After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a...
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a deep understanding of the self-image of women.
She loves doing procedures that change the lives of women in terms of both confidence and comfort, such as labiaplasty, breast reduction, and tummy tuck.
Understanding that patients just want to be heard, Dr. Breister’s style of patient care is to listen and connect on a deep enough level to envision your goals and deliver them. She gives her professional advice, but she doesn’t believe in putting patients in a box by telling them what they should and shouldn’t do.
Read more about San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Breister-Ghosh
La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.
To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC
The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a...
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a deep understanding of the self-image of women.
She loves doing procedures that change the lives of women in terms of both confidence and comfort, such as labiaplasty, breast reduction, and tummy tuck.
Understanding that patients just want to be heard, Dr. Breister’s style of patient care is to listen and connect on a deep enough level to envision your goals and deliver them. She gives her professional advice, but she doesn’t believe in putting patients in a box by telling them what they should and shouldn’t do.
Read more about San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Breister-Ghosh
La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.
To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC
The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a...
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a deep understanding of the self-image of women.
She loves doing procedures that change the lives of women in terms of both confidence and comfort, such as labiaplasty, breast reduction, and tummy tuck.
Understanding that patients just want to be heard, Dr. Breister’s style of patient care is to listen and connect on a deep enough level to envision your goals and deliver them. She gives her professional advice, but she doesn’t believe in putting patients in a box by telling them what they should and shouldn’t do.
Read more about San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Breister-Ghosh
La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.
To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC
The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a...
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a deep understanding of the self-image of women.
She loves doing procedures that change the lives of women in terms of both confidence and comfort, such as labiaplasty, breast reduction, and tummy tuck.
Understanding that patients just want to be heard, Dr. Breister’s style of patient care is to listen and connect on a deep enough level to envision your goals and deliver them. She gives her professional advice, but she doesn’t believe in putting patients in a box by telling them what they should and shouldn’t do.
Read more about San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Breister-Ghosh
La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.
To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC
The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a...
After 20 years in her own private practice here in San Diego, Dr. Diana Breister recently joined LJC’s dream team. With her personalized care and wide range of specializations, from breast surgery to face and neck lifts and beyond, Dr. Breister has a deep understanding of the self-image of women.
She loves doing procedures that change the lives of women in terms of both confidence and comfort, such as labiaplasty, breast reduction, and tummy tuck.
Understanding that patients just want to be heard, Dr. Breister’s style of patient care is to listen and connect on a deep enough level to envision your goals and deliver them. She gives her professional advice, but she doesn’t believe in putting patients in a box by telling them what they should and shouldn’t do.
Read more about San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Breister-Ghosh
La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.
To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC
The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast.
Monique Ramsey (00:15):
Hello and welcome to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast. I'm your hostess, Monique Ramsey. And today I have a guest who is very special and pretty new to our team, Dr. Diana Breister, and she's one of our plastic surgeons here at our La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Center. So, welcome Dr. Breister.
Dr. Breister (00:35):
Good morning. Thank you for having me today.
Monique Ramsey (00:37):
You're welcome. We're we're excited to get this done because we, you came in, did you come in March or February?
Dr. Breister (00:44):
February.
Monique Ramsey (00:46):
February. But it's April now. And you've been so busy. We haven't had time to do this little interview, so I'm glad that I know we're finally making the time for it. So you're the newest surgeon on staff, but you've been a plastic surgeon for quite a while. So tell us a little bit about your background.
Dr. Breister (01:04):
Well, I did my training at USC in Los Angeles and, for about a year after that I was on staff at the City of Hope, which is a primarily oncologic hospital. So I did quite a bit of reconstructive surgery and a year later I moved to San Diego where I started my own practice, which was about 20 years ago. And I've been in private practice plastic surgery for the last basically 20 years.
Monique Ramsey (01:34):
Wow. So I love the shared USC connection <laugh>. Yeah. And Dr. Riedler is in there too. So in terms of why you decided to come to La Jolla Cosmetic, what was kind of the thought that brought you into the group?
