Snatched Jawline Breakdown: Lipo, Filler, Step by Step. Plus, End Sweat for Good!

Kerry: Hello, welcome to season 2 of Once Upon a Surgery. I’m the host Kerry Berlet, wife of world-renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Berlet. Here, conversations and transformations never stop. Today we welcome back Tessy, who’s been traveling the world, has had many interesting business developments and also some more plastic surgery procedures, which I’m so excited to talk to you about. So before we get into the various procedures, and also we can chat about the fun party we went to yesterday, talk to me. You were in LA, and also, sorry, welcome back. Cheers.

Tessy: Cheers. Thank you. And happy birthday to me back as well.

Kerry: Oh my goodness. She’s turned 30.

Tessy: And I look like 16 years old. That’s good.

Kerry: Yeah. So you were in LA, right?

Tessy: Yes, I was in LA and really quite shortly in Las Vegas. All together. And from there I came to New York. And in LA I still had some chubby cheeks. But now I look like a diamond.

Kerry: Yes. Just wait till we talk about it. And we have it on film. It’s crazy. And so in LA, because you’re a designer, you’re a model and you are also developing a perfume line, right? And so what is that going to be called?

Tessy: That is a secret. I cannot tell you right now. But when I was in LA, I was cooperating with a really great partner called E-har [inaudible]. And he was also my photographer, and the pictures will be shown.

Kerry: He did a photo shoot.

Tessy: Yes, exactly. That was more the reason for LA, and some other business stuff in there. But then when I heard my photographer also does perfumes, it was like perfect, you know, then we can work together.

Kerry: Yeah. You keep on finding all these reasons to collaborate.

Tessy: And that’s how I told you, everything comes step by step by itself. Many people were like, how are you going to do that, blah blah. It’s going to come by itself. As long as you want something, it comes. It’s all about willing.

Kerry: I think it’s about empowering the universe and allowing the forces.

Tessy: I have an idea, and from the idea, the money. And money talks too.

Kerry: Money talks. Quite the businesswoman. I love it. And now, I don’t know if you recognize her, because to me it’s so drastic. You can’t even believe this. First of all, this was only 3 days ago. And so she did one thing three days ago and another thing two days ago and then two things today. And so the first thing I want to talk about: you were here last time and you had had some filler put in your jawline, right?

Tessy: Yes. The breakfast.

Kerry: Yes. Right. Exactly. And the jaw looked good, but then you were not happy with this chin.

Tessy: Yeah. From the last podcast, you could see the jawline was nice and everything was okay, but when I was laughing you could see a small mountain down here, you know.

Kerry: Yeah, exactly. The chocolate. Yes.

Tessy: Yes. And then I was like, “No, no, no. This must be to be continued.” And especially after the liposuction on the body, I was asking, is liposuction possible on the chin? It is possible. I could walk the same day, three days, and nothing. No blue, no green, nothing. When I did the liposuction on the body, I was green, blue, like a rainbow. But here, nothing really.

Kerry: And to me it was crazy because I’ve done liposuction on my body, and he was like, “Oh, you won’t see it right away,” but I felt that I could. But it was a little more subtle and then over time it got better. But this, by the next day, it was like literally you went from having this little thing to completely flat. That is insane. And literally, I don’t know if you can see, it’s just this tiniest little spot. Can you lift up?

Tessy: Just one spot, like I scratched myself, or like one hair which I was taking out.

Kerry: And it’s amazing. And I was in the office, not in the room.

Tessy: You just heard me screaming when I did the numbing. That was the only worst part.

Kerry: Yeah, the numbing is rough, right? I thought Tony might have been chopping you up. I was like, “What?”

Tessy: He did it perfectly, you know. And then I didn’t feel anything, but I heard it. I was so happy with that. And really, really nice and really, really funny. When I came there, I was really fancy with the food and high heels because I wanted to look good. After the surgery, I had to walk out with the socks.

Kerry: Yeah. Because it’s only under local. So it was just you give a lot of Valium, and the Valium was making [inaudible].

Kerry: And then I heard from everyone who was in the room, she just kept talking about spaghetti bolognese the whole time.

Tessy: He was sucking my chin, and it was like, oh, I want a spaghetti bolognese.

Kerry: And we got it. But first they brought it with shrimp, and she’s allergic.

Tessy: And that was the whole drama. So sad. I felt like crying.

Kerry: Yes. The entire liposuction, she’s just talking.

Tessy: And I was freezing, actually. When I heard them say, please can you put on the heat. But I fell asleep immediately.

Kerry: Yes, which was good, because Valium does make you tired. But she had a food craving, and all she wanted was spaghetti bolognese, and they brought some shrimp pasta, which she’s allergic to, which was ridiculous.

Tessy: I told them, you can bring me everything with vegetables, whatever, if it’s a bolognese, but not shrimp. Imagine, I would get swollen again.

Kerry: Maybe it was a strategy, the plans for the [inaudible]. Maybe they cooperated somehow.

Kerry: That’s so crazy. And so, again, the numbing hurt, but after that the rest didn’t hurt. You could just hear it. But then the next day were you sore in your neck?

Tessy: What I must say, when I woke up, because we had a really long drive because of the traffic, right? And because of the numbing, when I was swallowing my own spit, it felt like something strange, but it was because of the numbing. But after, I could sleep. You saw, I was sleeping directly after I ate my spaghetti bolognese, and I looked like Kenny from South Park, because of the band around my head.

Kerry: Yes. Like Kenny from South Park.

Tessy: And Tony told me I speak like Sylvester Stallone because of the numbing.

