Rebuilding Beauty After Skin Cancer: Elizabeth’s Story of Strength & Surgery

Kerry: Hello, welcome to Once Upon a Surgery. I’m the host Kerry Berlet, wife of world-renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Berlet. We’re here to bring you real transformations, the stories behind them, from the stitches to everything in between. Today I’m here with my guest Elizabeth, the beautiful Elizabeth, and she has some very interesting stories to share, and I’m excited for you to hear them. We’re here to spill the tea over plastic surgery. Yay.

Kerry: Okay, so now I want to get started with your story. And I know you have known Dr. Berlet for quite some time. And I want to know the story about how you first met Dr. Berlet and what he said to you.

Elizabeth: Right. I met Dr. Berlet 15-plus years ago.

Kerry: Okay. Wow. You’ve known him longer than me.

Elizabeth: Yes. It’s a long time. Some hairdresser told me, you know, Dr. Berlet is fabulous. You got to see him. And I said, okay. I never saw a plastic surgeon before. Let’s go and check that out.

Kerry: Right. And you were a former model, right? And so when you’re a former model, you obviously are aware of your beauty and might be nervous, or what did you think?

Elizabeth: No, I just thought, you know, let’s see, what’s wrong with me? I get that sometimes people, when they hear plastic surgeon: okay, what’s wrong with me? So when I stepped into the office, what a beautiful office. I loved everything about it. The decor, everything. I felt I came to the right place.

Kerry: Yeah. Because he’s really into art and everything.

Elizabeth: Yes. I liked the art, everything. And then I met Dr. Berlet, and I said, so what do you think is wrong with me? He looked at me like, okay, I mean, you look perfect, but maybe a little neck lift would be a big improvement. And so that’s what we did.

Kerry: Okay. And how was that? Were you nervous at all? Had you thought about that before, or you knew anyone who had done it?

Elizabeth: I thought about it, but I completely trusted him, and no, I wasn’t nervous, because Dr. Berlet’s staff is the best. From when you come in to the reception, to the pre-op nurse, to the nurses who hold your hands, to the surgery. They are very, very professional, know what they are doing, and very, very friendly.

Kerry: Yes. It’s so nurturing, right? Everyone says that. Somehow he’s really made some great choices, and together with Dr. Berlet, everything works like clockwork, from the first visit to the time you walk out of there. You are just totally taken care of. That’s amazing. And had you known anyone who had done this neck lift before?

Elizabeth: I did hear about people who did it, and it came out great. A little bit of downtime, but not major.

Kerry: Perfect. And was your husband happy?

Elizabeth: Yes. My husband was happy. But I have to say, it was so subtle, people did not ask me, Elizabeth, did you have something done? And that I think is a very good sign, because if people ask you if you had something done, then it’s maybe a little bit too much.

Kerry: You want it to be natural.

Elizabeth: Natural. Yes.

Kerry: That’s good. I’ve had people say they have relatives looking at them and they’re like, did you get a new skin cream?

Elizabeth: Right. That’s the right thing, if people ask that.

Kerry: I would agree with that. So now there’s another layer to this story, and I want to talk to Elizabeth about this piece, a very serious piece. You had skin cancer, and I want to hear that story. What first made you think you might have an issue?

Elizabeth: So it was COVID time. And there was the tiniest little spot. It wasn’t red. It wasn’t black. But it did not go away. I tried Neosporin. I tried to scratch it off. I tried a tweezer. It didn’t come off. So eventually I decided to go to my dermatologist. My dermatologist took a sample. It got sent in, I want to say to Canada. It took a while to come back.

Kerry: Were they concerned?

Elizabeth: They didn’t say anything, because maybe he knew, but they only know when they get results back from the laboratory. And it came back, and he said, you have some skin cancer, and we will only see how bad it is after we start to scrape it off. And I had no idea what I was in for. Scraping off, to me, I would just think, okay, like scraping a pimple off or something.

Elizabeth: So the doctor, she numbed it and she took the first sample, and then she went out. She came back, she took a second sample.

Kerry: And so they’re just taking this off your nose.

Elizabeth: Yes. And it always takes 20 minutes, I guess. She puts it under the microscope and sees what she sees. She comes back a third time, and that goes on like six times. And by now I’m getting really nervous, because I was like, “What is going on?”

Kerry: And you’re awake this whole time, and they’re just cutting into your nose.

Elizabeth: Yeah. But I did not see anything. After the sixth time, I said, “Can you please give me a mirror?” When she did show me in the mirror, I almost passed out. It was a deep hole right here on the bridge of my nose, about two to three millimeters deep, and also wide. And I said, what do we do now with this hole in the nose? Will that heal by itself? And they said, oh no, that will not heal by itself, you need more [inaudible]. And there is a doctor, I don’t remember the name, we want to send you to, but it has to be done within a week.

