr. G and my scrub tech Bri. Hey everybody, I'm Dr. Kat Gallus and I'm joined with Brianna. Hey Bri.

Bri (00:14):
Hey. Hey.

Dr. G (00:15):
And we're recording another episode of All the B's, your unfiltered plastic surgery and pop culture podcast. Excited for today's topic. Are you?

Bri (00:25):
Yes. Always.

Dr. G (00:28):
Recovering like a celebrity.

Bri (00:29):
This is my jam.

Dr. G (00:30):
That's right. I think recovery is so important when you're planning plastic surgery. Also prepping for surgery is important and the stuff we do in the middle, we've got that handled. So this is going to be about what you can do to make your recovery as seamless as possible and really recover like glam celebrity. But

Bri (00:52):
Yeah, the only way you should recover.

Dr. G (00:54):
Right. Take time for yourself first before we talk about recovering like a celebrity. We're going to talk about celebrity news. Some interesting, some good.

Bri (01:03):
There's so much going on.

Dr. G (01:05):
Funny. There's a lot going on. Okay, so Nina Dobrev is finally split after five years.

Bri (01:16):
Five years. I was so shocked by this. And then she pops out a week later with Zach Efron. It's my High School Musical and Vampire diary Dreams coming true.

Dr. G (01:29):
Nina Dobrev was with Sean White for five years, which you probably know this fun fact, right? He's from Carlsbad. Did you know that?

Bri (01:39):
I know who Sean White is.

Dr. G (01:41):
Did you know he's from Carlsbad?

Bri (01:43):
I didn't.

Dr. G (01:44):
Shut up. No. My sister sees him around or used to when he was still living around here.

Bri (01:49):
Oh really?

Dr. G (01:49):
Yeah, he's a local, his parents would drive him up to Mammoth every weekend, which there are those diehard people who like to go to Mammoth every weekend and ski or snowboard. Insane. But for those of you who don't know, it's like on a really good day, 6-7 hours.

Bri (02:05):
6, 7, 6, 7 hours.

Dr. G (02:12):
It's probably, I mean maybe from Carlsbad at six hours, but that's no traffic. Assuming there's no snow, you don't have to stop and put snow chains on. So they would leave super, super early, maybe like on a Friday morning or leave in the middle of the night and he'd sleep in the back of the car and then he would snowboard all day and then come back on Sunday. And I definitely have known people who will go up almost every weekend. I just can't do that drive back and forth.

Bri (02:38):
The drive even to Big Bear scares me.

Dr. G (02:41):
Right. Then you get to the mountains. Yeah, big bear's two hours away from us, but that last 45 minutes is awful.

Bri (02:49):
Especially when it's snowing and you have to put chains on your car and it's just very intimidating.

Dr. G (02:55):
So in this picture, Nina looks hella cute in that suit, but is that supposed to be Zach Efron climbing out of the water?

Bri (03:04):
Yeah, bleach blonde hair.

Dr. G (03:06):
Oh girl. The 12 year old's called and want their hair cut back.

Bri (03:11):
I'm pretty sure my son, that was my son's.

Dr. G (03:13):
Oh no. Oh no. I can't.

Bri (03:17):
She's really popping back out from Sean White to everybody. Who's that guy? I love him. He is in Top Gun.

Dr. G (03:25):
Glenn Powell, the guy, you can never think of his name.

Bri (03:27):
No, the guy to the left. I had a crush on him for a whole two hours during that movie.

Dr. G (03:32):
Miles?

Bri (03:33):
Yes,

Dr. G (03:34):
Yes. Something he was in. Yeah.

Bri (03:37):
Yeah. She really popped out and she's just like, suck it Sean White and she says there's no cheating, but I find that very hard to believe. You don't end in engagement just for

Dr. G (03:49):
Yeah, she's bouncing back hard. Is Zach Efron with Miles? Tell her because that haircut does not make 'em look straight. I'm sorry. Whatever's happening.

Bri (04:00):
Nina's just a cover up.

Dr. G (04:02):
Yeah. All right. Well at least she made the decision before she got married.

Bri (04:09):
Yeah, that's true.

Dr. G (04:11):
Maybe she could star in another show. That would be awesome.

Bri (04:16):
I love all three of them.

Dr. G (04:18):
Bring back the Vampire Diaries please.

Bri (04:21):
Right?

