Breast cancer, mastectomy and breast reconstruction take an emotional toll. Licensed Clinical Social Worker Kelley Kitley joins Dr. Jason Rosenberg to talk about coping, support and intimacy after surgery.

In Part 1 of a two-part conversation on In the BEST of HANDS: The Plastic Surgery Podcast, Dr. Rosenberg and co-host Meredith Reis talk with Kelley Kitley, LCSW, host of The Kelley Kitley Podcast: America’s Social Worker Unfiltered and a mental health expert seen on NBC News, ABC News and CNN.

Kelley shares how to handle the overwhelm after a diagnosis, why it’s okay to pause before deciding, how to support someone with breast cancer and how couples can rebuild intimacy after a mastectomy. Dr. Rosenberg explains why he gives his number to patients’ partners and what a husband’s thank-you note taught him. In Part 2, Kelley returns to discuss facelifts, rhinoplasty and body contouring after GLP-1s.

Learn more about Kelley at kelleykitley.com, listen to The Kelley Kitley Podcast and find her autobiography, MY self: An Autobiography of Survival, Recovery & Empowerment.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

02:15 – Why great surgeons are part psychologist

04:15 – Fresh off a breast cancer diagnosis

05:15 – Don’t feel rushed to decide

06:15 – Fight, flight or freeze

07:45 – Feeling alone and breast cancer support groups

08:45 – Information overload and analysis paralysis

09:30 – The five-minute “worst case” writing exercise

12:00 – Helped, hugged or heard?

12:15 – Supporting the partner: “You’re my patient, too”

14:15 – Where doctors and loved ones miss the mark

15:30 – Grief and gratitude after mastectomy

17:00 – Handling insensitive comments

18:15 – Breast reconstruction in a cosmetic surgeon’s office

20:30 – What to say to a friend with breast cancer

21:15 – Why many women delay or skip breast reconstruction

22:45 – Giving yourself permission to be cared for

24:15 – Recovery and playing the long game

26:00 – Intimacy after breast reconstruction

28:15 – A husband’s thank-you card

29:00 – Kelley’s final advice

In this episode, we cover:

Facing a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Why so many women feel overwhelmed and frozen after a diagnosis

Grounding techniques and writing questions down before appointments

A five-minute exercise for writing out your fears

How to Support Someone With Breast Cancer

Breast cancer support groups, and options for women who’d rather keep things private

Why partners are patients too

Sometimes people need to be heard, not fixed

What to say (and not say) to a friend going through breast cancer

Emotional Recovery After Mastectomy & Reconstruction

Grief and gratitude: two feelings can be true at once

DIEP flap natural tissue reconstruction

Why about two-thirds of women don’t undergo breast reconstruction

Reconstruction as a process: several operations over six months to a year

Intimacy After Mastectomy

Learning your partner’s body in a new way

Sensate focus, couples therapy and sex therapy

How intimacy goes far beyond the bedroom

🎧 Thanks for checking out In the BEST of HANDS: The Plastic Surgery Podcast! New episodes drop twice a month, on Wednesdays.

✅ Subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.

✅ Rate & Review: your input helps more listeners find us.

✨ Follow Dr. Jason Rosenberg & Rosenberg Plastic Surgery:

https://rosenbergplasticsurgery.com/ and on INSTAGRAM

Keywords: breast cancer, mastectomy, breast reconstruction, emotional recovery after mastectomy, how to support someone with breast cancer, breast cancer mental health, intimacy after mastectomy, breast cancer support groups, DIEP flap, Kelley Kitley, America’s Social Worker

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What are your options for breast reconstruction after a breast cancer diagnosis? For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Jason Rosenberg and co-host Meredith Reis dedicate this episode of In the BEST of HANDS: The Plastic Surgery Podcast to a topic close to Dr. Rosenberg’s heart: mastectomy and breast reconstruction.

Fellowship-trained in microsurgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Rosenberg has spent 30 years helping women rebuild after breast cancer. He explains when to see a plastic surgeon, what insurance covers, and how to choose between implants and natural tissue (flap) reconstruction. He also covers nipple reconstruction, 3D nipple tattoos, the risks involved with surgery and how partners can support someone through the process.

To see Dr. Rosenberg's DEIP Flap breast reconstruction before and after photos, click here.

Timestamps

02:00 – When to see a plastic surgeon after diagnosis

04:45 – Why many women skip reconstruction

07:00 – Does insurance cover breast reconstruction?