Dr. Breister (01:51):
Well, as a private practice plastic surgeon, you know, you really are kind of on your own. And after, you know, 20 years of pretty much doing everything just all by myself, it's rewarding in a way. But it can be tremendously stressful. And I had always known of the reputation of the Lolla Cosmetic Surgery Center. Had always heard of it. There's not a lot of group practices in plastic surgery. So that clearly was one that always stood out. And they approached me and they said, Hey, what do you, you know, what do you think about possibly coming to join our team? And I really had had not considered that as an option. But once that option was presented, I was very intrigued with it. And mainly the fact that there's a whole team of doctors and there's a very collegial relationship. And I was just kind of intrigued by the atmosphere of, you know, a group of other doctors that we can all learn from and reef for patients, ask advice. And it's really been great so far. I really have loved that, that camaraderie.
Monique Ramsey (03:03):
Yeah, it's neat to, you know, over the years, see our surgeons sort of collaborate on things or even just so you could go out of town and have vacation and know that your patients are covered by the same nursing staff and other surgeons that you trust. I think that's always a nice little,
Dr. Breister (03:19):
That's a nice level of comfort. Absolutely. That's part of it too. But yeah, they're just, and you know, there's a great group of people, mainly, they're all really, really great surgeons and just wonderful people to be around day in and day out.
Monique Ramsey (03:34):
That's nice. So you have an incredible team of people that you work with every day than you brought along with you to our team. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about your, your team that you've, you've brought.
Dr. Breister (03:46):
So I have Anna, who's been with me for about five to seven years now. And she is part of the front office staff. She always, you know, made the appointments and facilitated the patients coming in. And she's come along with me and she's just very lovely, sweet, amazing person who, I'm just blessed that she came along. She recently had a baby, so I'm, I'm even more thrilled that she decided to stay working, which, you know, that can always be a challenge. And then I have Estella, who's my patient coordinator, who is just a real dynamo. She's extremely fun, very relatable, extre, you know, very high energy. I think one of her best qualities is she just has this incredible ability to make patients feel very comfortable. She has a lot of personal experience with plastic surgery in her family and her, and she's from Costa Rica, where, you know, in some of those other countries they like plastic surgery's very popular. A lot of people do that. And she just has this real passion for plastic surgery, which is, which is exciting. And it always helps people to be excited about it. She has this real, real ability and she also has a real ability to make women feel empowered by it. Not, they shouldn't feel guilty about it. They should feel like it's part of their self care. So she's, she's really a great patient coordinator.
Monique Ramsey (05:12):
It's, I think it's always hard, you know, any of us who come into a new organization and especially one that as big as La Jolla Cosmetic is because we've grown and having six plastic surgeons means a lot of support staff and they've just, you know, blended in and become part of the family so quickly. And it's so neat to hear other employees talking about how great they are. And that's just, to me, that's a testament to you because good people stick with good people, right?
Dr. Breister (05:43):
Yeah. It's always great when I hear people saying, oh my gosh, we love Anna and Estella so much and, I just feel so blessed that yes, they could come and they did come and they're here with me. It helped really with the continuity and just uhhuh and they're just a huge, they're a huge addition. Yeah.
Monique Ramsey (06:00):
Yeah. So tell us a little bit about the procedures that you love to do. I know you do pretty much everything, but what are kind of your passion projects, I guess, or procedures?
Dr. Breister (06:12):
Yeah. Well I would say that there's quite a few <laugh> of those. There's not just one, it's a hard question cause people say, what do you specialize in? And, you know, I specialize in quite a few things. I would kind of break it down into face, breast body and in those categories, as far as face, I really have perfected a really wonderful facelift that I, you know, I call it a lower and facelift. It doesn't have a fancy name. You know, there's a lot of different vertical lift, this lift that lift, you know, a lot of doctors try to find a fancy name, but it's a lower face and neck lift. But the, you know, the great part about it and what I, I think achieve is that I can do it pretty, pretty quickly in that it, it's not gonna, you know, you're not gonna be in the operating room for hours upon hours, which is nice.
(07:00)
And you're gonna come out with a very, very natural look. But also a result, not, not just something that, you know, you can see for a couple months it's gonna last. It's gonna, you know, really tighten up that jowl and neck. So that is really something I do love to do. I love to do the faces and you know, I can combine those with the upper eyelids or a fat transfer or an upper lip lift, which is becoming very popular now, which really rejuvenates a woman's upper lip and really gives them a more youthful look. So that is something I absolutely love.
