Are you a doctor? Click to book your free podcast appearance!
Feb. 16, 2024

John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas

At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship...

At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship program, where he connects with his colleagues to train the next generation of plastic surgeons. Each year, the competitive program selects two plastic surgery fellows from across the country.

As a firm believer that aesthetics doesn’t only happen in the operating room, Dr. Burns loves bringing non-surgical options to patients through DPSI’s fully equipped med spa, EpiCentre, where they offer everything from lasers to injections.

To learn more about Dr. John Burns


Follow Dr. Burns on Instagram


To learn more about Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute

To learn more about EpiCentre Skin Care & Laser Center

ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.

Transcript

















John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas





























































































































































































































Feb. 16, 2024



John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas

























At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship...































At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship program, where he connects with his colleagues to train the next generation of plastic surgeons. Each year, the competitive program selects two plastic surgery fellows from across the country.

As a firm believer that aesthetics doesn’t only happen in the operating room, Dr. Burns loves bringing non-surgical options to patients through DPSI’s fully equipped med spa, EpiCentre, where they offer everything from lasers to injections.

To learn more about Dr. John Burns


Follow Dr. Burns on Instagram


To learn more about Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute

To learn more about EpiCentre Skin Care & Laser Center

ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript


















John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas





























































































































































































































Feb. 16, 2024



John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas

























At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship...































At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship program, where he connects with his colleagues to train the next generation of plastic surgeons. Each year, the competitive program selects two plastic surgery fellows from across the country.

As a firm believer that aesthetics doesn’t only happen in the operating room, Dr. Burns loves bringing non-surgical options to patients through DPSI’s fully equipped med spa, EpiCentre, where they offer everything from lasers to injections.

To learn more about Dr. John Burns


Follow Dr. Burns on Instagram


To learn more about Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute

To learn more about EpiCentre Skin Care & Laser Center

ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript


















John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas





























































































































































































































Feb. 16, 2024



John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas

























At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship...































At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship program, where he connects with his colleagues to train the next generation of plastic surgeons. Each year, the competitive program selects two plastic surgery fellows from across the country.

As a firm believer that aesthetics doesn’t only happen in the operating room, Dr. Burns loves bringing non-surgical options to patients through DPSI’s fully equipped med spa, EpiCentre, where they offer everything from lasers to injections.

To learn more about Dr. John Burns


Follow Dr. Burns on Instagram


To learn more about Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute

To learn more about EpiCentre Skin Care & Laser Center

ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript






















John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas





























































































































































































































Feb. 16, 2024



John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas

























At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship...































At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship program, where he connects with his colleagues to train the next generation of plastic surgeons. Each year, the competitive program selects two plastic surgery fellows from across the country.

As a firm believer that aesthetics doesn’t only happen in the operating room, Dr. Burns loves bringing non-surgical options to patients through DPSI’s fully equipped med spa, EpiCentre, where they offer everything from lasers to injections.

To learn more about Dr. John Burns


Follow Dr. Burns on Instagram


To learn more about Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute

To learn more about EpiCentre Skin Care & Laser Center

ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript






















John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas





























































































































































































































Feb. 16, 2024



John Burns, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Dallas, Texas

























At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship...































At the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. John Burns and 9 other doctors work together to deliver personalized care and exceptional results to every patient who walks through their doors.

A highlight of Dr. Burns’ work is leading the fellowship program, where he connects with his colleagues to train the next generation of plastic surgeons. Each year, the competitive program selects two plastic surgery fellows from across the country.

As a firm believer that aesthetics doesn’t only happen in the operating room, Dr. Burns loves bringing non-surgical options to patients through DPSI’s fully equipped med spa, EpiCentre, where they offer everything from lasers to injections.

To learn more about Dr. John Burns


Follow Dr. Burns on Instagram


To learn more about Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute

To learn more about EpiCentre Skin Care & Laser Center

ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript

Eva Sheie (00:03):
The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you're making a life-changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There's no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor and we're back on Meet the Doctor. My guest today on this beautiful Monday afternoon is Dr. John Burns and he's a plastic surgeon in Dallas. He's the President of the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, which has 10 plastic surgeons in it, not quite as many as a building in New York City, but close. Welcome to the podcast today.


Dr. Burns (00:51):
Thank you. Glad to be here.