Dr. G (04:22):
Yeah, she looks great.

Bri (04:25):
I love

Dr. G (04:25):
Her. She doesn't look like she's worse for the wearer after the breakup.

Bri (04:28):
Yeah, she looks like no tears have been shed.

Dr. G (04:33):
Yeah. Awesome.

Bri (04:34):
You go Girlfriend.

Dr. G (04:35):
She also looks very natural. I know we're always pinging people for plastic surgery, but I don't know that she's had any.

Bri (04:41):
Yeah, she looks fabulous.

Dr. G (04:42):
God bless her. Fabulous.

Bri (04:43):
She's always been super, super cute though.

Dr. G (04:47):
Yeah. I cannot see.

Bri (04:49):
We watched Vampire Diaries like three times.

Dr. G (04:53):
One of my kids was watching it again and I was like, are those true religion jeans? What the hell?

Bri (05:00):
The throwbacks. So much we could say, I'm glad Zach Efron at least looks like this because there was a hot minute when he looks, his face looked super overfilled. I don't know if it was for that movie role, but it was not doing it. It was giving me Sidney Sweeney when she gained that weight for that movie role and they're just both beautiful humans.

Dr. G (05:24):
Yeah. I think he tried to say he had a jaw surgery or something, but he did look weird for a minute and now he's back to minus the hair back to normal.

Bri (05:34):
Yeah. My 12-year-old has that hair or did two years ago.

Dr. G (05:39):
I can't.

Bri (05:42):
No one should be bleaching their hair at this stage in life. Unless you're a girl.

Dr. G (05:48):
Unless you're a teenager. Don't do that. Okay, moving on. Our next.

Bri (05:52):
We can talk shit on people all day. Sorry Zach.

Dr. G (05:57):
Okay. Speaking of a less upbeat story, I will say that this whole thing that happened in LA is terrible with this guy David and his, ugh, Tesla.

Bri (06:11):
This was crazy because when it came out, they made him seem so distraught and he was cooperating with everything and doing well. He didn't even know who the girl was. It was just mind blowing. And then all of a sudden they had matching tattoos on their fingers and then everything has just been like he has a music video depicting events of being killed and put in the trunk and all the lyrics to his songs. I have so much to say about this.

Dr. G (06:40):
You do have a lot to say. It is truly disturbing. I was like, oh, some guy's on tour and they found something in a car that was registered to him that could mean anything and then just this poor girl was obsessed with him and met him and a 20-year-old jackass. I think he took advantage of that. I mean, that's coming to light, right?

Bri (07:06):
They met when she was was 12 and he was 17 is when they started dating. Can you imagine dating a 12-year-old?

Dr. G (07:13):
No.

Bri (07:16):
That's insane.

Dr. G (07:17):
This is generally when someone goes, oh, but she was a very mature 12-year-old. Show me that mature 12-year-old, please.

Bri (07:26):
Yeah, you're 18 and she's 13. I think not, but there's just no way. This is speculation. There's just no way. He's not a part of it.

Dr. G (07:39):
Well, I don't know

Bri (07:41):
Back to the Brianna Detective Chronicles, so he was older, maybe her parents found out or something and she's like, I can't be with you, or I don't know. Something happened. He got jealous and then he killed her because all his songs that he just can't live without her and how in love he is with her and then he put her in the Tesla to get crushed and I do want to know some other facts that I won't say but, and he was like, that's it. If I can't have you, no one else will.

Dr. G (08:12):
It's disturbing because it sounds like he was in a relationship with her and there's tons of evidence to suggest that not even considering the matching tattoos, but then all of a sudden she's missing and no one thinks to look at. It was an accident that they found his car, which got towed, which got impact. He just left his car parked in a neighborhood, I think near his house and with her body in it.

Bri (08:43):
Like three blocks away.

Dr. G (08:43):
Yeah, and then went on tour. What? What's going on there? And then it gets towed and then finally someone in the tow yard's like, oh, it smells bad. Jesus. And then he went, that's why I was like, well, this has to be weird because he's performing the next day and then he finally started canceling his shows. I don't know. We'll see how this unfolds.

Bri (09:09):
He's been performing and also if my partner did, I mean granted, like I said, she probably still lives at home, but you don't hear from somebody for a long time. You try and get in touch with their mother, you report them missing. All these steps that should have been taken were not taken and he had no interest in taking them.