Monique Ramsey (07:35):
And do you call that a lip lift? Or what do you call
Dr. Breister (07:37):
Lip lift. Yep. Exactly.
Monique Ramsey (07:38):
Okay. Yeah. Please explain what that is.
Dr. Breister (07:42):
Yeah. So we make an incision essentially, right, you know, hidden under the creases of the nose and nostril. And depending on how long the woman's lip is, basically from her, the bottom of her nose to the upper lip, we remove some millimeters of that upper lip and it basically pulls up the upper lip so that it can curl up a little bit more and provide a little tooth show. So some people just, their lip, upper lip is so long it kind of covers up their teeth completely. So with this procedure, it kind of gives you a boost of your lip without actually having to put in any kind of filler. And it really can enhance your smile. And when you do smile, there's a little more tooth show. So it's really a wonderful procedure.
Monique Ramsey (08:34):
And then you were talking about, so the face, then let's move to the breast.
Dr. Breister (08:39):
Yeah.
Monique Ramsey (08:39):
So the breast area, what's kind of your,
Dr. Breister (08:41):
Yeah, so I mean I absolutely love breast reduction surgery. That's very life changing for many women. It, you know, alleviates all of this heaviness that they're carrying around on their chest. And that is really, really, uh, like I said, one of the most highest patient satisfaction procedures I do. I love doing breast augmentations, breast lift with augmentation. Uh, removal of implants. Replacement of implants plus a lift. There's so many variations of the procedure. What I'm seeing a lot now is an actual explant and reduction and lift as we age. Oftentimes women's breasts grow as they get older through menopause. And a lot of women that had an implant, you know, 15 years ago, they don't need that volume at all anymore. And in fact, they need some reduction. So we can take out the implant, also take out some breast tissue, completely reconstruct that breast and it looks amazing and they, you know, have a really good result. Don't need an implant anymore. So basically, yeah, all of those procedures that involve rejuvenating the breast on some level and, you know, it's an ongoing continuum of women and breast changes. You know, we all know that our breasts are very different from when we're 20 to when we're 40, to when we're 60. And not only do the breasts change, we change sometimes too and what our goals are, what, how we're feeling. You know, so, so luckily there's, there's a lot of work to be done in that area, which I'm happy to participate in.
Monique Ramsey (10:24):
That's interesting to know that menopause, I guess it makes sense because the hormones affect so many things that the breast can change after menopause.
Dr. Breister (10:32):
Oh, absolutely. I, yeah, a lot of, a lot of breast grow a lot.
Monique Ramsey (10:37):
Really?
Dr. Breister (10:37):
As women get older. Yep.
Monique Ramsey (10:40):
Wow,
Dr. Breister (10:40):
Okay. <laugh>,
Monique Ramsey (10:43):
You know, as if menopause isn't enough, right?
Dr. Breister (10:46):
That's right.
Monique Ramsey (10:47):
We get to have all these other little side issues.
Dr. Breister (10:48):
Kinds of surprises, <laugh>.
Monique Ramsey (10:50):
Exactly. And then sort of moving down the body, I know a lot of people ask about body lifts after maybe massive weight loss,or what are some of the things that you,
Dr. Breister (11:01):
That's a real area I absolutely love doing. When people lose a lot of weight, what they're usually left with is a lot of extra skin that they're not really anticipating. And that's where I come in to help them realize why all that weight loss was, was good to do. Cuz sometimes they're heavy but then they lose weight and the skin is more of a problem than they thought it would be. So a lower body lift can circumferentially, you know, go around the patient and take off extra skin in the tummy area, back area, it can help lift the buttock. There's a thighplasty procedure that can actually take away excess skin in the thigh, skin and fat. And there's different techniques. One is called a vertical, which kind of goes all the way down the thigh. The other is a horizontal, which can stay hidden the in the groin crease.