Eva Sheie (00:53):
So what is it like being in the same space with nine of your colleagues every day?


Dr. Burns (01:00):
It's surprisingly easy. We all have our different niche interests. We all sort of have offices that are a bit separated, so if you're from the eighties or nineties, you may have watched a show called Melrose Place.


Eva Sheie (01:15):
I did watch that.


Dr. Burns (01:16):
Everybody kind of lived in the apartment and kind of interacted. It kind of reminds me of that, but we have some shared things we do. We have a surgery center where we see each other and the skin care center and that kind of thing, but pretty much we leave each other alone and that seems to work.


Eva Sheie (01:34):
Do you see any benefits to having that many smart people around you every day?


Dr. Burns (01:39):
Definitely, yeah. I think that when you hang out with smart people, we're always talking about cases, we're talking about our patients. Not to violate hipaa, but just to say, I saw this lady and she had this or that and bouncing ideas off each other. We have a journal club once a month. We have a fellowship. A fellowship is where plastic surgeons who've done their residency come and spend an additional year learning about cosmetic surgery. So we have a journal club every month and that's where we can really get into the nitty gritty of the different things we're doing and share ideas. So it is great. The other thing is I think it's the opposite of feeling isolated. I think sometimes plastic surgeons are by themselves and the only opportunity they have is national meetings or a local meeting with the Dallas Society of Plastic Surgeons. I'm sure there's an Austin Society of Plastic Surgeons, but those meetings are few and far between, so it's nice to have help. It's nice to have people in town when you travel that are competent and you trust your patients. So all in all, it's a good trade off.


Eva Sheie (02:51):
I imagine that academic focus and the learning part of going to work every day is probably pretty fun.


Dr. Burns (02:59):
Pretty fun. It really is. I think that's what a lot of doctors miss once they graduate from the residency. Nobody loves the residency. It's kind of like a military type experience, but I think we all, as time passes, look back on those years fondly because you kind of went through a lot, you learned a lot, and as you get older, things can get a little stale. So at least here with our fellows, you're seeing a constant turning over of new minds, new ideas, and it keeps it fresh. It's really one of the things I love most about the practice. It really is a way where we can interact with each other and then the younger doctors, it's very academic in nature. One of my partners was the chairman at UT Southwestern for years, Dr. Rorick, and so he's been real great. He was the editor of our journal, so there's a lot of expectation to do research and to publish and write books and that kind of thing, and we all want to participate in it in those processes.


Eva Sheie (04:06):
Now, when the fellows come to you and it's their first day, that's not the first time they've ever done plastic surgery, is it?


Dr. Burns (04:13):
No, they've done a residency in plastic surgery, so they're fully trained. A fellowship is an additional year, so you can do a fellowship in hand surgery, you can do a fellowship in microsurgery and breast. A lot of people do that. You can do a fellowship in craniofacial and you can do a fellowship in what we do, which is aesthetic or cosmetic surgery. So you can imagine if you've trained in sort of a city hospital, a public hospital, your exposure to cosmetic surgery has been somewhat, it's not been great. And so they come here and learn the finder points of cosmetic surgery.


Eva Sheie (04:53):
How many fellows do you have every year?


Dr. Burns (04:55):
We have two and they come from all over the country.


Eva Sheie (05:00):
I bet that's a competitive process to get the fellowship at DPSI.


Dr. Burns (05:05):
It is, yeah. There's not very many of them and I think we have a great opportunity. So it is.


Eva Sheie (05:13):
Yeah, that's really neat. So are you the second biggest plastic surgery practice in America?


Dr. Burns (05:19):
That number changes a lot. At one point they had one in Charlotte that was pretty good size and there was one in Long Island that was a good size.


Eva Sheie (05:29):
I think Long Island has 30 now.


Dr. Burns (05:31):
Is it 30?


Eva Sheie (05:33):
I think so.


Dr. Burns (05:34):
There's also this rolling up of practices that's occurring with private equity. So you have private equity buying smaller practices and rolling them up. So it's a really good question. I don't have the answer to it, but I would say we are one of the biggest.


Eva Sheie (05:52):
And you also have a pretty sizable med spa. How many people work there?


Dr. Burns (05:57):
So we have about 25 employees in our med spa. So we have six or eight nurse injectors that do Botox fillers. We have about the same number of estheticians and then we have a lot of support staff. It's a really big med spa .


