I Don't Hate My Breasts Anymore - Brittany Banks from 90 Day Fiance

Speaker 1 (00:02): You're listening to Behind the Double Doors, bringing you behind the scenes to learn about cosmetic surgery procedures and the latest non-surgical aesthetic treatments, with Houston Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Dr. Bob Basu.

Dr Bob Basu (00:18): So I'm excited to introduce you to our first celebrity guest on Behind the Double Doors. One of the stars of the hit reality show, 90-Day Fiance. I'd like to welcome Brittany, also known on the Instagram world @thebossbrittany. Welcome, Brittany.

Brittany Banks (00:34): Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here today.

Dr Bob Basu (00:38): Awesome. Well, I know our listeners are really interested to get your insights about your journey. And before we dive into your plastic surgery perspectives, I want to talk to you, because you're a Houstonian. Tell me how you ended up living in Houston.

Brittany Banks (00:53): I actually put some little cities on a piece of paper. Well, not little cities, this is a big city, but I put some cities on a little piece of paper, and I put them in a hat, and I just took one out, and it happened to be Huston. And I came here the next day. And I've been here ever since.

Dr Bob Basu (01:11): That's right? That's right. It is a great place to live. And we're glad you're part of H-town. So I want to dive a little bit into your plastic surgery journey. So you've been very open about your first breast surgery, which was a breast reduction when you were quite young. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience?

Brittany Banks (01:28): Yes. I had a breast reduction when I was young. I think I was about maybe 20 or something, and I have really big breasts. I have F cups. I could not work out. I had serious back problems. I just couldn't keep up with the other girls. And I felt really self-conscious, because I just felt like they were too big for my body. And I went to try to get a trainer. I did a lot of things to try to strengthen my back, and try to make me feel better, but it just did not work out.

Brittany Banks (01:58): So I decided to get a reduction, and my insurance approved me for emergency reduction, and I did that, and I felt better in my back, and I definitely felt lighter. But the visual look of my breasts, I did not like. My scars were kind of crazy. They just seemed like they were longer than they really needed to be. They seem kind of out of shape. They were just very zigzag. They weren't detailed. And I felt like they kind of reduced my breasts way too much, because even at that time, I actually had more weight on me, because I actually went through a weight loss journey that people don't know about. But I was about 70 pounds heavier than I am now, and I had B cup breasts, and it did not look right on my body size.

Dr Bob Basu (02:47): So the pain that you mentioned. Was at least the pain alleviated right away, or did it take some time to get better after your reduction?

Brittany Banks (02:55): Honestly, I felt alleviated as soon as I woke up, I felt a difference in my back. I definitely felt lighter. I was able to just sit up easier and just walk easier. I was no longer hunching. So it was like right away, I felt just immediately weight off my shoulders.

Dr Bob Basu (03:17): But the big concern was the scarring that you were experiencing, and the result in size that you had. Was that correct?

Brittany Banks (03:23): Yes, the scarring and the sizing. I don't think that it benefited me at all.

Dr Bob Basu (03:28): Yeah. So the next stage in your journey was that you thought about getting implants. Can you tell us about what you were thinking about, and what led you to get an augmentation after you had the reduction?

Brittany Banks (03:39): Yes. I obviously felt self-conscious about the size of my breasts after I got my reduction, and I thought maybe I would feel better about it, and I just didn't over the year. So I decided I'm going to work really hard. I'm going to do what I have to do. And I'm going to get some implants, at least maybe a smaller implant at the top or something, just to fill out my breasts. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that I wanted them to be a little bit bigger, at least a D cup to fit my body size.

Dr Bob Basu (04:10): And so when you had the augmentation, what was your experience afterward? How did it make you feel? Tell me about your journey after that augmentation.

Brittany Banks (04:21): I felt really good. I felt great after my breast augmentation. I know that we had discussed my scars being revised, and they were not revised, but he did after surgery, go ahead and do, I think it's called Kenalog injections.

Dr Bob Basu (04:38): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Steroid injections.

