Who is Cosmetic Surgery for? The Truth about the patients we take on.

Is cosmetic surgery only for the wealthy or famous? The doctors at HKB reveal who their patients really are, how they decide who's a good candidate beyond just appearance, and the incredible mindset shifts they see after surgery. They also explore procedures that genuinely change lives—and react to the viral Clavicular influencer nose job, explaining why it may have thrown off the patient's entire facial balance. This is an honest conversation about confidence, psychology, and the art of cosmetic surgery.

Welcome to HKB Uncut: the Health, Knowledge, and Beauty Podcast. On this show, Dr. Bill Kortesis & Dr. Gaurav Bharti unpack the newest techniques and trends in cosmetic surgery, how to tune out the social media noise to make empowered decisions about your appearance, and what you need to know before you book a procedure. 

Dr. Bill Kortesis and Dr. Gaurav Bharti are board certified plastic surgeons and Co-Founders of HKB Cosmetic Surgery, an award-winning practice with ten locations across five states. 

Connect with HKB: 

• Website
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Before & After Gallery
• Blog
• TikTok

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

That's a big part for me. It's like I don't say yes to everybody. I know you don't say yes to everybody. Don't get caught in this thing like everything on social media is legit, because it's probably 50% of it's not or higher.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

I don't know if you guys know who that is.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

My kids do.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Okay, so if he got a nose recon or a nose job, it doesn't fit his face. What is it?

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Everything we do is not just aesthetics, right? It's aesthetics plus function. This is not the solution. This is just part of the process. People don't talk about this functional status of what happens whenever you have a procedure. That's life-changing. That's game-changing.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

When people hear about cosmetic surgery, they usually think about celebrities, influencers. Who actually goes through HKB's doors?

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Man, I'll be honest, like it's it's it's uh it's it could be practically anybody because you know everybody has a different story, has a different issue. I mean, what are some examples of the people you'll see in clinic? Like, you know, tomorrow's your clinic day. Tell about you know who you'd see.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

I mean, it it's everybody, you know. I I think we see all walks of life, we see famous people, we see kind of the everyday individual, we see the mom kind of in suburb suburbia, we see the individuals who live in kind of rural town America, and ultimately that's the beauty of kind of what and who we are, is like we'll take care of everybody. And so we see every single type of personality.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, and I would say the other thing too is it's it's not like limited to a certain, you know, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. No, it's not it's not limited to any of that. And you'd be surprised sometimes people who might be, you know, whatever would be in you know historically titled as blue-collar or white collar, like they're they're just as apt to um subscribe or subscribe to these services. And like I think it's changing like they're the acceptance and the the the socialization normalization. I'm like making up throwing a lot of words here together, but like it's becoming more accepted in the US, and so more and more people are seeking out and talking about it. I think we've always been taking care of everybody, but now it's more But it's also access.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Yeah. Right? I think everybody has access to kind of all these treatments and possibilities that are out there, and then with kind of what they're seeing on social media right now, they're like, oh, you know what, this person looks like me, or like I I I couldn't I can see myself getting that procedure done to get that kind of result.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

But the only thing I would say is we we talk about this, we lecture about this, and then we're we're passionate about this. Like we're not one-trick ponies, you don't do the same shit on everybody. When someone comes in with you know, his maybe this ethnicity and this ethnicity and this kind of body habitus and this aesthetic desire, like they need different interventions. Some people want, you know, crazy curves, some people don't. Some people you need to have placement of incision in different locations, some people you know don't want to have a surgical intervention, need to do this. So it's like I think with that, and the I think one of the reasons why we're successful is that you know it's it's personalized. Like what we do has to be very uniquely personalized, even if like you think there's a better result to be had, like it's really what the patient wants.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Yeah, you you have to listen to them, you have to understand exactly what their expectations are, what they're looking for, what they want, and then tailor kind of the procedures, the protocols, everything you're ultimately gonna do to what they what they're looking for.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