Eva Sheie (06:12):
And there's a pretty heavy technology component in your med spa, isn't there?


Dr. Burns (06:17):
Definitely with lasers. And so we look at that constantly month over month, but there's always something new and it's our job to sort of evaluate in that newness what's effective, and then what's just marketing.


Eva Sheie (06:34):
Can you think of the core services in the med spa and give us a flavor of what's on the menu?


Dr. Burns (06:41):
Absolutely. So it's kind of a lot of a med spa is going to be skincare, and so we've made a commitment to only do medical based skincare. So popular products we carry are xeo, Alastin, SkinMedica those are our big lines. So skincare is a big part of skin analysis. So you come in as a patient and we'll take a photo of your face, talk to you about your goals, ask you some questions, just basic questions. How much do you want to spend this and that and come up with a plan. So there's a laser technology component of skincare where 25 year olds don't need the same services as somebody in their forties who doesn't need the same services as somebody in their sixties. Face and neck is the big one. And then we also have things you can do for your body as well. The third thing we do at the med spa a lot is Botox and fillers. So Botox is the muscle relaxer that we inject into the upper third of the face and that takes care of wrinkles. There's other uses for Botox as well. And then the fillers are gelatinous substances that we inject in certain parts of the face to plump the face. It's an anti-aging anti-wrinkle thing. So big part.


Eva Sheie (08:01):
So there's new technology and there's new products coming out all the time. Seems like the next new thing is always the next hashtag that we have to remember. And I'm curious how as a group you assess and decide what you're going to bring into the med spa.


Dr. Burns (08:19):
When I was finishing my training, I really didn't have a good grasp of how to evaluate that. So I did a fellowship in lasers and so that's why I feel like I'm uniquely suited to run the epicenter, but there's just so much to learn. You have to go back and understand the physics of what's happening. So everybody wants to sell you their machine. And for me the first step is does it make sense on a physical level, is that laser properly designed to treat what it is that we're treating? The second thing is what the FDA does is look at efficacy and side effects. And so you want to find a device that has a high efficacy and a low side effect profile and we like to be the innovators and the first on the block, but doing that, you have to be very careful. And so after you've been in the business for a while, you sort of know who you can trust and know who's not been around very long. And so some of the devices I'll brag in a company I like a lot called Sciton, they make an excellent laser. And so sometimes when we get busy with these devices, we have a lot of patients and so we'll buy two, three and sometimes even four of the lasers because they work well. And then sometimes we'll invest in something and it doesn't take off like we thought.


Eva Sheie (09:49):
Just from the patient side of that, I know you're not wrong because I've been getting BBLs for years and then here came the BBL hero and even I could tell this was a significant improvement because of not just the technology but the speed because who wants to have a longer laser treatment? Nobody wants that.


Dr. Burns (10:10):
It's been a real game changer. The BBL hero. So hero doesn't mean it's great, although it is, it actually stands for high energy rapid output. So what used to take a long time can be done very quickly, which is great for the patients. It also allows you to treat a lot of different areas. You can do your neck, your chest, your arms, your legs treat the whole body very quickly. And what's funny is when they made the laser, they actually put another laser with it that was supposed to be sort of the stepchild of that box and it was called moxie. And so


Eva Sheie (10:46):
I've had that too.


Dr. Burns (10:48):
You've had that too. Yeah. So the moxie was supposed to be just sort of a nice little add on, but I don't think Sciton realized what they had because it is so effective and works so well that I have a hard time sometimes thinking about if I had to choose between the BBL hero or the Moxie, which I would pick because the Moxie is so great. So that's an example of a laser, I'm glad you brought it up, that works so well that we kept buying more.


Eva Sheie (11:18):
It's a good thing you don't have to choose. You can totally have 'em both.


Dr. Burns (11:22):
Yeah, we actually have four of the devices because the patients want it.


Eva Sheie (11:28):
And are they busy all day long aren't they?


Dr. Burns (11:30):
All day long. Yeah.


Eva Sheie (11:34):
It's always nice to hear that when you have a favorite that then you talk to a doctor and it's their favorite too because it means


Dr. Burns (11:40):
It validates definitely. You have good taste


Eva Sheie (11:44):
And I have a great provider too.