Kerry: Within a week. Wait. And so there’s no warning. You just go have your nose scraped, and then you need to have this taken care of within a week. And they have the recommendation for this doctor who supposedly is a specialist.

Elizabeth: And so now I’m close to really passing out in that chair. And I thought, I’m going to call Dr. Berlet’s office, because I’m not going to a doctor who I never saw before.

Kerry: Right. I mean, it’s your nose.

Elizabeth: Yep. In the middle of the face. So I called Pam, and I said to her, “Pam, I’m sitting here in that chair with a big hole in my nose, and I don’t know what to do. I wonder if Dr. Berlet is doing surgeries like that, or if you have a recommendation if he cannot do it.” And she said, I will be right back, I’ve got to talk to him. And sure enough, she came back after 2 minutes, and she said, yes, I talked to Dr. Berlet, and he said that is something different from his normal work, but actually he’s very good in this kind of surgery. And I said, but it has to be done within a week. And she said, we know that, we will really accommodate you. And they did.

Kerry: That’s tough, because sometimes it’s difficult to get in. I’m sure they had to switch some people around.

Elizabeth: Everyone again was most helpful.

Kerry: That’s great. And then tell me what he did. It’s a crazy thing that he did, right?

Elizabeth: Yes, it’s a crazy thing. Dr. Berlet explained to me that this surgery comes from Turkey, because in the old times, I think, if wives did something not right, the husbands cut their noses off.

Kerry: Oh. And so this was like punishment in Turkey?

Elizabeth: Yes. So that surgery has been done for a long time. And if I didn’t have concealer on, you would see it. You cut right here, a piece of your forehead. You take a flap from this. It gets somehow attached here. There’s a little scar still there. And then he flaps it over where the hole is.

Kerry: Really? And so you take a flap from your forehead, and then you put it over the hole, and it’s just twisted around. And then he stitches up your forehead?

Elizabeth: I had some stitches here. And the new tissue over the hole has to take. So that is important. And of course for this we had to go to the hospital, and I needed to go under.

Kerry: And how long was the surgery?

Elizabeth: I don’t remember. We’d have to ask Dr. Berlet, but maybe an hour or a little bit more. And so I looked really like a monster for a while.

Kerry: Because basically it’s cut here from your forehead, and then you have this flap.

Elizabeth: Yeah. It’s really not good looking, right? I had to go back the day after, almost every day for 2 weeks. He always looked if the tissue had taken, if everything looked good. And yes, we did it. But that was not really the end of it. He had to do other adjustments.

Elizabeth: And there was always a discussion. He said, “Actually, I think I want to thin that tissue out a little bit more.” But then my son got married. So I was, “No, no, we’re not doing that.” And he said, “One day, Elizabeth, we really will fix that.” So I saw Dr. Berlet quite often for this, and I came in again and again. He said your nose looks good, everything is fine. And I asked him again, is there something wrong with me? Is there something you think I should address? And he said, I think you would really benefit from a neck lift.

Kerry: Because at that point it had been 15 years since the first one.

Elizabeth: 15 years. Yes. And I said, “You think so?” And he said, “Yep, I’m absolutely sure.” So I’m going home, thinking about it in the car. Should I really do it? And I thought a little bit longer. Actually, not that long. By 4:00, I called. I said, “Okay, I’m in.”

Kerry: All right. Excellent.

Elizabeth: And we did that exactly four weeks ago. Tomorrow it will be four weeks.

Kerry: It looks amazing. I can’t believe it’s only four weeks.

Elizabeth: Yes, it’s only four weeks. And after the surgery, he told me, he didn’t tell me before because he knew I probably would have freaked out a little, he said, “Actually, I thinned out the tissue on my nose again.” So he cut again here and took some tissue out. So I had stitches here too.

Elizabeth: And again, all the vitamins you take, it definitely makes an impact. I really followed that. Drink a lot of water, drink a lot of cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, everything.

Kerry: You think that helps with the healing? Is that what they recommended?

Elizabeth: Yeah, they recommend that. And I also think, if you really think about it, it makes sense, right? And no alcohol and stuff like that.

Kerry: That’s his thing. Two weeks before, no alcohol.

Elizabeth: Yes. And I did also follow that. Sometimes it’s hard. But it’s worth it.

Elizabeth: So to come to the conclusion of the story, I can highly recommend Dr. Berlet for any surgery you would ever want to do. I was always very satisfied. I’m a perfectionist. That’s what everyone says about me. He’s a perfectionist. And we don’t stop until we receive the results we are looking for.

Kerry: That’s great.

Elizabeth: And I also want to thank all his staff, because they are really the best.

Kerry: I know. His office, everyone there, you want them in your family. They’re so nice.

