- 8 months ago
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00What I love most about the Essence Stage is that it brings the pages of Essence to life
00:06and it creates a safe space for us to have real conversations about the topics that influence
00:12our people each and every day. It's for us and it's by us. This next panel is no exception.
00:20We have brought the best practitioners and voices here today for a real and raw dialogue
00:26about medical procedures that range from veneers to BBLs. Oh, y'all done got quiet. Don't get quiet
00:37on me now, okay? All right, so from veneers to BBLs and oh, vaginoplasty. Okay, cool. I'm definitely
00:45gonna get that later on down the line. Without further ado, please welcome to the stage Essence
00:53Content Director, Nandi Howard. Board-certified emergency medicine physician, Dr. Samson Davis
01:04and emergency physician and founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, Dr. O'Shea Blackstock.
01:13Make some noise, y'all. Hey, y'all. We gotta give everybody a moment to walk up because as you
01:19guys can see, it's a long walkway. So let's go ahead and get started. Okay, here they go, here they go,
01:26here they go. How's everybody doing? Good, good. Awesome. Hey, doctors. Let's give them another round
01:38of applause. Awesome, awesome. Hi. Nice to sit right here. How are you? Amazing. Well, let's go ahead and get
01:54started. I feel like this is such an important conversation to have right now because we know
01:59everywhere on social media, I feel like we see new bodies every single day. So my name is Nandi Howard.
02:06I am the content director and I'm so excited that I get to host and moderate this next conversation
02:11because it's truly a much needed conversation in our community to have. We are about to get into the
02:16to do or not to do BBLs, vinoplasty and veneers. So, all right, let's dive right in and talk about the
02:25ever popular BBL. Just so we're all on the same page, Dr. Blackstock, can you explain to us what is
02:31actually involved in a procedure like a Brazilian butt lift? Yes. Hi, can everyone hear me? It's a
02:36little low. Okay, it's a little bit low. There we go. There we go. Okay, thank you. Thanks so much
02:39for having me. Of course. So, you know, this procedure is a procedure that is growing significantly
02:45in popularity, but I think people should know that it's a procedure that comes with risk.
02:51Right. Essentially, what it does is you have liposuction, fat removal from certain parts of your body,
02:56abdomen, flanks, back, and thighs, and that fat is essentially put into your buttocks region. Right.
03:03The reason why it is potentially dangerous is that you have a lot of blood vessels in your backside,
03:11right? And so, if you inject into one of those blood vessels and fat goes into there,
03:16you can actually get an embolism. So, a piece of fat can go to your lungs, can go to your heart,
03:21and can cause a cardiac arrest. Right. And I think we've seen that happen to people. Yeah.
03:28And so, that is why this could be potentially very dangerous and why it's important to identify
03:33a surgeon that is skilled in doing this procedure. And we saw that even in the last few years,
03:41about 20,000 BBLs being done per year, and that number is increasing significantly. Growing.
03:48Yeah. What would you say for someone who's trying to look for the right doctor? If they were to get
03:53this procedure, what are some things that they should be looking out for?
03:56Yeah. So, I would say for a lot of cosmetic procedures, especially a BBL procedure, you want
04:02to make sure you know what the board certification of the doctor is that you are working with. The other
04:09thing is people need to know that there is a difference between a cosmetic surgeon and a plastic
04:15surgeon. Right. A plastic surgeon is someone who has completed a full residency that's usually
04:21five, six years in plastic surgery. A cosmetic surgeon can actually be any kind of doctor. Yeah.
04:30So, it could be a general surgeon. It could be a pediatrician. It could be an OBGYN that has become
04:38boarded in cosmetic surgery. So, you kind of have to ask yourself, you know, what you are comfortable with.
04:43Right. You also then want to find out, you know, how many procedures has this physician done? You want
04:50to know what their education and training specifically are. And then you want to, you know, interview them.
04:56You want to vet them. So, you want to go for consultation, see what this physician's bedside manner is,
05:02see how, what their aesthetic is. So, you also want to ask them, can you show me pictures of work that
05:08you've done to see if that agrees with the aesthetic that you want, you want, you know, on your own body.