Dr. G (09:27):
Right. So it just looks really

Bri (09:29):
He guilty.

Dr. G (09:30):
Wild. He guilty.

Bri (09:33):
Yeah.

Dr. G (09:33):
You heard it here first.

Bri (09:35):
Yeah, the verdict is in.

Dr. G (09:39):
That's the jury duty I want to be on.

Bri (09:41):
Just make it sense.

Dr. G (09:41):
Monster

Bri (09:42):
Sense. Yeah.

Dr. G (09:44):
Tell us how we're wrong.

Bri (09:46):
Yeah, she did not deserve that.

Dr. G (09:49):
Moving on. Are we going to talk about some Tylenol?

Bri (09:58):
The Tylenol, I take so much Tylenol. I guess that would make a lot of sense,

Dr. G (10:02):
But I feel like people are either team Tylenol or team Advil because my sister never has Tylenol in her house, but Advil hurts my stomach. So I am a Tylenol fan mostly because I spent my twenties taking kidney toxic levels of Motrin. So

Bri (10:24):
I did that with Ibuprofen.

Dr. G (10:26):
The same thing. So just as a PSA Tylenol is processed through your liver and Advil, Motrin, naprosin, all your NSAIDs get processed through your kidneys. So if you have any kind of problem with either of those organs, you want to take the other one. But in general, Tylenol is very safe. There's always too much is too much. So you can't take more than four grams in a day, but it's literally besides the eighties when someone was poisoning the Tylenol, it's the safest medication out there.

Bri (11:02):
I have Tylenol in the Theraflu I'm drinking right now.

Dr. G (11:06):
Yeah, I mean you give it to little infants for teething and then to make this bananas conclusion when there's been a really, really good study that's shown that it does not lead to increased autism is Yeah,

Bri (11:26):
I definitely think I maybe a little autistic and have ADHD.

Dr. G (11:30):
I don't think it's the Tylenol. We all know that it's the Diet Coke and we don't care. Probably we're going to drink it.

Bri (11:39):
Yeah, popping Tylenol and drink Diet Coke till I,

Dr. G (11:44):
Yeah,

Bri (11:45):
Ride or die.

Dr. G (11:46):
Exactly. Yeah.

(11:48):
I mean I feel like the only people who agree with this are the Advil makers and you can't take that just also a PSA. You absolutely cannot take nsaids, so that's your Motrin, your Advil, your naprosin. You can't take it when you're pregnant because it can lead to premature closing of the PDA, which is the patent. I just don't want to get way into the weeds, but it can create heart problems for your fetus. That's an actual fact. So no Motrin, no NSAIDs, which is usually the alternative while you're pregnant. So if you get a fever, you need to take Tylenol. So this is just such a disservice and I think honestly people are like, just think it's a joke. It's sort of we're back to injecting Clorox into our veins to fight off covid.

Bri (12:41):
It gives me somebody may have a stock or invested in Motrin or something.

Dr. G (12:48):
No, they're invested in that.

Bri (12:49):
And they're like Boo Tylenol.

Dr. G (12:52):
Boo Tylenol.

Bri (12:53):
Elon or Trump has definitely taken stock.

Dr. G (12:55):
That should be our Halloween costume,

Bri (13:00):
A bottle of Tylenol

Dr. G (13:03):
And then a pregnant lady.

Bri (13:03):
That actually be really good and a diet Coke.

Dr. G (13:07):
Yes. Which one of us gets to be Diet Coke.

Bri (13:09):
We're changing from I'll be the Tylenol, you be the Diet Coke and Dr. Chao can be the pregnant lady. We're changing from Britney Spears guys who's also probably taking a lot of Tylenol.

Dr. G (13:25):
Oh my god, I don't know what she's taking. Anyway, yeah, it's this is disturbing on so many levels. There is stock, Dr. Oz is owns stock in this company that makes a folate vitamin, which is what they're arguing, will cure autism or prevent autism also no science to back that up. So there is as usual, follow the money, but it's wild to me that it got to this level and I hope it just goes away. It's crazy. We should all know better. So we're going to segue from weird and uninformative science news to our topic, which is to recover like a celebrity, and I mean nobody does it better than Cardi B.

Bri (14:15):
I love the fact that she put a recovery above money. Amen sister. Amen.