Brittany Banks (04:39): Steroid injections into the keloids, or the scarring that I had. And it actually did help a lot, I think. And we went ahead and did some cream to lighten the scars. And I definitely think that worked a lot. But I was only really happy with my breast surgery for about two years, or maybe three years, and then I noticed that they were bottoming out. And while I still felt like they looked okay, they just were not how I wanted them to be. I knew it could look a lot better, and the shape where they were placed, and also my nipples probably could have looked a little bit better, the scarring around my nipples, I felt like they had spread it out, because my boobs had just moved around.

Dr Bob Basu (05:27): So for our listeners, when you mention bottoming out, can you kind of explain to them what you were experiencing?

Brittany Banks (05:33): Yeah. So with the bottoming out, my breasts were sitting high. They were nice, kind of how they are now. And then the implant, I guess my skin couldn't support it anymore, so the implant just was moving down, and they were just sagging. Pretty much, it's just the implant sagging to the bottom of your skin, when I say bottoming out, for sure.

Dr Bob Basu (05:57): Okay. So now you were thinking about another procedure. Tell us what made you think about a revision surgery? Was there something that happened, or maybe you saw yourself in an angle on TV? Was there a certain event that said, "Hey, I really need to do something about this?"

Brittany Banks (06:11): Yeah, I can definitely share that I definitely knew that, especially a year after my breast surgery, after doing the scar treatments, I knew that that was probably only going to take me so far, the scar treatments. I realized that I probably would need a scar revision. And I knew that I wanted to take my time and look for doctors. So I had been looking for doctors for quite some time to do a breast surgery for me. But I was so traumatized of going under the knife again, I wanted to make sure I did my research the right way. And it took years to find you.

Dr Bob Basu (06:51): So how did you find us? I mean, you obviously do your homework. You're very well read. Tell us what kind of research that you do, and ultimately what made you choose us?

Brittany Banks (07:00): I chose you and your office because I looked at a couple of different surgeries for breasts. I talked to girls who had the same issues as mine. But when to get revisions, I know some girls who just went and got breast lifts, I knew some girls that just switched their implants, I knew some girls that went to Columbia. I knew girls that went to Turkey. I knew girls that went to the US, Miami, and I just talked to them and I asked them questions. I'm like, "Hey girl, how do you think it went? How was your doctor?" And I just ran across a girl who did the internal mesh surgery. And that sounded like, her story, out of all of them, sounded more like me, and something that I would be interested in. She's like, "It holds her breast up." She told me she had problems with her breasts being big. She got a reduction, and I'm like, "Okay, this sounds like me. I need to look into this."

Brittany Banks (07:50): So I started looking into it. Looked on Instagram, saw a couple of doctors that did it. From my research, I don't see a lot of doctors that do it. So then I looked for the quality, like do I like the way it looks? Which doctor do I like the way it looks? So I chose, it was maybe two doctors I liked the way their surgery actually looked. And then I looked at pictures with clothes and without clothes. So then I knew, "Okay, this doctor's work looks good with clothes, but without clothes, it doesn't look so good." So then I had two, and then I was like, "Let me look at the bedside manner and the aftercare. And your aftercare reviews and your bedside manner, and also how people were saying that they really felt good with you, and you were always there for them after their surgery, if you had any questions or anything. So that was big to me. And that's what ultimately made me decide to go with you.

Brittany Banks (08:49): I looked all over the country. I looked all over the country, and it was just so crazy that the doctor that I found happened to be 30 minutes away from where I decided to move at the last minute.

Dr Bob Basu (09:03): Very good. Very good. So what advice would you have to someone who's listening about how they should find the right plastic surgeon for them?

Brittany Banks (09:12): I would say firstly, really, really don't just look at pictures. Read reviews. And you need to read all the reviews. Read the good ones, read the bad ones. The bad ones may not even be bad. Like some reviews I was reading, they were like, "Oh, the doctor said I couldn't do this." And I'm like, "Well, that's something that she shouldn't be doing, anyway." So... I was just making sure that I read the reviews, good and bad, and something that I could work with, and the pictures that looked good, I made sure I talked to girls who, if they were willing to, I did reach out to girls that they were willing to speak to me about their journeys with the doctors I was looking at. I listened to them.