And I think one of the I think the more satisfying thing is you know, I you think about like you know, we need to we have we both have kids and you know you want to figure out what they want to do, and you think about what we get to do, and you do get to see, you know, people of all kinds of backgrounds. You get to see professionals, you get to see males, females, kids sometimes, elderly people, middle-aged people. That's pretty fun. I mean, it's really great, and like making them happy, I mean, there's probably nothing but happy.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

What's amazing in clinic is half the time it's a social visit. I'm I'm finding out what's what's going on, where they're going on vacation, what's happening in their lives, what's happening with their kids. You know, just having a a good old conversation. They're like, oh, we gotta circle back and actually talk about the actual procedure itself and and and potential interventions.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

How do you determine um whether a patient is a good fit, not just physically, but emotionally? Just make sure they're in the right headspace.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

You know, I I think that we've we've gotten good at this, but you always you always could potentially miss and not really understand. But I think the biggest thing is, you know, have conversation with the patient, you know, try to get build rapport. You know, actually when we're in in medical school and in training, like this there's this concept of you know building um trust and uh empathy and you know identification between you and the patient. And I think we all have different ways of doing that. Like yours is a little bit different than mine. I'm a little bit more kind of get down to business, but I also want to ask them other stuff, totally unrelated to like tell me what you want to see your breast look like, or tell me what you want to do to your lower face and neck. You know what I mean? Like, what's your strategy?

SPEAKER_02 4:52

I I try to listen as much as I can. I ask open-ended questions, I try to listen and try to understand exactly where they're coming from, what brought them to this point? Because as you imagine, everybody has a different story, to your point, right? That they come in and they're like, you know, they may have been teased as a kid, or they might have just gotten a divorce and they're trying to uh go into this new chapter of their life, or it this something that's been bothering them forever, that they're now just coming in, what brings them in today, right? Because again, there's a reason why they picked up the phone, they made an appointment, they came in, they that you know, they they spent the time and energy to do that. And for me, it's really trying to get down to understanding their why and understanding the reason why they're ultimately here today. And then as part of that, what is their expectation out of this? Like what is their dream result, their dream kind of uh experience and and their dream outcome? And then see if what you and I can do as surgeons can accommodate that because ultimately, if there's a disconnect between what they're looking for and what we can offer, they're not an ideal candidate. So ultimately we'd have to kind of part ways and say, Hey, I'm I'm not your doc. I don't think we can go down this road. But that's ultimately how we decide. I think it's like, all right, do that, you know, understanding their why. Uh are they coming in for really decent reasons, and can we achieve the outcome that they're ultimately looking for?

SPEAKER_01 6:15

How do you think they decide it'd go between you and me? I think they want to see someone with like bomb hair or someone who's just a meathead?

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Um way better looking guy, smarter, more talented. I I mean the list can go on and on and on.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

But it but it is interesting. Sometimes uh a lot of our patients though, uh you know, this is an important thing, is that there is a um patients are looking for the right surgeon. Yep. You know, but I I think we are also appeal to the right patient, and I think there is this um responsibility that we face too to make sure that they're a good candidate, that we actually identify with what they are wanting to achieve, and if we don't, to either have further discussions or help them seek somebody else out, or you know to your point.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

I I don't think patients really understand when they're coming in interviewing us, we're actually interviewing them totally as well. Right. And then like that's a big part for me. It's like I don't say yes to everybody, I know you don't say yes to everybody.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

And one one of the things, you know, uh this is you know one of the things where you're just getting real with things, like every once in a while if there's something that you take care of a patient and maybe they're not happy or the result's not where it needs to be and needs to be adjusted, and you need to like which we we are always we're always willing to do, we have to make sure we're on the same page. I don't I I tell patients that I don't want to be adversarial, I don't want to be confrontational. If there isn't that trust there, we have to first build that trust and rebuild that trust. Because like it's everything, and it's it's one of those things that it's uh probably any relationship, but even with patient care, and I think we all care about that. And at the end of the day, like it all goes back to one simple thing. We're doing this to help people be happy because it makes us happy, and I think that's like the guiding principle.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Don't you see though, G, like all these patients are like going towards docs who specialize in a procedure, right? But I think it goes a step further. I think patients are actually looking for doctors there who are not only really talented at what they do, but coincide personalities with what they're looking for as well. I don't I don't think it's a one-for-one. I I don't think, oh my god, this is the tummy tuck specialist, I gotta see him, and regardless, yeah, he can be a terrible individual, right? Like it it's gotta be that combo factor. Totally. Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