Dr. Breister (11:54):
So there's that. And even women that don't necessarily lose a lot of weight sometimes can benefit from that thighplasty by doing some liposuction, decreasing the volume in that inner thigh and then tightening up the skin. That can be a very good option for that. The brachioplasty is a surgery that takes care of that excess skin that's kind of on the arm that women, you know, some women just gain a lot of weight in their arms and once they lose it, they've got a tremendous amount of skin. Brachioplasty can can help that a lot. And once again, even many women who don't have a massive weight loss can benefit from a brachioplasty. Everyone's skin is different. Some women's skin is much more loose and that just really can bug some people a lot and it's worth it for them to get that removed. There is a scar that has to mature over a period of time that can anywhere from a couple months to a year. But most people are willing to accept that in exchange for getting rid of the skin.
Monique Ramsey (12:55):
And yeah, I think it's like when you're at, I remember the first time I realized I was getting older was when I was at a USC game and I had my pom poms and I'm shaking my pom poms and I'm like, why is my arm shaking <laugh>? What's happening here? <laugh>
Dr. Breister (13:09):
<laugh>, What's going on?
Monique Ramsey (13:10):
This is not good. I need to get some weights going or something.
Dr. Breister (13:13):
Tricep work can help, but it doesn't always take, take care of it completely.
Monique Ramsey (13:19):
<laugh>. Well, especially after any kind of major weight loss too. So. So let's talk a little bit about what made you want to be a plastic surgeon, what, you know,
Dr. Breister (13:28):
Well, before we go into that, there's also tummy tucks that I just absolutely love to do that we didn't really touch upon. And that's really, you know, the bread and butter of, of plastic surgery. The mommy makeover per se, is extremely popular. It is just one of the, you know, surgeries. I love to do it. Basically the mommy makeover, as we all probably have figured out now, it's not necessarily a, an exact set of surgery. It can vary upon what the woman needs. For the breast, sometimes it's just a lift, sometimes it's just an augmentation. But usually it's in conjunction with a tummy tuck. And why, you know, obviously got that name is after we have babies, the tummy muscles stretch out and the skin can develop stretch marks and things like that. And the tummy tuck is a perfect, a solution to that problem.
Dr. Breister (14:19):
A solution that many women struggle with. I can't tell you how many women come in and they say, well I, you know, my husband just said to work out more, lose more weight and do more sit-ups. And that just is completely doesn't work. It helps, obviously we wanna be in the best shape we can be in, obviously, however, with the structural changes that happen with pregnancy, that muscle is never gonna actually go back to it's pre structure. So, and some of the, the skin that's been stretched out is never gonna go back either. So a lot of times women need to be explained that, and they need to explain that to their husbands as well, is that there's a certain wall that they're gonna hit by just doing sit-ups. So sometimes that surgery is necessary to restore the body to what they envision and that can be combined with some liposuction, of course, in certain areas to refine it or tighten things up. So liposuction is also used a lot along with that abdominalplasty procedure.
Monique Ramsey (15:31):
Yeah, I've seen everything from sort of the, the mini, which is a lot of us want to think, oh, I, I only need a mini <laugh>. But, but that's really for people who haven't had kids, is that right? A mini?
Dr. Breister (15:42):
Yeah, the mini is really very far in few between are gonna be appropriate for that. It's basically if a woman just has a little extra hanging skin right down at the level of her C-section scar per se, or for some other reason, but they don't really need any kind of muscle tightening and you know, not every woman that's had a baby needs the muscle tightening. So there can be some candidates that, you know, will really be good candidates for the mini, but, but most women will require the full tummy tuck.
Monique Ramsey (16:19):
A full tummy tuck and you can do the standard or like an extended, like you were talking about sort of to lift to take, take some of the hips away or the extra,
Dr. Breister (16:30):
Yeah, exactly. It just depends on a woman's anatomy, how far that extra skin goes on the edges. Sometimes it goes further back, we can wrap it around if we need to. So yeah, it's all extremely customizable.
Monique Ramsey (16:44):
That's nice.
Dr. Breister (16:45):
And then one last procedure I definitely wanna make sure we talk about is a labiaplasty.
Monique Ramsey (16:50):
Ah, okay.