Brittany Banks (10:00): So I pretty much really dig into detail. I know a lot of girls that just look on Instagram and book right away. That's something that I beware of. And I tell girls, don't just book from an Instagram picture. Don't book from Instagram clout, because first of all, a lot of doctors, and I know we touched on that yesterday, a lot of the doctors are not accredited.

Dr Bob Basu (10:21): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Right. Right. Absolutely.

Brittany Banks (10:24): A lot of them just post their best pictures, or they find somebody to just promote them and make them go crazy, but they're not really doing good work.

Dr Bob Basu (10:32): No, that's a really good point. You did your homework. You looked for someone who was certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and make sure that your surgeon is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Because at least it ensures that whoever you're selecting for surgery has been properly trained, vetted, and they continue with continuing education, and adhere to strict ethical bylaws, to make sure you're going to get responsible care from your surgeon. So it's been how many weeks since your surgery, now?

Brittany Banks (10:59): I think I'm at my week six, almost seven.

Dr Bob Basu (11:01): Six?

Brittany Banks (11:02): Yeah.

Dr Bob Basu (11:03): How are you feeling?

Brittany Banks (11:04): I feel amazing. I feel really good. I've been out and about. I've been probably out more than I was before my surgery.

Dr Bob Basu (11:14): So tell us how this recovery, because this was clearly a more complex surgery. You underwent an Internal Bra technique, using a material called GalaFLEX, and a lot of revisional work. How was this recovery compared to your, and you've had two prior breast surgeries, so you have a really good frame of reference. How was this recovery, compared to your previous surgeries?

Brittany Banks (11:32): This recovery was definitely different. The pain wasn't bad. I felt like my breasts did not hurt. It was more so of my back that was doing the hurting, because I was trying to get used to everything, and I was hunched over a lot. So I think that was kind of just me. And also, I think that I definitely have to take more time to be more careful. I feel like with my first breast surgery, with the reduction, I was up and at it the second day. I feel like with my implant surgery, I was up and at it the third day.

Brittany Banks (12:12): But I felt like with this one, I wanted to make sure, especially with the internal mesh being in there, and how I wanted my scars to heal, I just made sure that I take it easy. I don't lift too much. I don't do too much. So I feel like me being such an adventurous person, it was more of a mental toll on me to have to sit down and let everybody wait on me. I was like, "I want to clean my own house. I want to get my own food." But it's okay. You can just let somebody cater to you for a little while.

Dr Bob Basu (12:41): Yeah. And I can't emphasize that enough, I mean, Brittany did a great job planning ahead, taking the time to really plan out her recovery. Because if you're going to make an investment in any surgical procedure, whether it's plastic surgery or anything, you've got to plan ahead for the recovery. Because if you try to do too much, it could cause some problems. And I think kudos to you, Brittany. I think you did a phenomenal job planning ahead, taking the breaks that you need to, and that's why you heal so quickly. But one question. You're a pro at Instagram, obviously, and you get hundreds of comments a day. How do you handle those? Do you read everything? Have your fans and followers been supportive? Give us some insights.

Brittany Banks (13:20): That's a good question. I try not to read everything, because it can be overwhelming. And I like to remember that I'm a human at the end of the day. And honestly, humans are not meant for all of this attention. I'm trying to just deal with it as it comes. But I do try to read the comments, like people have a lot of questions. A lot of people are very supportive. They want to know more about the things that I do, especially this plastic surgery. And then this journey with my breasts, I've gotten a ton of questions and concerns and comments and support. And I think it's wonderful. I think it's amazing. And I feel blessed and happy and honored to be able to share this information with people, and be a part of this discussion.

Dr Bob Basu (14:06): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Great. That's awesome. And so, when you're all healed and you're cleared, what's the first thing that you want to do?