Dr. Burns (11:47):
Good. The other one that's really I think has been great for us recently is something called soft wave. So it's sort of a modern version of Ultherapy, and so it uses ultrasound in a specific way. It's less painful and it's designed to tighten tissue. So it works really well in those patients who are 35 to 50 that have some laxity to the soft tissue with her face but aren't quite ready for a facelift.


Eva Sheie (12:16):
And that works on other body parts too.


Dr. Burns (12:18):
It does arms, loose skin anywhere really.


Eva Sheie (12:22):
You said arms. That's like the magic word. If you're of a certain age.


Dr. Burns (12:26):
I've done this that women like their arms, so I've gotten to appreciate that nice arms.


Eva Sheie (12:32):
Right now I'm on the make my biceps bigger plan so that the bottom doesn't look. <laugh>


Dr. Burns (12:38):
That works too. Yeah,


Eva Sheie (12:41):
I can imagine that you just have so much fun with these. I mean they kind of feel like toys because you can do really cool things with them, but you're also making people's lives better in a way that is not insignificant.


Dr. Burns (12:54):
It's a lot of fun and there's a lot of interaction with the companies. We interact a lot with the reps who are for the most part very interesting people. And then the ability to, like you said, give patients with an option besides surgery, plastic surgery is just not the operating room. There's a whole area that we can use for people that might not necessarily be ready for surgery or maybe they're sick and they're not good candidates for surgery and they can come in, they don't have to get put to sleep. We can do these things and they can get a result and make their life get that done.


Eva Sheie (13:34):
What might somebody expect the first time they come to see you if they've, especially if they've never been to a plastic surgeon before?


Dr. Burns (13:42):
Great question. We live in a day and age where people are exposed, they've never been before. There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff on TikTok and Instagram and what used to be Twitter, we call it, I guess it's X now. And all this social media platforms, it's changed the game. So patients are more educated and they're more aware. So when they come in for a breast augmentation for example, they've probably been on social media and they've probably seen the procedure done. So my consults used to be more sort of this is what happens, blah, blah, blah. And now it's more drilling down to a deeper level with the patient. And the discussion now is much more advanced than it used to be, which is nice. I mean I really enjoy that. To your question though, there are patients that come in and they say, I just look older or what do I do with my body?


(14:42):
I've been on ozempic and I have all these things that have happened with weight loss or I had a baby and my body changed and what can I do? So we get a lot of that too. And I think the most important thing as a doctor plastic surgeon is before we get into our spiel, because in my mind I sort of know what to do within a few minutes. I think it's really important before I start talking to listen to the patient because a lot of times what I think is not necessarily what they think, and both our lives will be infinitely better if I just shut my mouth and listen. And it may be that their stomach is not bothering them at all and it may be just the breast and I'm focused on the stomach or the abdomen and the conversation doesn't go well or the patient feels like they're being talked into something they don't want. So the first thing I always try to do is listen and hear the patient, figure out what it is, and then from there, put our heads together and come up with a plan. I think everybody, when they walk into an office, it's a pretty simple thing to say What's bothering you? Why are you here? And as stupid as that sounds, it actually is the most important question.


Eva Sheie (16:03):
How much time do you usually give people for an appointment like this?


Dr. Burns (16:08):
It really depends. So a facelift consult would run a little bit longer than maybe a breast augmentation consult, but we try to do a new patient consult and then we'll see some patients that we've operated on. And we don't ever try to crowd the new patient consults too close together because I don't want anybody waiting and I want them to get as much time as they need. So those consults can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.


Eva Sheie (16:39):
Yeah, I used to survey patients for a living and I learned at that time that they're just as upset with being rushed as they are with waiting.


Dr. Burns (16:48):
Yeah, I think that's very, very, very true. I think that they want to be heard and they want their questions answered and I sort of try to put myself in their place. This is elective, they don't have to be there and it's expensive, and so you owe it to them to spend the time. I think at some point you get to a point where the questions are answered, we have a plan. And at that point I think it's done.