Dr. G (14:20):
Right. I mean a lot of times people are like, oh, I'm just going to maybe go back to work right away and it's too soon after surgery. So this is back in 2019 and she went on her social media platforms and said, I do whatever I want to do. I don't have time of day like you do, and if I want to cancel some performances I can. I'm not fully recovered. Bravo, period. Queen.

Bri (14:49):
What she said, six seven. I think that's great though because people take the recovery to do all the things and then it messes up your healing.

Dr. G (15:01):
How many people have we seen that had, they're coming in for breast revision surgery and when I talked to them about recovery, this is now their second rodeo are like, oh yeah, the first time I didn't listen to my doctor and that's why this implant is a little malpositioned or it took extra time to heal or whatever it is. So I will do whatever you tell me this time. Most people on their second surgery get that, but your first surgery, a lot of people think they can push the envelope and they're not appropriately worried about the recovery. So treat yourself like a celebrity and give yourself time to recover. It's important. I think it's funny that her job is an entertainer is 24 hours, bro. So no, I don't have time to work out. I love that. I mean you could probably figure that out, but she had breast surgery, which no workout is going to change your breasts.

Bri (16:01):
Right,

Dr. G (16:02):
Right. What are you talking about?

Bri (16:05):
She

(16:06):
Just probably got a breast aug. Heal girlfriend.

Dr. G (16:10):
She just released a new album, which I need to listen to, but it's Am I the Drama? I've seen little clips of it. It looks good.

Bri (16:20):
Yeah. See, even Cardi B doesn't want to have to go back for a second surgery. She'd rather just take the time and listen to her body and let herself heal than go back and for all the people that don't have the money, like Cardi B, pay even more money for anesthesia costs to go in and have things redone. Like do it right the first time. Don't go start working out right the day three when you feel good. Don't go on trips, don't go to other countries. There's a lot of things I could say here, just sit your ass in bed.

Dr. G (16:55):
I know it's hard, but you really do need to take it easy and maybe going on tour or going to do shows is not the answer right after breast surgery. So that is amazing that she heated her doctor's advice. So when we have patients that are out of town, we do like them to stick around. Correct. I have patients that I prefer to stay for two weeks and a little of this depends on where you're coming from. So if you're coming from LA or a drivable distance, maybe Arizona like Scottsdale or Tucson, then maybe you stay for a day so that I can see you and if you have someone driving, you can drive home and then we can set up follow-ups. But if you're getting on a plane to come here, then we probably need you to stick around for at least a week. Two weeks is ideal. It just depends a lot on the procedure and you certainly need somebody to work with you in terms of the plane ride back and forth, if you know what I mean, because you're not hauling, schlepping your luggage around. Right.

Bri (18:09):
You're not going to feel great

Dr. G (18:11):
If you haven't traveled recently, please go out there and remember what a pain in the butt it is to check in, put your suitcase on the scale, take it back, go take it through security if you're, there's so much lugging crap around my kids make fun of me and I think they're trying to get me a different tote for my birthday because I have this huge tote that's just so big that I just keep shoving more stuff on it and it's my travel tote and then it weighs a hundred pounds. It's my little carry-on bag and they're like, make that stop.

(18:48):
So it barely, it got caught in the, because it doesn't zip up either, so it is parental shoulder, so I'm just going to say that, but it's massive. But it got caught in the, where you put it through the X-ray machine, it got stuck because it was stuck up and there was stuff piling out of it. What they're like the whole thing got jammed and I was like, oh, that's my bag. Sorry. I love that. So they get in there with a thing and push it through. I was like, my bad. Oh my God. None of that while you're recovering from surgery. So there's some things, I think it depends on the surgery. I would say perhaps the easier thing to recover from maybe physically is liposuction. Even though it hurts, you're not going to pull a stitch or a lot of motion. Maybe you could cause some bleeding, but it's a little bit hard to mess that up.

(19:43):
However, when you're doing liposuction of the abdomen, I also don't want you sitting in a plane all cooped up with your belly, creating little wrinkles and rolls for hours at a time where you can't control. Can I get up? Can I move around? Oh no, stay seated. Stay buckled up because we have an extra hour on the runway while we wait for a gate or all of those things. You can't control your environment when you travel and I think that makes it really difficult to recover appropriately. So a week to two weeks, we have patients that come from Hawaii and they generally stay two weeks here.