How does their um mentality change after surgery? So obviously they're looking for a specific surgery before, and then after the surgery, how do they feel? I'm assuming it's confidence, but I just want to get more context.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

I'll tell you, it's um the analogy I'll give you is you someone who comes in, initially in consultation, they'll kind of be surgeon, they'll kind of be like looking down, kind of soft spoken, and then they come back in a month or two later, dressed up, standing tall, strutting down the hallway, potentially like in heels and and just like ear-to-ear grin. So I I mean a lot of times it changes dramatic. You know, other times it's a little bit softer. You're talking to your scene how is it going, they're not saying anything, and you're asking, you know, any issues, any problems, no, nothing at all. And how do you feel about things? Good, good. And then you'll see the result, and it's like, oh my god. And they're happy, but that's their personality. So I would say that it's it's different. It can be a little muted in some situations, it can be extremely over the top in others, but like you can tell, and you can get to know your patients, so you can tell if they're good or not, and if they're not, like you quickly want to learn, but it's it's it's massive.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yeah, the the few times you see that they're they're not, you you try to get down to the nitty-gritty of why that's happening, right? And because they may want it might be an implant size thing. It's like, oh my god, I love it, but I wish I would have gone a hundred cc's more, right? And but to your point, I love you know, a month later, two months later, when they come strolling into the office and they're wearing high heels and they're wearing forefeited stuff and that they didn't come into the console dressing like that. You're like, all right, their confidence is through the roof.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Yeah, and then the other the other ways you tell is that they're like, I'm bringing all my friends, I'm you know, I'm I'm ready for my next one. There's all kinds of you know things that that indicate that, but you can tell me at the end of the day, we just want to make sure that they're super happy and they they get what they want. And sometimes you actually can tell because they're doing other stuff. Like they are, I don't know, they're going on trips, they are in a different relationship, they are you know buying different clothes, they're doing things, and so it's fun to see how this can interplay with with life. Like this is not the solution, this is just part of the process. And you know, there are other people who have like you know lost like 100 pounds, 50 pounds, whatever, and they were they're like reinventing themselves, and like it's part of that, and it's fun to be part of that process. You know, aesthetic surgery is um is is really f it it is for a lot of people, and it's it's really it's it's so much more than what it just sounds like. It's not just cosmetic surgery.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

It can be for everybody. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

I mean like it is it is what we what we say is it's aesthetic and restorative surgery. You know, when someone has huge breasts and you do a breast reduction and a lift on them, that's life-changing, that's game-changing.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yeah, people don't talk about this functional status of what happens whenever you have a procedure done. So we talked about one breast reduction. What's another one?

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Another one's abdominal plasty or you know, and a skin resection after either mommy makeover or massive weight loss. All right, in that situation, you're getting rid of a hanging, pendulous, excess skin. People can get infections after that, they can't fit in clothes, right? When they go run, it literally gets in the way. So you get rid of that, they can move better, you restore and and reestablish their core, all of a sudden their lower back pain can be alleviated, they can potentially have some genital urinary enhancements as well. And like they're thin, flat, and tight. They're able to work out, they're able to do Pilates, they're able to do all this activity they couldn't do. Another one is when you do like skin resections for legs or arms, you know, where these people literally can't fit in their clothing or they have this moving effect.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Even that, you know, face, right? Like sometimes removing extra eyelid skin, people can see more and see better, right? Their visual field is extended, and so just removing a little extra skin above their eyelids actually has a functional result to it. So not everything we do is not just aesthetics, right? It's aesthetics plus function.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