Eva Sheie (17:15):
Do you ever find that the social media and this sort of onslaught of all the information and a lot of it is conflicting what you find online that people are just really wanting you to be their north star and tell them that actual truth and not just


Dr. Burns (17:32):
Yeah, it's the wild west and I think that most people have an internal radar. I'll just say I have three sisters, a mom and a wife, so I'm around women all day. And I think that's probably something that women are better at than men is sort of that sixth sense. And so I know in social media there's been a big push for marketing. And so with marketing, how do you differentiate? Why are you better than this other guy? And so that's kind of created this whole category of euphemisms or cute little terms vertical. There's all sorts of ways that we can describe a facelift that sounds sexier or somehow more specialized. And I think that that would be one red flag as anybody who has this sort of magical trademarked procedure. We all do things differently, but we all do things pretty much the same.


(18:35):
And I think that people that say, I'm the only one that can do this are that's not true. So if you're truly a master at your craft, you ought to be able to teach that to a board certified plastic surgeon and they ought to be able to reproduce at least closely to what you're doing because we're all about the same level of intelligence. So I think that in marketing, the other thing I see a lot of that I would just caution is photography. It could be manipulated very easily. So when you look at photography, I think it's important, standardized views. We all have pictures of our patients. They send this, they're in their car, they have their sunglasses on, they got a neck lift, but they're not looking down, they're looking up and the neck looks great because you're not getting a true sense of the picture.


(19:23):
So I think that if I were a patient trying to wade my way through the mass of the internet, I would try to find standardized photography where the patient looks exactly the same in the before and after. In terms of the lighting, the positioning. Patients should not wear makeup in their post operative pictures because that hides a lot. So those are just some tips to kind of navigate the social media. The other thing that I think has been a real issue, at least for me are, and I'm sure there's this thing on the other platforms, but these chat rooms or the secret Facebook groups, Facebook groups or things like that where patients give medical advice and they say, well, you need to do this or you need to do that. And I think that's a definite red flag, and that's been hard for us because patients will come in and say, well, my friend said that you don't need a drain for a tummy tuck because her doctor doesn't do this or that. And it creates sort of a very confrontational, so I would just say if you decide on the physician, go ahead and go all the way with that doctor because they know what they're doing. And when you get on the Facebook groups, it can get kind of out of control.


Eva Sheie (20:46):
It is a little nuts, and you can join a Facebook group, then you can find that an opposite group that disagrees. So you can actually find the breast implant, for instance, that I got mine out and I regret it. I got mine out and I regret it and I put 'em back in and I got mine out and it just goes on and on and on.


Dr. Burns (21:05):
Right, exactly.


Eva Sheie (21:08):
Your photos are really well organized and really beautiful. And in a way, what I love about your photo gallery, just looking at it as someone who's looked at probably thousands of photo galleries in my lifetime, I really like that I don't have to click anywhere to see the pictures. I can just keep going and going and going and it's not a lot of work for me. So thank you for doing that.


Dr. Burns (21:33):
Well, I appreciate that. I do have some help. I have a lady who's fabulous named Jessica that organizes those for me. It does take a lot of time and I think more than anything, accolades this and that. I think you're a hundred percent right that when you decide on a doctor, just make sure that their work that they put out there is matching your expectations. And if it's not, that's okay.


Eva Sheie (22:04):
Sometimes I get asked how many photos should they have? Or the doctor, sometimes doctors will ask me, how many photos should I have? And my answer is always too many to count if I can count them, especially if I can count them on one screen that tells me something that is maybe you just didn't put them all up there because you're busy. But then you can ask in the office, do you have more photos that I can see? And if they say yes, and there's like 200 more that you can look at in the office, that's great.


Dr. Burns (22:33):
Great point. I think that some patients don't want to share the photos, but I think enough patients are willing to share photos. And I think all my patients who've done that for me because I think that that is the most important thing. So it's been something that I think some of the more established doctors did not do, it didn't have to do, but I think that's the world that we live in. And so I think that sometimes patients might get some pushback from a doctor and say, well, that's just not something we do in this office. But I think that that's really not a fair response in this day and age. The other thing I think if you're looking for a great way to choose someone is the personal referral. Do you have a friend that has seen this doctor and what did they think? I think more than anything, probably in my practice, at least the Internet's what it is. Social media is what it is. But more than anything, most of my patients are word of mouth.


Eva Sheie (23:35):
Yeah, what a compliment. Now you're a Texan. Were you born in Texas?


Dr. Burns (23:43):
Yes, I was Dallas.