Bri (20:20):
And depending on what surgery you have, if you are getting a tummy tuck and you have drains, you have to at least stay a couple days because we have to take them out in a couple days. But even if you're driving from LA that's still with traffic, a two hour drive, so stay at least one or two nights because you still have anesthesia in your system and you're going to feel like crap. You're not going to want to be in a car for two hours realistically or

Dr. G (20:47):
Four depending.

Bri (20:48):
Yeah, that sounds miserable. You're going to get car sick. Yeah. Even if you're close, just stay a night or two.

Dr. G (20:58):
Yes. And we have some suggestions of where you should stay, correct?

Bri (21:04):
Yes.

Dr. G (21:05):
Your sister just stayed at Torrey Pines, the lodge, Torrey Pines, the to Pine. Yes. Yeah, so nice. It's a beautiful hotel. It's on a golf course. We have patients that stay there. It's the lodge at Torrey Pines. It's in La Jolla. It's on a famous golf course.

(21:21):
That's about all I can say about the golfing because this golf.

Bri (21:24):
I have no idea.

Dr. G (21:28):
Yeah, it's important somehow. Anyway, it has beautiful views. It's a gorgeous hotel and they are set up to take care of patients. So if you let them know in advance, then your caregiver will be able to check in and then when they pick you up from the operating room from recovery and drive, someone will run out with a key card to your driver and then they'll just drive right to the parking garage that sits directly across hotel rooms that are designated for people who are recovering from surgery. So there's no traipsing through the lobby in your wheelchair or bandages. You don't have to see anybody. It's very discreet. So when your caregiver drives to that spot, there's a wheelchair in the room for you. They can go grab the wheelchair, wheel it right out to the little parking garage and wheel you in.

(22:24):
There's plenty of space in there. They have a microwave in that room, which is not like all the other rooms per se, so that you can warm heating pads or heat up some food. They can bring you room service. They know what to do for somebody who is recovering from surgery in terms of making sure that the hotel room is set up. Ideally, they even have recommended nurses that can work with you and we do as well who are familiar with the setup, who are familiar with watching you overnight, just making sure that you're safe or you can have your loved one do it. Whoever you deem is trustworthy enough to take care of you after a few days when you're able to be left alone in your room for a little bit to watch, I don't know, law and order reruns or something, they can go golfing if they want.

Bri (23:16):
That's the best part. It's kind of like a two in one vacation because while you recover, they can go sit by the pool, they can go eat, there's a bunch of restaurants. Super, super nice.

Dr. G (23:28):
You have amazing view. You can kind of go get fresh air on your little balcony. It's really lovely and it's close. It's probably a 10 ish minute drive to get back to our office. So that's also very nice. And you have a point of contact at the hotel. It's not like you're calling the front. Nathan will take such good care of you. So it's really great to have that option. The other option, which is even closer to us is the Hyatt. We don't have the same concierge service as a bigger kind of conglomerate hotel. It's not really set up for that, but it is walkable from here. So if you have surgery that's less intense, you can actually just kind of walk across the street. We've walked over there for a happy hour, So it's not far.

Bri (24:13):
I do want to know. I don't think they do room service though.

Dr. G (24:17):
No, they don't.

Bri (24:18):
I don't think so. Room service is hard to find these days

Dr. G (24:21):
After COVID, that became a

Bri (24:24):
Yeah, it's like a no-go. But the lodge still does room service.

Dr. G (24:28):
Yes. Yeah, it is. I think it's slowly coming back, but I understand why, because we've had this conversation when I was traveling with my kids this summer. I think it's because then you look at the room service menu and you're like, ah, screw it. I'll just DoorDash. But that's infinitely more complicated if you're recovering from surgery.

Bri (24:46):
I ordered, we're going to go on a quick tangent since we're on. We could do a whole podcast on DoorDash. I ordered Starbucks down here and they're like, oh, I dropped it off at the valet and I was like, why? I said specifically come up to Suite 200. So I go down to the valet, they're like, no one has even pulled up in the last five minutes. I was like, he just dropped it off two minutes ago and he said, he handed it to you. He's like, no one has even been here. I was like, I think they keep it, they still get tip if you don't take a picture unless there's valid evidence, they still get to keep the tip. So then they're still making money. They get free coffee and obviously I have a slay order, so who wouldn't want that?