Brittany Banks (14:15): I want to run. Oh my God, I want to run so bad. My thighs are getting huge.

Dr Bob Basu (14:22): Well, I'll get you cleared to run. You're six weeks out. You're good.

Brittany Banks (14:26): I've been doing light workout ever since I've been cleared to just walk on the treadmill and do walking and stuff like that. But I'm just ready. Because I know when I lived in Miami South Beach, I really was going hard with the fitness and the weight lifting. I'm just ready to get back to that.

Dr Bob Basu (14:41): Awesome. Awesome. So tell us, what's next for you? What's next in your chapter?

Brittany Banks (14:47): There's so much exciting stuff next in my chapter. First of all, I have been working on a lot of content, a lot of new content, my YouTube. And you can catch all three episodes. Well, not all three episodes now, but soon you'll be able to catch all three episodes on YouTube regarding my breast surgery. I did the consultation, then I did the pre-op and then up until surgery, and then I did after surgery. So you guys can see. And then I went ahead and did my follow-up. So you guys will be able to see that. You may see me on TV again. I'm trying to get away from it, to be honest, but it keeps chasing me. So you guys might get another season out of me.

Dr Bob Basu (15:33): Okay. That's exciting. And you mentioned that you're doing some YouTube about your journey, and you actually created another special Instagram account so that people could really get into the details of your surgical experience. And I believe that Instagram address is @brittanyinplastic. Is that correct?

Brittany Banks (15:51): Yes. I created @brittanyinplastic because I kept getting so many questions and comments about the surgeries that I've had, my experiences with them, and so I just decided to create @brittanyinplastic. And there, I felt like I could share my experiences, and also women can feel comfortable to share their experiences, and what they thought about different procedures, whether it be breast surgery, BBO, whether it be micro needling, or something like that. I felt like that was a good, safe space to communicate about that. So I'm definitely more active on that site, when it comes to like plastic surgery and things like that. So that's a good page to follow if you want to get connected with your surgery sisters.

Dr Bob Basu (16:37): That's fantastic. And thank you for creating that resource. And I want to thank you Brittany, for number one, being a phenomenal patient. I think everyone can see you look phenomenal. You can see all the different poses and outfits that you're wearing on your Instagram handle. So you're living life. And I love seeing that. And the other thing I want to thank you for, is being an advocate for women and plastic surgery, and helping them learn more about their options, and how they make responsible decisions. I think you've really been a champion of that, and a patient advocate. So thank you very much, because I think what you're doing is really valuable to people out there. You hit the nail on the head. It can get really confusing for patients, and they can fall for flashy marketing, and the next thing you know, they're in trouble, right? And so, I think the first thing patients need to do is to get real information, get educated, talk to the right experts, and make responsible decisions.

Dr Bob Basu (17:29): And the last thing I want to say is, congratulations for being a true boss. I think your Instagram handle is the real deal, a@thebossbrittany, because I don't know much about Instagram, I'm learning, but clearly she's a champion and an expert at promoting, maturing, and advancing her brand. And continue what you're doing. You're leading the way. So thank you so much for being with us, and we wish you all the best. Enjoy your results.

Brittany Banks (17:54): Thank you so much, Dr. Basu. I just want to say I'm so happy. You really changed my life. This has been a long, long time coming. I remember crying about this when I was 24. I'm 28, and I just feel like a weight is off my shoulders, like it was when I got those F cups off of me. I feel great.

Dr Bob Basu (18:12): That's awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you.

Brittany Banks (18:19): Thank you.

Speaker 1 (18:19): Basu Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery is located in Northwest Houston, in the Towne Lake area of Cypress. If you'd like to be a guest, or ask a question for Dr. Basu to answer on the podcast, go to basuplasticsurgery.com/podcast. On Instagram, follow Dr. Basu and the team, @basuplasticsurgery. That's B-A-S-U Plastic Surgery. Behind the Double Doors is a production of The Axis. T-H-E-A-X-I-S.I-O.