Dr. Breister (16:51):
So that is one of the, I think even more popular eye patient satisfaction procedures. It's become a lot more popular probably in the last decade. And that is, I think, related to women, you know, we do more things now. There's different hair removal procedures and things like that. So we're kind of more aware of what our anatomy looks like. And every time I see the anatomy, the anatomy is normal. Okay. There's no abnormality. However, a lot of women just are bothered by some of the times when they're labia. Most specifically the labia menorah, which are the inner lips. Those, sometimes they're all very different in how their structure is, how long they are, you know, and there's just sometimes a bother. It's bothersome to patients when they work out or when they go to the bathroom or they're trying to wear a bathing suit. It's just, it's annoying to them. And it's a procedure that is relatively fast, it's relatively easy to recover from. And it really is life changing for many, many women. And I see more and more younger gals wanting this and they are just thrilled. So that's a, that's a really great procedure. I highly recommend to anyone who feels self-conscious or don't like that, you know, area. And even though it's obviously not something everyone can see <laugh>, it is something that changes a woman's just feeling about her entire body and self. It just helps her self-esteem.
Monique Ramsey (18:34):
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.
Dr. Breister (18:35):
So that's a great procedure.
Monique Ramsey (18:36):
Well I think it comes from helping you feel better or more confident, but also if something's ac, if you have extra skin in that area, it can get in the way. <laugh>.
Dr. Breister (18:49):
It does. Yeah. It definitely can.
Monique Ramsey (18:50):
Take out a little extra skin. It's no longer getting in the way. It's no longer something you're even having to think about. So I love, I love the fact that you, you brought that up. And for anybody in the audience who is interested, we do have a lot of information on our website about Labiaplasty. And we also have a podcast on the Lady Bits, <laugh> <laugh> because there are things you can do for surgery for the lady bits and non-surgery. So yeah. Yeah, I think that's, um, something that I'm kind of glad that social media is around for people to talk about it and normalize it and because it really can be life changing so.
Dr. Breister (19:29):
It can, yeah. And it's a, there's a lot of, you know, it's kind of embarrassing. So it's nice to, I think, meet with a woman too. I think that's helpful. There's so many gals, they're so self-conscious, you know, but once they, you know, have the appointment, they just, they feel so much better and they're just, I can really help people feel at ease.
Monique Ramsey (19:50):
Yeah. Okay. So now my question <laugh> Yeah. Is what made you want to be a plastic surgeon and kind of at what point in your training did you say, this is the avenue I wanna take?
Dr. Breister (20:04):
Yeah. So as a young girl, I always wanted to be a doctor. I knew I loved medicine, I was intrigued by all things medical. I loved being in hospitals. It was intriguing to me. So I set out on that path. I initially thought maybe dermatology because I was very interested in skin. And as I went through medical school, I quickly loved, I just loved being in the operating room so quickly. You know, surgery became absolutely, I wanna be a surgeon of some sort. And I enjoyed a lot of the surgical subspecialties, but I really was drawn to plastics in my rotations when I started working with some of the plastic surgeons. And I really saw the variety of procedures they were doing. It's a field where there's just, you know, as I've touched upon, I do many different things. And that really is, is exciting to be able to help people on so many different levels.
(21:00)
So yeah, once I started doing those rotations and worked with some of the plastic surgeons, I really enjoyed, you know, the surgical variety and also the patient population. It's a little more luxurious, if you will, doing elective surgery. I mean, trauma surgery is very stressful and very scary and very sad. <laugh>. I'm not someone who likes sad. So I really was driven more towards the happy in that, you know, trying to make people happy and thank God for the people that are able to handle the really, really traumatic, hard stuff. But I definitely, my personality is more suited towards creating positive, uh, changes for people.
Monique Ramsey (21:43):
Now, how do you think about aging?
Dr. Breister (21:47):
I think that our society is very, you know, there's a lot of ageism. I think there's just, it's hard. It's hard for people to get old. I think as a society we don't really, you know, women are kind of, I think, conditioned to, we have to keep looking good <laugh>. So it's kind of the way it is, you know, but I think it's okay. I think that as women we do wanna look good. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to look and feel good. So I'm just a proponent of self-care and letting women decide whatever they want to do is okay. If they want a facelift, great, empowering. If they don't want a facelift, that's empowering too. So I just, I just think everyone should do what makes them feel good. I don't think anyone should really have to answer to societal pressures, but just do what's in their heart.