Dr. G (25:25):
Except most of the time it's a slay order most of the time anyway, take all that out of it and just stay at the lodge.

Bri (25:34):
Yeah, stay at the lodge. That's my recommendation. I have people that I know that are getting surgery in this coming December and I was like, I'll take care of you and we'll book the lodge.

Dr. G (25:44):
Yes, that's right. Not at my house. You stay at my house.

Bri (25:48):
Uhuh,

Dr. G (25:49):
If you really want to recover like a celebrity, that is one way to do it. Even if you're, we have patients actually that are from San Diego and will stay at the lodge or a other local hotel just because they want to be able to recover in peace and you want the time to recover and not have mom, mom, mom, mom or your dog or whatever it is, requesting things. You need time to sleep when you need to sleep, get up and move around when you get up and move around. Keep moving. But also stay hydrated. Manage your nutrition, take your medications as instructed. That really should be your only focus and not doing all the other things.

Bri (26:32):
Now's not the time to be a super mom and just do everything and have surgery. And I feel like a lot of people that have kids come in here and are like, well, I don't have a ton of help. I was like, you're going to need help the first couple days. Don't go. Don't go do something you shouldn't be doing just because, plan help.

Dr. G (26:49):
And if you take yourself out of the equation by staying somewhere else, then people will figure it out. I'm looking at you husbands because the second you're there, they're like bugging you every two minutes about how to do things. I mean, the number of times where my husband's been home and then someone's texted or called me to ask a question while I'm still at work and I'm like, isn't

Bri (27:13):
Is dad home?

Dr. G (27:15):
Isn't your dad there? Yeah, yeah. But yeah,

Bri (27:19):
That's about right.

Dr. G (27:20):
Dad could be downstairs, but your kids are still going to roll upstairs and bother you. But yes, try to really focus. The focus should be on you and that's going to give you the best results. It's going to give you the faster recovery much in the same way when I talk to patients about labia plasty, if you can lay flat for those three days and do nothing and people's eyes get big, I'm like, yeah, but then your recovery overall is so much better. If you don't take that upfront time, you're going to be swollen for much longer. It's just going to take a lot longer to recover. So give yourself the time to whatever the surgery is for three days, line as flat as possible. For breast surgery. It's no push pull. Heavy lifting for six weeks for abdominoplasty. Again, no heavy lifting and not too much bending over or picking up things for another four to six weeks for liposuction. You have to take it easy for two weeks, but you just have to be conscious of how you're standing and sitting and making sure you're giving yourself enough time for the swelling to go down. So if you can get off of your feet, that is the way to do it. You'll get your results faster if you set up some time in advance for recovery.

Bri (28:36):
Another important thing is your area. I just want to stress on your recovery area. So speaking of abdominoplasty, we have a couple patients who have actually, there is a service where you can rent a chair to sit in and they were like, it was life-changing because they didn't have one. It's like a chair. It goes back, you have to sit up a little bit anyways. You can't lay flat when you have a tummy tuck. So there's options such as renting a chair, sit down there and make it on the first floor. Make it all comfy, get a little bucket, put your meds in there, put your chucks down, get set up with everything you need in one area. Just blankets, pillows, make sure you have enough pillows. But I thought the renting a chair was a really cool thing because a lot of people don't have reclining chairs, so they're trying to get super comfortable on the couch or their bed and with all these pillows and they're like, it's just not doing it

Dr. G (29:33):
And renting it's a great idea. Then you're not committed to having a piece of furniture that you just needed for this one thing. But yeah, at the lodge at Torrey Pines, they will bring you extra pillows. They understand that you are going to have some seepage, they have extra towels for you. They're not new to this game. So

Bri (29:53):
Ain't their first rodeo.

Dr. G (29:56):
Right. So they understand don't you don't need to bring your extra stuff. They're going to cover that for you. So I think that's great. Whether you should book your stay, I think it depends on the time of year, how far in advance you should figure out when you need to reserve your stay. But generally speaking, you've already talked to Ava, a coordinator about the fact that you're going to come in from out of town, so we've made some arrangements. Or if you're from in town and you're interested, she will connect you again with Nathan, who will let you know what the pricing is, how far in advance you need to book. But usually two weeks is fine. That's at your pre-op because they have a few rooms set aside strictly for medical recovery. And then just the cost depends on the time of year. San Diego. And so sometimes a year more popular than others for hotels in general. And the same with the Hyatt. I think doing a little bit of research and figuring out these are the primary places we like our patients to stay or we have had some patients that are interested in an Airbnb. That can be great or it can be not. It just depends on

Bri (31:08):
I dunno if I love Airbnbs because there's been a couple of times where they've either canceled or then you're having to clean it up. I know you pay a cleaning fee, but you're just doing a little bit more work than necessary.