08:45 – Lumpectomy and oncoplastic surgery

10:45 – Implants vs. natural tissue: why radiation matters

12:00 – Prophylactic mastectomy, BRCA and implants

14:15 – Natural tissue (flap) reconstruction

20:00 – Sensation and nipple-sparing mastectomy

22:00 – Nipple reconstruction and 3D tattoos

25:15 – Fat grafting and the three stages of reconstruction

27:00 – Flap risks and complications

29:00 – Emotional support and the Butterfly Sisters

31:45 – Advice for partners

34:30 – “Today’s the day”: a patient’s story

In this episode, we cover:

Starting the Reconstruction Journey

• Dr. Rosenberg’s priority list: alive and healthy, cancer-free, then reconstruction
• Why only about 30% of women once chose reconstruction
• The law requiring insurance to cover reconstruction and matching the other breast

Lumpectomy & Oncoplastic Surgery

• How a plastic surgeon helps reshape the breast after a lumpectomy

Implant Reconstruction

• Why radiation changes the plan
• Prophylactic mastectomy for BRCA and other genetic risks
• Who is a good candidate, and why implants need maintenance

Natural Tissue (Flap) Reconstruction

• Using tummy tissue to rebuild the breast, with a tummy tuck-like benefit
• Muscle-sparing flaps vs. the techniques of the ’80s
• Immediate vs. delayed reconstruction

Nipples, Sensation & Finishing Touches

• What sensation may return after a mastectomy
• Nipple-sparing mastectomy: who’s a candidate
• Nipple reconstruction vs. 3D nipple tattoos
• Fat grafting and combining a flap with an implant

Risks & Recovery

• Flap success rates (97 to 99% with an experienced microsurgeon)
• The critical first 8 to 10 hours after surgery

Emotional Support

• The Butterfly Sisters patient network and Survive and Thrive
• How partners can help, and why they’re patients too

🎧 Thanks for checking out In the BEST of HANDS: The Plastic Surgery Podcast! New episodes drop twice a month, on Wednesdays.

✅ Subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.

✅ Rate & Review: your input helps more listeners find us.

✨ Follow Dr. Jason Rosenberg & Rosenberg Plastic Surgery:

https://rosenbergplasticsurgery.com/ and on INSTAGRAM

Keywords: breast reconstruction, breast reconstruction after mastectomy, mastectomy, breast cancer, flap reconstruction, DIEP flap, implant reconstruction, prophylactic mastectomy, BRCA, oncoplastic surgery, nipple reconstruction, 3D nipple tattoo, nipple-sparing mastectomy, Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Am I ready for a facelift? In this episode of In the BEST of HANDS: The Plastic Surgery Podcast, Dr. Jason Rosenberg and co-host Meredith Reis welcome board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Greg DeLange of The Estetica Institute in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He is Dr. Rosenberg’s longtime friend, and he once operated on Dr. Rosenberg himself.

With nearly 30 years of experience and thousands of facelifts behind him, Dr. DeLange explains what a facelift actually involves. He covers the deep plane SMAS (Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System) technique, fat grafting, CO2 laser resurfacing, and the local anesthesia facelift he pioneered. (Yes, you can be awake during your facelift!) The two surgeons also talk about how long results last, recovery, risks, and why more men are choosing facial rejuvenation.

To see Dr. DeLange’s facelift before and after photos, click here.

For more information on Dr. DeLange’s practice, click here.

Timestamps

03:30 – Meet Dr. Greg DeLange

07:30 – “Am I ready for a facelift?”

09:00 – Fillers vs. facelift

11:00 – Deep plane and SMAS facelifts explained

15:00 – Fat grafting and CO2 laser

17:30 – Expectations and the mirror test

20:00 – How long a facelift lasts

21:00 – The local anesthesia facelift

24:00 – Recovery and risks

27:45 – Facelifts for men

31:30 – The neck: “a tummy tuck for the neck”

33:45 – How to choose a facelift surgeon

37:15 – Knife Fight: TV doctors trivia

In this episode, we cover:

Am I Ready for a Facelift?

• Dr. DeLange’s mirror test, and why he sometimes turns patients away
• Where fillers fit in, and when they stop working

Facelift Techniques Explained

• What a facelift covers (cheeks, jawline, neck) and what it doesn’t (eyes, brows)
• Deep plane SMAS facelifts and how they avoid the “windblown” look
• The ponytail lift and vertical lift: who each is right for

Fat Grafting & Laser Resurfacing

• Restoring volume to the temples, cheeks and nasolabial folds
• Why it only takes about a shot glass of fat

The Local Anesthesia Facelift

• A full deep plane facelift with the patient awake
• Why experience means shorter surgery and easier recovery

Recovery, Results & Risks

• When you can return to work, the gym and dinner out
• How many facelifts you can have over a lifetime
• Complications: hematoma, infection, skin healing and nerve injury
• Why smoking raises the risk

Facelifts for Men

• Why more men are getting facial rejuvenation
• How incisions, beard hair and drains differ for men

How to Choose a Facelift Surgeon

• Questions to ask at your consultation
• Why you want “50 good ones in a row” in before and after photos

🎧 Thanks for checking out In the BEST of HANDS: The Plastic Surgery Podcast! New episodes drop twice a month, on Wednesdays.

✅ Subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.

✅ Rate & Review: your input helps more listeners find us.

✨ Follow Dr. Jason Rosenberg & Rosenberg Plastic Surgery:

https://rosenbergplasticsurgery.com/ and on INSTAGRAM

Keywords: facelift, deep plane facelift, SMAS facelift, neck lift, local anesthesia facelift, facelift recovery, facelift risks, fat grafting, CO2 laser resurfacing, ponytail lift, male facelift, platysmaplasty, how long does a facelift last, choosing a facelift surgeon, Palm Beach Gardens plastic surgeon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.