05:14And you want to ask them about how they handle complications. And so, if the look ultimately is not a look
05:21that you want, or if you're having complications right after surgery, are you going to be able to get in touch with
05:27them? And then finally, you want to make sure that where the surgery is being performed is somewhere that is accredited.
05:33So, you want to make sure that they have all of the proper life-saving equipment there in case,
05:41because usually it's done, some of these procedures are done outpatient. So, it could be at a clinic
05:45somewhere. Right. That they have the appropriate staff, like anesthesia, as well as life-saving
05:51equipment in case there are complications. Right. And then the last thing is you want to make sure
05:57they have admitting privileges to a hospital. So, if you end up needing to stay and be admitted to a
06:03hospital, that they have somewhere to admit you to. Absolutely. So, it's like, just like we go into
06:08the doctor's office and they ask us questions. We should be doing the same thing. Absolutely. You
06:13have to, this has to be an empowering process. And I think especially because this procedure can be
06:18so incredibly risky. Yeah. You want to make sure that the person that you are, that's going to operate
06:24on you as someone that you trust, essentially, with your life. Absolutely. Dr. Davis, you're an
06:29emergency medicine physician. And so, in your experience and practice, have you seen an increase
06:33in these procedures being done? And are there serious side effects that could actually land you
06:38in the ER? Yeah. I mean, with, with COVID and just with progression of time, we're seeing these
06:44procedures done more often. Right. A 40% increase from 2015 to 2019. And those numbers are only
06:52increasing. So, to Dr. Blackstone's point, like, you have to make sure you go to a physician
06:58that is board certified, that is accredited. Because what happens is, if you go, I have a
07:04lot of friends that go overseas. Yeah. Yeah. And they take that plane. And we see that on social
07:08media a lot, too. And they go overseas. And, you know, you want to do your research. So, this
07:13is like something on a risk. And the complication here is that the vessels, the blood vessels,
07:19you have two arteries, what, just for a namesake, superior gluteal and inferior gluteal artery. And
07:25you have the vein system. So, what happens is, if you do the implants wrong, or if you do the fat
07:31transfer, the liposuction wrong, you could get a fat embolism, as Dr. Blackstone mentioned, that can
07:37kill you. And you can have complications, infections. So, we see infections. We see people coming back to
07:43the States. They come into the ER. And they have side effects from the surgery. So, you just want
07:48to do your research. You want to do your due diligence. And I don't have a problem with going
07:52anywhere you need to go. I think a board certified physician. So, board certified, they trained.
07:57They took special tests to be labeled as board certified. But if you're going to go someplace that's
08:02not board certified, I mean, I want to go somewhere that has north of 10, 15, 20,000 surgeries
08:07performed. So, that I can feel like this is the best place. So, they have quantity in
08:13hands. So, I know that they understand what could potentially go wrong. So, I don't think
08:17this is going to go away. And I think it's okay. That's fine. It's your choice. But at
08:22the same time, it's just like anything else. You want to make sure. Sometimes I see patients
08:26in the ER and say, who did your surgery? And they say, I don't know. I say, I don't know
08:30who did your surgery. You're just like, anybody cut you? Yeah, that's important. You have to know
08:34who did your surgery. So, you just got that wealth of knowledge. And I think the challenge
08:38is that sometimes we're so just like, I took this leap that we don't do the next step, which
08:44is the diligence, right? So, I took the leap because it takes a while to realize I wanted
08:48to take this chance at doing this. But once you take that chance, you still got to do your
08:52homework and make sure everything's aligned and in perfect order. Yeah. Can I add something?
08:56No, you just reminded me two things. One is that people need to know, like, if you're going
09:02to have surgery in another country, right, and you have complications, when you get back,
09:07there are very few doctors that are going to want to reoperate on you like that. And that's
09:14the issue because they don't have proper documentation of what was done in that other country or things
09:19may have been done differently. So, that is something that people really have to keep in mind,
09:25like, especially a really good doctor, a good surgeon is going to be like, not right now.