Dr. G (31:23):
Yeah. I think the patients I know that have done that are staying for a month or two and so it seems more reasonable. They're like, okay, I'm just going to work remotely. I'm going to come here and stay a month or two months. And it's usually someone who's already lived in San Diego, moved away and is now coming back, and so you're wrapping your surgery recovery and hanging out in San Diego with family or friends for that period of time. And then we have a fair amount of people who do have some connection to San Diego and then decide to stay with family or friends. They still have that here. That's nice as well because you can lean on your family members if that's an appropriate location for you to stay. But if you want to recover a celebrity, get a nurse and a hotel room.

Bri (32:11):
Stay at the lodge. The lodge is my 10 out of 10 resort.

Dr. G (32:17):
And your sister just stayed there, right?

Bri (32:19):
Yeah, she just stayed there and we actually, they were out golfing. They stayed there to go golfing. And so since they had room service, Eric and I went over at 8:30 in the morning and we ordered room service in their room and enjoyed the most amazing breakfast out on the patio, laid by the pool all day, went to the restaurants. It is a very relaxing, there's not a ton of kids running around like most hotels, I feel like it definitely draws a little bit more celebrity. The price point is a little higher, but you're also paying for a lot more peace.

Dr. G (32:55):
And they have a spa so there's that as well.

Bri (32:58):
Send your caregiver to the spa. Celebrity treatment,

Dr. G (33:04):
Especially if they're a loved one, they can go to the spa if they don't golf. That's where I would want to go. So it is also in La Jolla, so there's plenty to do within driving distance of downtown La Jolla. You have the village, you have UTC where we are. So there's malls, there's things to do and places to see if you're feeling up for it, but probably not. But your family, if they come or loved ones that there are things for you to go and see locally and you're basically on the water.

Bri (33:38):
Yeah. And it is good for you to get up and get walking. I mean, depending on your surgery, of course. And there is no prettier place to walk. There's the glider poured a little bit down. It is a gorgeous place to recover

Dr. G (33:52):
And the weather is never going to be bad. So it might rain once or twice a year. You're pretty much guaranteed to be able to get outside and get some fresh air.

Bri (34:00):
That's definitely the most celebrity treatment you're going to get if you want to come here and you want to get the celebrity treatment, stay at the lodge at Torrey Pines. Also super important. The outfit. I remember every surgery I've had, the first thing I pick out is my recovery outfit. Okay, let's be real. Okay. That's it's important. Okay, so ideally though, don't come in jeans and a hoodie. Not that most people will, but people have.

Dr. G (34:29):
Yes.

Bri (34:29):
After your surgery, the nurse does have to get you dressed. We put you in these fun garments. They get you dressed. Don't come in something super tight, super uncomfortable. If you're having a breast aug, don't have a hoodie where you're having to raise your arms up and try and get it on and off. It hurts, trust me. Wear some.

Dr. G (34:47):
You want a zip up.

Bri (34:48):
Yeah, zip up some cute button down PJ's. Amazon has some great little nightgown dresses that just zip bottom up. Wear your furry socks or furry socks, fuzzy socks. Get comfy.

Dr. G (35:02):
Slippers are great.

Bri (35:03):
Yeah. Braid your hair. Get all the things because we're going to have to put it out of the way anyways. Do some cute braids. Get some cute cottony pajamas. Live your best life.

Dr. G (35:17):
Yeah, I've seen some cute, we've seen some cute socks for the OR. We've seen some cute post-op PJs that are great. But yeah, comfort is important and you want something that can zip up or button up. And then sometimes a long skirt is nice. Maxi skirt, just depends. But anything that's going to hide all your garments, but not

Bri (35:39):
Preferably dark colors.

Dr. G (35:41):
Yeah, don't come in white PJs and heels.