Elizabeth: They really are. Always comfortable, just so kind. And again, if you look for a natural look, I can highly recommend Dr. Berlet, because I see other people who went somewhere else, and sometimes it doesn’t look that natural.

Kerry: I know. And especially because you spent time on the runway. Once you’ve been in the spotlight like that, you’re aware of your looks probably more than other people. And to trust someone to do that, because if you get a bad result…

Elizabeth: But it’s also a woman’s preference. Some people like it, to put it that way, not so natural. That’s also okay, but that’s not me.

Kerry: But I’m still in shock with your nose, how awful that must have been. Were you just emotionally… especially during the healing, with this flap hanging down?

Elizabeth: Yes. It was really some journey. But like I said before, Dr. Berlet and the staff really helped me through all that healing and gave me all the encouragement, and said, it looks bad now, Elizabeth, trust us, it will be better.

Kerry: That is a huge trust. But you have no choice. And now that the skin cancer was taken out, are they at all concerned? Are you good, or is it just that you can’t go in the sun now?

Elizabeth: I try not to go so much in the sun, because if you had one skin cancer, it might lead to other skin cancer. And also, if I go in the sun, that triangle here turns red right away. And it’s advisable anyway for people to stay a little bit out of the sun.

Kerry: I don’t think we’re doing that anymore. That was before. Now it’s wearing a hat, sunscreen, especially for the women. Okay. So as far as your face recovery, I can’t believe you’re only 4 weeks out. Take me through what it’s like day by day. You can’t see anything. You would never know. How long were you bruised?

Elizabeth: The first day is the best day, because you’re still under all the medication and the sleep.

Kerry: And you were fully awake during the surgery, right? People are always shocked by that. And this is your second time around. Were you more nervous, or were you more like, “Okay, I’ve done this before”?

Elizabeth: No, I was not really nervous. I also tolerate pain pretty well. I think I’m more nervous talking to you than I was then. So the first day you’re still under the medication, and he also gave me Valium for the first night to sleep. So the first day is easy peasy. You’re very lucky if your husband even volunteers to make you dinner.

Kerry: Oh, nice. They’re assigned to basically wait on you, right?

Elizabeth: Yes. And the second day, I went back to Dr. Berlet, and he said everything looks great. I was a little bruised, of course, on both sides here, and the neck was bruised and a little bit swollen. He looked at all the scars and everything and said it looks fantastic. I took the vitamins every day still. Then I came back, I want to say 3 days later, and we removed the stitches, because remember I told you we did the nose then. He removed those stitches, and maybe one of the two stitches right behind my ear.

Kerry: Oh, right. Sometimes there’s a staple or something.

Elizabeth: Yes. The staples were still in. I think the staples came out about 5 days later. And again, easy peasy. By then my swelling went really down. I almost looked normal. Very, very minimal bruising. And two weeks later, I was still a little bit swollen, but nothing you had to hide. You could go back to total normal.

Kerry: And what’s interesting is I think he thinks that doing the revision neck lift, facelift, is actually easier the second time around. It’s surprising, right? You would expect that maybe there’s extra scar tissue, but he said actually that makes it easier for him.

Elizabeth: That only Dr. Berlet would know. That question I couldn’t answer.

Kerry: And 15 years in between. So the first time, it basically lasted, you would say, 15 years. Was that around the right time that made you feel like it was time to go back?

Elizabeth: No, I told you, I didn’t think about it. I asked, what else is wrong with me? And that was Dr. Berlet’s recommendation, to freshen that up again.

Kerry: Got it. And was your husband okay with that? Sometimes husbands, especially the second time, might be nervous.

Elizabeth: No, my husband, his mother did surgeries, his sister did some surgeries. So my husband is fine. He’s open to it.

Kerry: Right. It’s maintenance. Like a car. You just need a little tune-up, right? Well, you look amazing. Between that and your nose, you would never know. You look stunning, and I’m so impressed at 4 weeks out. Your neck looks fantastic.

Elizabeth: Thank you.

Kerry: And there’s this phrase, they call it the snatch, right? Such a great line.

Elizabeth: Age comes with wisdom, but also sagging.

Kerry: Now [inaudible] has joined us to celebrate the ending of this Once Upon a Surgery episode. I want to thank Elizabeth for coming. I love your story, and that’s crazy, the complex surgery you’ve been through, and your face only four weeks out. I am so impressed, and you look amazing, and I think you can still model.

Elizabeth: Thank you. I give a compliment back to you. You look amazing, too.

Kerry: Thank you so much. And cheers to Dr. Berlet.

Elizabeth: Cheers to Dr. Berlet.

Kerry: So, we just heard from Elizabeth some really interesting and inspiring stories. I hope you enjoyed the episode, and please remember to subscribe, and we will see you next time.