09:31Right, right, right. Like, not right now. Like, you know, maybe we'll wait a year,
09:35see how everything looks, and then we'll go back in. And then the other thing is they have these like,
09:42these plastic surgery factories. No, even here in the States where like, they specialize in doing
09:48these procedures. And so, people don't know who their doctor is because the doctor that you
09:52consulted with is not the one that's even operating on you. So, I would say be very,
09:59very wary of these practices where there are multiple, you know, health professionals rotating
10:04through them that you don't know if the person that did the surgery is the same one you're going
10:08to follow up with. Yeah. And I think because it's become so affordable, you know, plastic surgery
10:13overall has become much, much more affordable. And that's why it's accessible to more people,
10:18which I think is great. But part of that is then you have these, you know, factory mills that are
10:24opening up that I don't think necessarily have the best interest of the patients at hand. Yeah,
10:30I wanted to talk about interest because I'm sure both in both of your cases, you get a lot of different
10:34age groups that come to you. Is this something that I'm sure as with social media and sort of
10:40that influence, do you guys maybe encourage somebody to do it because they really want to do it rather
10:45than seeing someone just on social media or as doctors? Do you kind of step out of that decision,
10:51you know, with you in the ER? Do you guys step out of, put your opinion, take it out of that situation
10:56and just kind of give them the best medical advice? Is there any advice there or do you guys kind of
11:00take a step back? No, I mean, I think it's important to take a step back. We recognize the role of social
11:06media in, you know, our lives right now. We recognize that we're inundated with images of bodies that now
11:13almost, it's almost like that body has become the norm. Yeah. And so, but I also think that, you know,
11:20especially women should feel empowered to do what they think is right for them. We just want to make sure that
11:25people have all of the information that is correct and accurate so that they can make informed decisions and
11:31decisions that are safest for themselves. So like all of those things we were just talking about,
11:36things to look for in your doctor are things that we want to make sure that people are doing that
11:41checklist before they go to seek, you know, a consultation. And if I can add, I think, you know,
11:47we have to keep in mind like this is a lifestyle modification. It's not one glove fit all. So it's,
11:54it's your diet, it's exercise, it's whatever procedure you want to have.
11:58I think what we're saying here is like, it's not up to us to judge what you want to have done,
12:04right? We're here to support you and to make sure it's done the safest way. But I swear,
12:08I wish there was one magic pill to fix it all, but there's not. So it's all adjustments. And I think
12:14you have to do your due diligence and stay true to it. I mean, I think there's, um, there's a saying
12:19that you have to, you have to stay true. You got to run the course, you know, is, is each step counts,
12:24you know, Rome wasn't built in a day per se. Yeah. And so it's staying that course is staying
12:28diligent to it and true to it. And then you would get the desired effect that you want,
12:32because we're all trying to achieve something as far as where do I want to land with this? So
12:37you could go get the surgery, but it's not going to fix everything. So you got to make sure that you
12:41balance everything to make sure that you get your result that you're looking for.
12:44Yeah. And I also want to say, like, I know, like there's a lot of pressure on women
12:48in general. And then especially after we have children, you know, our bodies change and no one,
12:52no one really talks about that change and how do you process it? How do you deal with it? And so if
12:59for some women, you know, having a mommy makeover is something that makes them feel a little bit
13:04better about themselves, then no more power to you, but just do it, you know, we want you to do it with
13:10making sure you have all the information you need in hand. Yeah. And not to take away your thunder,
13:15but men are getting a procedure too. Yeah, they are. They are. The ass sketching and stuff like that.
13:20I just wanted to, I haven't done it yet. Let me let you know. Yeah. No, that's true. I did see,
13:24I did see the abs stitching on this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I forgot this guy. I was, I was shocked. Yeah.
13:30I couldn't believe it. More men are doing it. Yes. It's like, and you know, it's not just gender specific,
13:35you know, I wanted to talk about aftercare because you both have mentioned that how important is aftercare,
13:40whether it's BBLs, whether it's veneers, whether it's, you know, anything, how important is that?