Monique Ramsey (22:44):
So do you have any thoughts on preventing aging or reversing or slowing it?
Dr. Breister (22:50):
Oh yeah. I mean, there's a, there's so many, you know, the Botox and the fillers and the, you know, microneedling and peels and creams. I think all that is great. I mean, I, I I'm very much a fan of all kinds, anything preventative. Absolutely. I mean, wear sunscreen, you know, moisturize your skin. All those treatments I think are very helpful. And, and not only helpful, they make us feel good. It's a way to show ourselves some care. And so I'm a big fan of, of any kind of preventive measures to help us feel good.
Monique Ramsey (23:27):
Now, what have you learned over the years from listening to your patients? Well,
Dr. Breister (23:35):
I think that patients wanna be heard, number one, they wanna feel like someone's really listening to them. They wanna feel like, wow, she gets me. That's kind of what I, over the years, you know, really just sitting down with women, connecting with women, you know, we're all different. We all have different motivations or drivers or issues or problems. And I like to try to get to the, the core of that in a sense of what is it she's looking for? Whether it be a larger breast augmentation or a tiny breast augmentation or a little bit of a change in the face, or, you know, what, I'd really like this to be like even more accentuated. You know, women just wanna be understood. I don't think they wanna be put into a box and be told what needs to happen, in a way. I think that they do wanna be heard.
(24:32)
And the other thing that I find, I know that we all want, oh, kind of what, well what do you think I should get? Right? And that's certainly true. People want my professional opinion. But on the other hand, people don't really wanna be told unsolicited that you need this and you need that and you should do this and that. I can't tell you how many people I've seen that other doctors have given them this long laundry list of things and they're so turned off because they didn't really, they didn't really, they weren't looking for the, some of those things. So, you know, what I've learned, at least in my style, my approach is that I really wanna hear the woman. I wanna figure out what's driving her. I wanna figure out what's really bothering her. I wanna let her know, you know, what I think would really help her.
(25:28)
I, I always, I mean, obviously I suggest things if I think it's necessary. Yeah. We'll let to achieve that, you know, I think we could do some fat transferring or have you ever considered the, the lower eye? Wow, we're doing that upper, just think about it in a way that like, you know, I know you come in here asking about that, but if you're gonna go through this, I want you to pay attention to how much that doesn't bother you at all. And if it does, think about it cuz you're gonna be having surgery and that's a good time to do some, some things.
Monique Ramsey (25:59):
Yeah. I think it's like when you go to the hairdresser <laugh>, you're like, I want this, this, and this. But, you know, sometimes they'll say, well, have you ever thought about, you know, doing something different? And it's like, okay. I think sometimes I, I tend to leave it to the experts. Like, I think I know what I want, but I want your <laugh> your, your professional advice to say what's gonna really, like you said, achieve your goal, what's your goal? And then I can help you get there.
Dr. Breister (26:26):
Yeah.
Monique Ramsey (26:27):
So what would you like patients to know about you?
Dr. Breister (26:31):
Well, I would like them to know that if they come and see me, I will absolutely, really take great care of them. I will listen to them. I will genuinely wanna help them achieve their goal. I'll be with them every step of the way. I think that's a real important factor is that, you know, you see a doctor and you have your surgery, but that's not the end of it necessarily. There's a lot of aftercare that I do like to participate in because it's a process. It's a journey. It's got its ups and downs. Okay. And yeah, you go through a couple days of feeling great and then you're kind of feeling like, what did I do? And then you're <laugh>, you know, so there's a whole emotional journey that goes along with plastic surgery that I like the patients to know that I, I'll be with them through it all.