Eva Sheie (23:44):
You were born in Dallas, you went to high school in Dallas. Go Scotts.


Dr. Burns (23:47):
Go Scotts.


Eva Sheie (23:51):
And then you kind of stayed in Texas for school with maybe just one exception.


Dr. Burns (23:56):
I went to Vanderbilt, so I loved Nashville and had a great time in Nashville. And then I came back here, went to UTMB in Galveston and then trained there for plastic surgery. And then I did a crfa and aesthetic fellowship in Dallas at Southwestern.


Eva Sheie (24:15):
I've always wondered what the patients are like who come to UTMB, Galveston for plastic surgery. And I've wondered this because when I lived in Houston, one of my best friends went down there and had a platysma plasty done by a student. And it didn't go perfectly, but she still came through it and looked great, still looks great to this day. And that was probably 15 years ago. So aside from her, what kinds of people end up having surgery there? What does that look like?


Dr. Burns (24:49):
It's like any other big place. Parkland and Dallas or Ben Taub in Houston or Herman UT Houston. Patients go to teaching institutions primarily because they're less expensive. And so that's why the training, at least in cosmetic surgery, is somewhat limited. So we all face that hurdle and that's why we have the fellowship. So doctors that have an interest in doing aesthetic surgery can come here. And we have a clinic here that's the aesthetic clinic and patients get a discounted price for going to the fellow clinic.


Eva Sheie (25:26):
So at UTMB, are they seeing also breast cancer kinds of cases? They're doing reconstruction, they're fixing trauma. That kind of plastic surgery, that's not aesthetic.


Dr. Burns (25:36):
Right. Plastic surgery, people see it mostly on the internet as being a cosmetic specialty, but that's actually pretty narrow part of the whole plastic surgery. So plastic surgeons do everything. They do a lot of reconstruction. So that's sort of the fundamental, the specialty is reconstructive in nature, meaning somebody takes it apart, they take out cancer, take off a breast, they make a defect, and then the plastic surgeons come in and they sort of reconstruct it. And in that vein, there's a lot of trauma that goes into it. Head and neck trauma, broken bones burns, pediatric plastic surgery, which is cleft lip and palate. But also any type of congenital deformity we typically treat, there's hand surgery. So that's a big part of it as well. So it's a lot to learn in five or six, six years. So the aesthetic stuff a lot of times gets swept under the carpet.


Eva Sheie (26:36):
You really can do everything. But one time someone told me his worst fear was being the only doctor on an airplane when pushed the button and needed a doctor.


Dr. Burns (26:45):
That's happened to me more than a few times. So I always wait and make sure there's,


Eva Sheie (26:51):
Do you all go in the back and go rock, paper, scissors?


Dr. Burns (26:54):
Right. There's a joke that, what do you call two plastic surgeons reading an EKG?


Eva Sheie (27:02):
What?


Dr. Burns (27:02):
It's a double blind study. So yeah, we're great at surgery, but we're not heart doctors for sure. But I have been on airplanes and taking care of people and it's been interesting, but it worked. So


Eva Sheie (27:16):
Have you ever had to deliver a baby?


Dr. Burns (27:18):
Not a baby, thank goodness. I think I could do it, but a heart attack and an anxious woman who was freaking out. So I went to the back and I dug through their medicine cabinet and we gave her another Xanax to get to our destination.


Eva Sheie (27:37):
What do you tell people when you're on a plane and they ask you, what do you do for a living?


Dr. Burns (27:44):
It's interesting. I have not had that question in a long, long time. I have three kids and when we travel, it's a lot of backpacks and


Eva Sheie (27:54):
Dad mode.


Dr. Burns (27:55):
A lot of headphones, and I'm usually sitting between two kids. But there was a time when I was working on a talk, I did a lot of speaking at meetings and this guy leaned over. And for me, I just don't even hardly think about it, that I was putting together some pictures of breasts that I had done. And to me, that's just sort of like my thing. I'm the breast guy, but he said, whatcha are you doing? And I looked at him and I was like, oh, I probably shouldn't do this on the airplane. And he laughed and I'm glad it was him and not some kid. But anyway,


Eva Sheie (28:35):
In one of my jobs I did all the before and after photo editing and I was doing them on planes all the time because you could do that


Dr. Burns (28:41):
You don't think about it because it's just what you do and it doesn't look like a body part. At some point it just looks like. is the background the same? And is the lighting the same? And


Eva Sheie (28:50):
Last week I was editing a course that had about 15 labiaplasty slides in it.