13:46No, it's incredibly important, one, to making sure that everything heals properly, that you don't get
13:52an infection. Because the other thing to keep in mind is, you know, when you, when you have surgery,
13:57it's basically opening the barrier between you and the outside environment. So one thing you really
14:02have to worry about is infection. Yeah. So keeping those areas that were operated on very,
14:08very clean. And then some of these surgeries, especially like BBL, the recovery time is very
14:15long. It's like six to eight weeks. You can't sit in certain positions. You have to lay on your belly.
14:20You have to be really in tune to symptoms that you're having, symptoms of pain. So I think it's
14:25really best to follow your health professional's advice. So you know what red flags and warning
14:31sites to look out for, like fever, chills, if the area is very red, if it gets very hot, if you start
14:37noticing, you know, pus from the area, you want to be very vigilant in making sure that you get that
14:42checked out. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the aftercare to me is just as important as the surgery. Yeah. You
14:48know, because even if, if we're not even talking cosmetic, any surgical procedure, whether you have a
14:54knee replacement or ACL tear, that physical therapy portion of that aftercare is as much as
15:01important as the surgical process, because in order for you to build strength and to get the results
15:06that you want, it's a two way street. You got to participate in your aftercare as well. Very important.
15:11No, absolutely. Dr. Blackstock, we know you've been an advocate for the exposure of racism and bias
15:17in healthcare. And Dr. Davis, I want you to step in here too. How important is it for us as a black
15:22community to seek out medical professionals of color to do procedures like this? Is it necessary or is it
15:28optional? So, so I would say obviously most importantly is that your health professional
15:32is qualified. Yeah. You know, and, and obviously I think that often having black physicians,
15:40black nurses, other health professionals is so, so important to having someone who understands
15:46where you're coming from. You know, obviously, obviously we know the challenge is there's so very
15:50few of us. Um, but you know, I'm always there and there are directories always online where you can
15:57find black health professionals. So I know even for me as a black physician, I look for black health
16:03professionals. Right. Like my, my, um, my dermatologist is a black woman, you know, and I've been with her
16:11for like 15 years because I trust her. I know she knows my skin well, and I know she like, she listens to me
16:17and understands me. So I think that we have to make it more accessible to patients to be able to find
16:23those black health professionals that they need. And obviously we talk about this all the time, like
16:28the pipeline, making sure we have the pipeline of students and, um, you know, trainees and programs
16:35in place so that our numbers don't decrease. Although, you know, the events of this past week may compromise
16:40that, um, the, you know, the Supreme court ruling, but, um, I think our presence is so very, very
16:46important because we, we get it. Like we get what we get what our patients are going through. We've been
16:52through a lot of it ourselves and we can listen to them. I love that. What about you, Dr. Davis?
16:57How important is it? Yeah. I mean, representation is important. Yeah. It's super important. I mean,
17:02you know, African Americans, we make up 12, 13, 14% of the population, but only 3% of physicians.
17:09So there's a huge disparity there. And I think that, um, in order for us to even have a conversation,
17:14it has to be equally set. And so we're not there yet. Um, to Dr. Blackstone's point, like I think
17:21it's important, but you want to go to somebody that you trust first and foremost, right? Regardless of
17:26the skin color, but cultural sensitivity is huge. It's huge because we have found studies have shown
17:32that you're more likely to take your medication, follow the regimen, show up for appointments, be compliant,
17:38if you can relate to the person that's providing the care to you. So it's important. So for everybody
17:43sitting in the audience, all your sons, your daughters, your nieces, your nephews, I mean,
17:47we need more healthcare professionals. There's no doubt about it. And, uh, and that's what we're
17:52working to do. But I've been practicing for 20 plus years and I haven't seen a change.
17:57And so, you know, it's, it's, um, I just think is, is of utmost importance. We talk about cosmetic,
18:03but just in healthcare alone, if we talk about what's killing our people is hypertension,
18:08is diabetes, is heart disease. So these are all things that we can really, really control,
18:13but we just have to get the motivation around it and have someone who's who looks like us talking to us,
18:19making us feel comfortable about discussing issues that are very, that are very sensitive,
18:23but feel very comfortable opening up about them. Yeah. Yeah. So both of us said, making sure you're
18:29doing the proper research to vet your doctor. Could you give us maybe some resources that we could
18:34find, uh, doctors in any field? Sure. So specifically for black women, there's Health in Her Hue. Okay.
