Secret Services: The DC Plastic Surgery Podcast

A 21-year-old in the UK is facing a double leg amputation after her legs locked bent backward at a 45-degree angle — for eight years. She was turned away by five surgeons before one agreed to help, by which point the damage was irreversible.  Dr. Chang and Jackie break down what went wrong, who bears responsibility, and why a delay in care can turn a treatable problem into a permanent one. Jackie...

A 19-year-old emails every surgeon he can find: he has been buying testosterone online for a year, he wants a jaw implant, and maybe rib removal. They all either ignore him or say no, and he wants to know whether he is being failed by gatekeepers or protected from something he cannot see. Dr. Chang and Jackie say it plainly: the no is the protection. The conversation runs through the looksmaxxing...

The second a husband sits in on the pre-op, the implant size goes up. Esthetician Carey has watched it happen for seven years at Congressional Plastic Surgery — and she's never once had a woman come back to a post-op wishing she'd gone smaller. But the same companion chair that produces a cheerleader can also produce someone who quietly takes the decision over. Dr. Chang and Carey get into the str...

Take a small instrument, score the bottom three ribs until they crack, then live in a corset for twelve weeks while your skeleton heals into a narrower shape. It sounds extreme. Dr. Christopher Chang’s reaction? It’s not that far from reshaping a forehead or a brow bone — something surgeons do every single day. Jackie brings the trend straight off TikTok, where rib remodeling — the RibXcar procedu...

A peel that promises no downtime sounds like the safe choice. Dr. Christopher Chang and Jackie explain why it can be the opposite — and why the moment a chemical hits the skin and turns frosty white, the person holding the brush has seconds to decide whether they are looking at the result or the start of a problem. They run through every depth of peel, from over-the-counter salicylic acid to the p...

A woman writes in worried that her plastic surgeon — who runs one of those TikTok accounts that pick apart celebrity faces — might end up doing the same to her. Dr. Chang's answer is shorter than expected: smart surgeons are humble surgeons, and humble surgeons don't tear other doctors' work apart on the internet. Dr. Chang and Jackie go through the week's biggest celebrity surgery moments — the f...

A woman calling for her pre-op consult had one question before anything else: is the surgeon going to leave as soon as the surgery's over? Jackie's answer was no. But the question itself is now what every woman wants answered — because in Cincinnati, a 47-year-old mom of three went in for a mommy makeover and never came home. Rachel Tussey documented her surgery prep on TikTok for weeks before goi...

A woman in Richmond went in to have her implants removed. She came out of surgery without her breasts. Dr. Chang and Jackie pull apart what actually happened — and what it reveals about how the words "board certified" can mean almost anything. The anonymous question this episode answers: how do you evaluate a surgeon when your insurance only covers a handful of options? Dr. Chang breaks down the d...

Influencer Darcy McQueeny tried to outcount the anesthesia on her way under. She lost. Then she woke up and vlogged the next three weeks of her breast lift recovery to her two million TikTok followers — and People Magazine ran the result. Through Darcy's story, Dr. Chang and Jackie work through what it actually feels like when the woman on your operating table is filming everything and has 700,000...

Cherise Doyley had refused a fourth C-section, and the hospital took her to court mid-labor to override her decision.  There was a judge on Zoom, a state attorney, and a dozen doctors and lawyers on screen — and she was alone, no lawyer.  Through the Doyley case, Dr. Chang and Jackie work through what consent actually looks like — when someone can refuse a procedure, when the hospital can override...

A viral Reddit post lined up Angelina Jolie, her mother Marcheline Bertrand, and her daughter Vivienne Pitt side by side, and the internet hasn’t stopped talking about inherited bone structure.  Here’s what facial genetics actually mean once you’re considering plastic surgery, why the facial skeleton is the foundation everything else sits on, and what we mean when we call jawline work an “addition...

People thought it was an impersonator. Others said he was cloned. But Dr. Chang has a more likely theory about Jim Carrey's suddenly unrecognizable face. D.C. plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie explain what the telltale signs actually point to and why male facial surgery is so easy to get wrong. Daily Mail, Truth about Jim Carrey's new face: Actor's cause of 'sadnes...

He had nearly 400,000 followers, a spot at Mayo Clinic, and a match day coming up. One TikTok changed all of it. D.C. plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie discuss the med student whose joke went viral for all the wrong reasons and what it says about a generation of doctors growing up on social media. Reddit, r/nursing discussion about Nick Baumel Reddit, r/medicalscho...

She spent $25,000 on a cosmetic procedure, said it ruined her life, and then showed up to the season four premiere looking… pretty good. So what's really going on with Jessi from the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”? D. C. plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie discuss her plastic surgery spiral, the Megan Fox BBL rumors, and the one thing that separates patients who love...

The Oscars just happened, and the red carpet looks have everyone asking: what did they get done? From Kylie Jenner's Jessica Rabbit moment to Anne Hathaway's seemingly ageless face, D.C. plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie discuss the celebrity looks everyone was dissecting, what The Substance gets eerily right about cosmetic obsession, and what separates a great res...

Everyone has an opinion about GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Fewer people understand what medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide actually do. D.C. plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie discuss how these medications work, what it’s like to be on them, and how rapid weight loss can change both the face and body. Reddit, Oprah Winfrey says she will have to be on GLP-1s fo...

Botox is one of the most common cosmetic treatments in the world, but misinformation is everywhere. Plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie explain why people are starting earlier, what “baby Botox” actually is, and why the best Botox results are the ones no one notices. Reddit, AITAH for divorcing my wife over botox/fillers? Reddit, hooded eyes after Botox HOSTS Jackie...

A reality TV star shares her swollen, bandaged face after plastic surgery, and the internet instantly calls it “botched.” Is it regret… or just normal healing? D.C. plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Chang and clinical director Jackie explain why regret happens after cosmetic procedures and how social media magnifies every stage of plastic surgery recovery. Mormon Wives star  Jessi Ngatikaura’s plast...