And then it's and there's also this other piece of the I think the most important thing about what we do is that there's there's a concept of when somebody thinks about themselves, how they see themselves, you know, and then how they actually physically represent are represented, there's a disconnect, and we're literally here to re-establish that or reconcile that so that there's not you know this this significant disconnect, or where they're just like, that's not me. And when when somebody feels like that, that's when I feel like it's an appropriate time to intervene, you know, us to be a part of that so that a patient can be physically represented with how they feel on the inside.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

So you're saying that their internal state has to match their external state. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Yep. And there's certain times where the opposite exists. Like if so we we get this ridiculous result and they're not taking care of themselves, they're not healthy, they're not optimized. Like, that's kind of one of the things we're we're super passionate about. Like, that's our responsibility also to protect that and make sure that they are they're addressing that because that's how you get the best results. You know, I had I had a post the other day and it got a lot of uh traction on it because I showed somebody's you're trying to boast that you're getting a lot of views on some children. But it's important because the best results, and you you've seen this too, where someone like it shows like a several year um gap between uh uh extended abdominal plastic and then mastopexy, and then shows the before afterwards, and it's like, oh my god, that is insane. And everybody's saying, Well, what where's the real before afters? Because she lost a lot of weight. She did. She lost a lot of weight, she optimized herself, she's accurate doing all these things.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Part of the whole continuum of care. You do surgery, it's not a one and done, and that's it. You know, you ultimately have to take care of yourself before, you have to take care of yourself afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

You gotta put the work in always.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

And if you put the work in, it shows, right? And it's like and I always tell patients it's like, let me do my part, you do your part, and your results gonna be ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Um, I saw this trend where it was clavicular. I don't know if you guys know who that is.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

My kids do.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Okay, so he got a nose recon or a nose job and it doesn't fit his face. And he looked so much better before. Why is that?

SPEAKER_01 14:17

You know, you know, facial harmony and balance, same with body, is really important, and like you think about a man. So a man has uh a certain masculine features. Okay, and then those central in the face commands a certain amount of respect. When there is a uh distortion of that balance, like it's a really large nose or a significant dorsum or a hooked nose, you know, there are situations where you can do some rebalancing to adjust that and and you can still maintain the that masculinity and the features that are there. If it's overdone, and you know, a lot of rhinoplasties are reductive rhinoplasties, right? And that's normal. Sometimes if it's over reduced, then maybe that there is not harmony to the face, you know. Case in point, one example is you know Michael Jackson or there's other celebrity examples too, where they're they've been overdone or they've been having you know done several times. Um and so I think it's it's with a guy, you don't want to overdo it. Right. Um and the same thing with females too, to be honest. Like you're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Yeah, I think everything's about refinement and not necessarily going to the extremes. Sometimes people want to go to the extremes, and I think that's the issue. And I think ultimately when it looks off, there is something off.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Right. And and then the hard thing to tell.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

And it's amplified in the face, right? Like anything you do in the face, it's amplified.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Yeah, and the big thing, like let's be honest, that we the hard thing to tell is like what's real, what's not. Like a lot of the these, you know, who's who or celebrities will get picks. I mean, sorry, they'll show they'll show before-afters on in on social. And then I think social and then things are always meddled with. And so, like, you like for example, like the you know, um, Chris Jenner's result. You see one that looks great, one that looks old, one that doesn't. Like, there's a bunch of bullshit out there.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

And like you everybody's gotta sift through that stuff, and like don't think and don't get caught in this thing, like everything on social media is legit, because it probably 50% of it's not or or higher. And so I think that's the only thing that's kind of crazy here in with this. So this this guy who knows what he actually fundamentally looks like. Right. The question is, did he have a great rhinoplastia? And they tell and now they like they like you know adjusted it to make it look overdone, but it's hard to say.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Thank you for listening to kind of the most amazing plastic surgery podcast out there, HKB. I'm here with my brother, Dr. Baharty. Please subscribe to our channel, listen for more episodes. If there's something you want to hear about, post in the comments. Let us know.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Just two Grindians making it happen.