18:42And they actually, I think they have an event here at Essence Fest. So Health in Her Hue,
18:46definitely go online and check them out. They have vetted, um, a list of health professionals
18:51of, you know, actually all different backgrounds, but the key is that they are all,
18:56they all signed up and are ready to treat black women. Um, also National Medical Association is the
19:02oldest and largest organization of black doctors. If you go on their website, they have contact
19:07information for different states and cities where you can find black health professionals. So those are
19:13two resources that I would recommend. Yeah. And ask a friend, ask a friend, ask around and see, you know,
19:21and, and, and, and I think when, you know, the one thing I remember when I used to go to the doctor,
19:37when I was a kid, my mother would dress me up and put baby powder all over me. Right. I don't know what
19:41that was about. Right. And so she would do those things. Like I was interviewing for the doctor,
19:46but you're not interviewing for the doctor. Right. Like, so you have to be very comfortable
19:51with your position and please, please, please. No question is embarrassing. Right. Ask the question.
19:57We've seen it all. I've seen everything you could imagine. I'm underneath the sun. I know. We see
20:01everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm emergency too. Doctor too. Yes. We've seen it all. So ask away because
20:06sometimes around that question is the, is the answer to where you're going, like what you need to really
20:13push the needle to get you to where you want to go. Okay. Can you say one other thing? Of course.
20:17I think it's also important. Like we're saying, you know, we have, you have to vet your doctors
20:21and your other health professionals. Like if you have someone, a doctor you feel like is not listening
20:25to you, um, or minimizing what you're saying, or you keep bringing something up to that person,
20:31get a second opinion, get a third opinion. Like you don't have to stay with that person. Also,
20:35I always encourage people to bring a family member or in their partner or close friend with
20:41them to an appointment because sometimes you're so distracted. You can't really focus or ask the
20:46questions that you want to. It's good to have someone else there on your side to also talk to
20:51the doctor. Yeah. And then last question, as we wrap up, I wanted to know, you guys said,
20:55especially you, Dr. Davis, that you've been in the industry, but you haven't necessarily seen a big
20:59leap or change with black physicians or physicians of color. Is there just any advice that you could give the
21:05audience who may be particularly looking to get into that field or a little nervous or anything
21:11like that? Yeah. You know, I think the road to becoming a physician or a nurse practitioner or
21:16physician assistant, it's a long road and it's a daunting road in the mind. Like I can't do this.
21:22Right. But meanwhile, the time goes by, like you do get supported. You're living your life. It's not
21:28like every life stops. You know what I mean? Like you're living your life. Like when I looked at it
21:33coming out of high school, like man, eight years, eight years. Oh my God. Like I can't do eight
21:39years, but the time goes by. And so, and we need, we need us. We need us to be professionals. So,
21:47I mean, it's a rewarding career. Just like any other industry, you got to figure out to make it work for
21:52you. But at the same time, like I leave fulfilled every day that I practice medicine.
21:58Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And I would just add, so I'm fortunate. I'm second generation
22:03black woman physician. My mother was a doctor. So I grew up thinking that all doctors were black.
22:11Because my pediatrician was black. She would take us to the local meetings of black doctors.
22:15And I didn't realize until I got like 12, 13, that wasn't the case. I was like, oh, wow. And I realized
22:21there's such a need for us. And so we, yeah, we are needed so much out there to help in our
22:27communities because many of us, the reason why we want to be doctors is because we want to help
22:31serve our community. Absolutely. It's not necessarily just about the individual success.
22:35We, this means more than that to us. And so I would tell people, if you're interested,
22:40definitely reach out to someone, you know, who's in the health professions. There are a lot of
22:44organizations out there, like pipeline programs that can help people get started. So keep going.
22:49Well, thank you, Dr. Blackstock, Dr. Davis. If anyone doesn't tell you,
22:52we appreciate you for all your service. Can we give a round of applause for everyone?
22:57Thank you guys so much. All right, we're done.