(27:18)
You know, that's really the main message. And that, you know, surgery is not perfect by any means. You know, everyone has to have a realistic approach. Surgery can always have little setbacks, small minor things, but in the right hands, in the right care with the right communication, none of that's gonna be a problem. All of my patients have access to my cell phone because I trust them and I trust they're not gonna bother me too much. They're not going to, uh, you know, I, and so that's a real comfort. And I love, I love it when people text me, Hey, this looks a little weird, what do you think? And I can tell them immediately what to do. And that's very comforting. You know, I think many of the fears or issues is when a patient feels like they don't know where to turn or they're alone and they've not gone through this process before. They don't know what's normal and what's not. You know, and healing's a big thing. So that's my main message is I'm gonna do amazing surgery. I will listen to my patients, but I'm also gonna be with them through it all and be available to them to get them through it. Because, you know, like I said, it tiny little things, it's that the patient doesn't know is normal. You know, little, little tiny things. And I think with good communication you wind up with a very happy patient.
Monique Ramsey (28:37):
Yeah. And that's so true. I think people, we all heal at completely different rates, you know, and what your friend went through mm-hmm. <affirmative> and what you're going through, it doesn't even matter what your friend went through because your body's gonna do what your body's gonna do. Right. And having, don't go to Google about it. Go to, you know, go to the your team and let them help you through that little hiccup. Or maybe it's not even odd at all, you know? So I think having that two-way communication and them feeling like, yeah, I can ask her a question even though it's a Saturday afternoon.
Dr. Breister (29:11):
Absolutely.
Monique Ramsey (29:11):
You'd rather that than
Dr. Breister (29:12):
Absolutely takes takes three minutes to, yeah., to respond to something and let someone feel comfortable, you know, than have them have to worry all weekend or something like that.
Monique Ramsey (29:21):
Right, right. So if we go, now we're gonna skip into a little bit about you. So I'm gonna ask a couple questions. Tell me the best piece of advice you've ever been given.
Dr. Breister (29:33):
Hmm. I don't know. I don't, I, I don't know the best piece of advice. I know that somehow I've always had a strong work ethic myself where I got that, probably my parents. But I have always been pretty focused, very driven. And I think that that's what's helped me get to where I am. And you know, I have three kids and you know, if any kids or people ask advice, they're deciding what they wanna do with their lives and things like that. I mean, my biggest advice to people, and because I've lived this myself, is just don't be afraid. If something takes a long time to get there, meaning, you know, medical school, don't let that scare you if that's what you really wanna do. You know? So I think perseverance is really the message I was given. And that's probably the message I would, I would relay to younger people, you know, figuring out what they want in their life is don't let years of schooling deter you. If that's what it takes to get there, because it's wor it'll be worth it in the end if that's what you want.
Monique Ramsey (30:35):
I love that because I think especially in this society where technology is so dominant and everything happens so quickly that back when I was little, a kid in school, after school, you go home and warm something up for after your snack. I mean, microwaves were brand new and you would use the stove and it took time. And now everybody's like, you know, they whatever it yesterday.
Dr. Breister (31:00):
They think everything happens instantly. I know.
Monique Ramsey (31:00):
So it's true, like that message of, yeah, it's not always gonna happen tomorrow, but if it's worth getting, it's worth putting in the work.
Dr. Breister (31:09):
Yeah. It takes time. A lot of things take time. Yeah.
Monique Ramsey (31:12):
So you're pretty into sports and physical activity. We talked about that. So do you have any adventurous activities that you wanna try? Is there anything you haven't done that might be on that list?
Dr. Breister (31:25):
I think what I would love to do is do like a cross-country skiing, uh, journey <laugh>, you know, I love like aerobic exercise and skiing's just so amazing. So that's one thing I have definitely on my list is maybe some nice cross-country skiing. I've never really done like any kind of whitewater rafting that seems kind of fun and exciting. Although I don't really like the cold water <laugh>. Other than that, you know, there's no skydiving in my future, I can tell you that for sure. <laugh>, that just seems crazy. No bungee jumping or skydiving. So that, that's off the list. <laugh>, I'm a little bit risk averse when it comes to those things, but yeah, sporty, outdoor things sound pretty intriguing to me.
Monique Ramsey (32:04):
Okay. Last question. If you could teach a class on any subject, what would it be?
Dr. Breister (32:12):
Hmm. Well, I think that what I feel that I am actually good at is patient communication. I do feel like I'm very effective in reaching the patient, communicating with them. So, you know, that that could be something I think I could help younger people how to really effectively communicate with people. That would be something that I think could be interesting to, to share and teach.