Dr. Burns (28:55):
Oh gosh. Yeah. That'll get your attention.


Eva Sheie (28:58):
At home even. And I have a shortcut on my computer that hides everything on my screen if I go to the shortcut, and my kids and my husband kept coming in,


Dr. Burns (29:07):
You're hitting the shortcut. Oh yeah.


Eva Sheie (29:10):
Sorry. Mostly I don't want them to have to see it. It's not, they know what I'm doing, but


Dr. Burns (29:16):
I do. That's cute.


Eva Sheie (29:18):
Yes. Mom, what is that?


Dr. Burns (29:23):
Oh, Mercy.


Eva Sheie (29:24):
Yeah. I learn a lot every day and I am so grateful for what I get to do because it's so much fun.


Dr. Burns (29:32):
That's amazing.


Eva Sheie (29:35):
And I get to talk to great doctors and it couldn't be better. It's been a really great, I think you might be the 115th episode of Meet the Doctor.


Dr. Burns (29:46):
That's amazing. Congratulations.


Eva Sheie (29:49):
Thank you. It's been wonderful. I'm really glad that you joined us. So before we wrap it up, I have to ask about the medals. It looks like you're a distance runner. I see a New York City marathon medal.


Dr. Burns (30:00):
Oh yeah. So I love to run. That's kind of my happy place. And so they go all around my office and I had them at my house, and my wife was tired of them, and she said, you have to take those to the office because I'm tired of looking at 'em. But almost everyone is either New York Marathon or Boston. Those are my two favorites. So I have some other ones thrown in there, but every year, November, I run the New York Marathon, and every April I run the Boston Marathon.


Eva Sheie (30:30):
So are you in a perpetual state of training?


Dr. Burns (30:33):
Always training. Yeah, but I love it. People are like, gosh, I can't believe you do that, but I can't imagine getting out of bed and not running, if that makes sense.


Eva Sheie (30:43):
So you run in the morning?


Dr. Burns (30:45):
And in the afternoon


Eva Sheie (30:46):
And the afternoon. In the summer even?


Dr. Burns (30:51):
Not when it gets really hot in Dallas, I will, we call it the dreadmill, but I will go to the gym where it's air conditioned to get on the treadmill, and I'll do that because it doesn't get cool till nine o'clock, as you know, living in Austin.


Eva Sheie (31:05):
 I do.


Dr. Burns (31:05):
But I'll get up in the mornings at five and it's still even in August. It's not too bad. So yeah, that's just my thing.


Eva Sheie (31:15):
Well, you'll have to come run Austin sometime.


Dr. Burns (31:17):
I love to run in Austin. I love to run around Town Lake and they've got it now where you can go all the way past the sixth, was it sixth Avenue Bridge or whatever, and there's a 10 mile loop now that you can do. So


Eva Sheie (31:32):
I've never done it, but I have heard about it.


Dr. Burns (31:36):
Yeah, it's a great run. It is really fun.


Eva Sheie (31:39):
If someone's listening today and they're interested in finding out more about you, where should they go look for you online?


Dr. Burns (31:47):
My website, it's D-R, dr john burns.com. And then I have a big Instagram presence again, Dr. John Burns on Instagram. And then we do tiktoks, which I find to be hilarious. So half our tiktoks are funny. So if you want to laugh, go to our TikTok page.


Eva Sheie (32:07):
I definitely will do that. Thank you.


Dr. Burns (32:09):
Yes.


Eva Sheie (32:09):
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us today. It was a pleasure getting to know you.


Dr. Burns (32:14):
That was fun. Thank you so much.


Eva Sheie (32:16):
You're so welcome.


Dr. Burns (32:18):
Yeah, appreciate it.


Eva Sheie (32:23):
If you are considering making an appointment or are on your way to meet this doctor, be sure to let them know you heard them on the Meet the Doctor podcast. Check the show notes for links including the doctor's website and Instagram to learn more. Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who'd like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book your free recording session at Meet the doctor podcast.com. Meet the Doctor is Made with Love in Austin, Texas and is a production of The Axis, T-H-E-A-X-I-S.io.