Bri (35:46):
If you're having facial surgery, then a big floppy hat, sunglasses or all the rage that is helpful or scarf for a couple of days after. All of those things can kind of help camouflage any bandages you might have or swelling and protect you from the sun. So those are all, while you're sitting on the patio recovering. So yeah, I think get the fit right. Make sure that you're prepared and stay somewhere nice.

(36:16):
Yeah, you don't have surgery all the time, so. You're already spending a lot of money. You might as well also invest in your recovery. It's just as important.

Dr. G (36:25):
Word.

Bri (36:27):
Yeah. Get some face masks.

Dr. G (36:31):
Yeah.

Bri (36:32):
Get cozy. Pick out some really good shows.

Dr. G (36:36):
Yes. We're always asking our patients what they're watching and then also telling them what we're watching. We do have some book readers, so we have a list of books that we recommend too, but we're not as deep on that to be honest.

Bri (36:50):
We're pretty good with the reality tv. I feel like we've been

Dr. G (36:54):
Binge worthy

Bri (36:55):
Mom talk, the mom talkers lately, the last couple procedures.

Dr. G (36:59):
Yeah, because I think the issue with reading books after surgery is that it requires a little bit more brain power than watching Dancing with the Stars or something. So we definitely encourage watching really just brainless reality television or something else that doesn't require a lot of bandwidth that keeps you distracted and entertained, but you're not having to think too hard. And if you fall asleep and wake up, you're not going to miss anything important. Right.

Bri (37:29):
Put on Meghan Markle show, then

Dr. G (37:32):
We'll put you right to sleep.

Bri (37:33):
Also, another, if you really want to go all out, do a little meal prep service for a week, have all your meals ready that are super packed with really nutritious things. Get your proteins, get all your good stuff. Now's not the time to want as much as you want to. And I'm saying this because the thought has gone through my head every time I've had surgery. You don't want to eat because you're like, well, I'm laid up. I'm falling asleep. I'm going to get skinny and lose a couple pounds. You know what I mean?

Dr. G (38:01):
I've done that.

Bri (38:02):
Yeah. Now's not the time

Dr. G (38:03):
Because you're not really that hungry. Anyway,

Bri (38:06):
I'm getting sick and last night I couldn't have dinner. I've had my Theraflu, I'm having my Theraflu now and you're not hungry. And I stepped on the scale this morning. I was like, where am I going to be at in two days if I keep this up? It's like, it's fine,

Dr. G (38:20):
But you need nutrition to heal though, so your body's actually burning extra calories as it's trying to heal incisions. That is important. So making sure that you're properly hydrated and that you're getting nutritious meals, well-rounded with a reasonable amount of protein is important for you. So meal prepping is a great idea. Things that kind of support your recovery are things that we all know are healthy. So yes, don't DoorDash wing stop, that's not going to help you recover. Probably going to give you a stomach ache.

Bri (38:54):
Stay super hydrated.

Dr. G (38:56):
We've kind of covered all of the high points of recovering like a celebrity and cancel those performances if you have to.

Bri (39:06):
Just say no, it's okay to say no. Recently last week a girl asks, she was having surgery and then she wanted to go to a concert or something, a day or two. It's like, I get it. I do understand you want to do things, but listen to your body and probably say no. It's just

Dr. G (39:23):
They're like, oh, as soon as I booked the surgery, then someone asked me if I wanted tickets. And then you're like, no, that's not it. There will be other opportunities to do stuff.

Bri (39:33):
Yeah.

Dr. G (39:34):
You don't want to jeopardize your surgery.

Bri (39:36):
Let yourself heal.

Dr. G (39:38):
Alright, well, if you have more questions about the recovery process or questions about the surgery, shoot us a DM or a comment or give us a call at the office and we'll be happy to run through it with you.

Bri (39:53):
And we also love suggestions.

Dr. G (39:55):
Yes. If you found something that really worked for your recovery, please let us know because we pass those tips onto our patients.

Bri (40:01):
Oh yes, we do. And we make cute goody bags out of them. Okay, well, we're scrubbing in.

Dr. G (40:08):
To scrub out. If you're listening today and have questions, need info about scheduling, financing, reviews, or photos, check out the show notes for links. Restore SD Plastic Surgery is located in La Jolla, California. To learn more about us go to restoresdplasticsurgery.com or follow us on Instagram @RestoreSDplasticsurgery. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it and subscribe to all the bees on YouTube, apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.