Monique Ramsey (32:38):
Okay. I, I lied. One last question <laugh>
Dr. Breister (32:40):
Okay.
Monique Ramsey (32:41):
It's like, you know, those photographers at a wedding? One more picture.
Dr. Breister (32:46):
One more, one more.
Monique Ramsey (32:46):
Yeah.
Dr. Breister (32:48):
Hey, turn around.
Monique Ramsey (32:48):
One more <laugh>. So, at La Jolla Cosmetic, our brand promise is really, it's where dreams become real. We help you get to that dream and achieve that dream. So tell us, Dr. Breister, about a dream of yours that became real.
Dr. Breister (33:04):
Well, as a young child, I, I somehow always knew I really wanted children. You know, I would say that being blessed with three amazing children is a dream come true for me. And the fact that they're all thriving and healthy and thank God doing well is the most I can ask for in this world, <laugh>, you know? So that would probably be my, my biggest dream come true is just being able to share life with three wonderful kids.
Monique Ramsey (33:29):
Nice. That's nice. And I it's are, are they all close by or
Dr. Breister (33:34):
They're all in California. Yep. They're all in, uh, along the California coast. So that's, I'm lucky, blessed. Yeah, not too far. Not too far.
Monique Ramsey (33:42):
<laugh>. Yeah. It's nice when that you can see them on a
Dr. Breister (33:45):
On a whim.
Monique Ramsey (33:46):
On a whim. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. It's a quick Southwest flight to go. That's right. Find them or have them come to you. So that's nice. Well, thank you for your time today.
Dr. Breister (33:55):
Oh, you're welcome.
Monique Ramsey (33:56):
It was really nice to talk to you.
Dr. Breister (33:58):
You for having me.
Monique Ramsey (33:59):
Thank you for coming.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment, or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the XiMed Building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. To learn more, go to lj csc.com or follow the team on Instagram at lj csc. The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis, the axis.io.
Plastic Surgeon
Practicing in a field that focuses on beauty and confidence for over 20 years, Dr. Diana Breister has become fluent in understanding the general self-image of women. Though she is skilled at several types of procedures, she is most known for her excellence in doing face and neck lifts, eyelid surgery, feminine rejuvenation, breast augmentation, breast lift, and tummy tucks. With a specialization in skin loss removal, she’s passionate about helping people who have lost weight become less self-conscious about the loose skin left over.
Plastic Surgeon
Practicing in a field that focuses on beauty and confidence for over 20 years, Dr. Diana Breister has become fluent in understanding the general self-image of women. Though she is skilled at several types of procedures, she is most known for her excellence in doing face and neck lifts, eyelid surgery, feminine rejuvenation, breast augmentation, breast lift, and tummy tucks. With a specialization in skin loss removal, she’s passionate about helping people who have lost weight become less self-conscious about the loose skin left over.
Plastic Surgeon
Practicing in a field that focuses on beauty and confidence for over 20 years, Dr. Diana Breister has become fluent in understanding the general self-image of women. Though she is skilled at several types of procedures, she is most known for her excellence in doing face and neck lifts, eyelid surgery, feminine rejuvenation, breast augmentation, breast lift, and tummy tucks. With a specialization in skin loss removal, she’s passionate about helping people who have lost weight become less self-conscious about the loose skin left over.
Plastic Surgeon
Practicing in a field that focuses on beauty and confidence for over 20 years, Dr. Diana Breister has become fluent in understanding the general self-image of women. Though she is skilled at several types of procedures, she is most known for her excellence in doing face and neck lifts, eyelid surgery, feminine rejuvenation, breast augmentation, breast lift, and tummy tucks. With a specialization in skin loss removal, she’s passionate about helping people who have lost weight become less self-conscious about the loose skin left over.
Plastic Surgeon
Practicing in a field that focuses on beauty and confidence for over 20 years, Dr. Diana Breister has become fluent in understanding the general self-image of women. Though she is skilled at several types of procedures, she is most known for her excellence in doing face and neck lifts, eyelid surgery, feminine rejuvenation, breast augmentation, breast lift, and tummy tucks. With a specialization in skin loss removal, she’s passionate about helping people who have lost weight become less self-conscious about the loose skin left over.