Kerry: That was so funny. Because he brings her out and she’s wrapped up and looks like Kenny from South Park. But he says it’s similar wrapping to when you have a facelift, and a lot of people don’t like it. But you liked it. You said it felt comfortable.

Tessy: Yeah, it was so comfortable because it was cold, actually, as well. It was snowing.

Kerry: Remember the snow angel? She made a snow angel in the middle of the night.

Tessy: In the middle of the night. And it was really comfortable also for the wind and all that. And it lifted all up like this. And I looked so cute when I sent a picture to my family members. They were like, “Oh, you look so cute.” I look like Kenny.

Kerry: So funny. And then Tessy is quite brave, because then, not even 24 hours after… I had told her about this procedure, and while she was in town she’s like, oh, I want that. And that’s this procedure called miraDry, which is where they basically cook your armpits and then you stop sweating and growing hair, almost completely. I think it’s like 80, 90% as a result of this. And she heard about it and wanted to do it.

Tessy: Yes. And when I heard that, I was like, really? Wow, this one I need. Because, nothing against the doctors in Switzerland, but I must say that they charge you all the time for Botox axillary or laser epilation. Several times, and I’m still sweating or still have hair.

Kerry: Right. And so economically, she was there paying for Botox and laser hair removal every month.

Tessy: And we speak about 400 francs, 600 francs. And then it doesn’t last for long.

Kerry: Right. It’s temporary and you just keep paying this money, whereas you can just pay for miraDry once.

Tessy: But everybody wants money, you know?

Kerry: Right. Exactly. And now, zap, they’re gone. But again, the numbing was the worst part. She was really screaming her head off, and I could hear it from in the office.

Tessy: I was screaming. I don’t know if I should say scream, because I had to close my mouth.

Kerry: Even this morning she woke me up: “Tessy, are you ready for the talks?” Yes. And so you were screaming with all this pain during the miraDry. And it’s funny because the receptionist in Tony’s office has been considering getting it, but she heard you screaming with the numbing. She’s like, “I’m not doing that.” Diane was considering also having the miraDry, but she heard you screaming with the numbing and was like, “Uh-uh. I’m not doing it.” But then afterwards, the actual procedure, I think you might have fallen asleep.

Tessy: Yes. And I kept on shaking and freezing, but thinking about my spaghetti.

Kerry: No, it was onion soup. During every procedure she has a food craving. So funny. And so the miraDry was only two days ago. And usually with miraDry, again, the numbing part is what hurts. The actual procedure, they’re rubbing something and it just feels warm.

Tessy: And we have it all on video, so they can see it. May I ask why the numbing? Is it not like a laser treatment?

Kerry: I think whatever she’s doing in this process would hurt. We could ask Tony. But I think if you weren’t numb, it would really hurt. Well, let’s ask Tony. And I know that you were fascinated, because when you got home you saw armpit hairs with the roots that fell out.

Tessy: Yes. When I took the ice packs off, I already saw the hair with the roots. I was like, “Wow, this is the best ever.” I also worked in a dermatology clinic and in plastic surgery with those indications, and I never saw such a fast result. And I was like, why are they cheating on people over there?

Kerry: Well, and they may not have it. I don’t know if it’s allowed over there.

Tessy: But it’s really a miracle. And for me, better I paid 3,000 at once instead of 3,000 divided over the year, because every 6 months you have to go back. And really, I don’t sweat, I don’t smell. Because I cannot use everyday brands, there are some medication stuffs, and Botox was my last decision. But how did we even come to that idea?

Kerry: Yeah, I don’t even know. I think because you were smelly, because she had had a long flight.

Tessy: I had a long flight. I was so hungry and you brought me chicken and onion soup.

Kerry: Yeah, she was on the airplane starving.

Tessy: And I was like, “Please don’t come close. I’m smelling. I smell like traveling.”

Kerry: And I just mentioned that I’ve done this, and then she’s like, “Oh, I want to do that.”

Tessy: Yes. And you showed me the video of one of your friends. I have a picture where my friend was smelling my armpit, and it’s amazing. I don’t smell anything. I can throw away all of my deodorant. Perfume is perfume, but the deodorant, I always only used the roll-on, the soft one, because all the rest I’m allergic to as well. I’m such an allergic person.

Kerry: You have quite a few allergies. And then usually, the after effect is this strange sensation where it feels like you have oranges under your armpits. So how many days did it feel like you had oranges under your armpits?

Tessy: I didn’t feel like there’s an orange or grapes or whatever. I just felt swollen. I felt the needle where he did the numbing, right? Because even when I did the liposuction, when you touch it, you can feel the injury of the needle. That’s what I felt. Not an orange. It was swollen, but even when we did the makeup for the Christmas tree, I told her, “I really need to go upstairs for 10 minutes to lift my arm up.” That was one day after. I felt only where the needle goes inside for the numbing, but not this water and all that. That was all okay. You saw how I was dancing.

Kerry: We could get Miss Christmas Tree 2025 New Jersey. Former Miss Universe Switzerland contestant, now Miss Christmas Tree 2025, I guess it is. We went to an ugly Christmas sweater party that we turned into a fashion show, and Tessy came from Switzerland, knows no one at the party, but worked the runway. This is again 2 days after the liposuction in the neck and one day after the armpits, and she is there doing splits in her Christmas tree. That’s pretty remarkable.

Tessy: And it really matched, because the Christmas tree is green and they have like a brown root, and it matches, you will see the picture. It was so amazing. And actually, the first day I arrived from Los Angeles to New York, she was telling me about it, because I did not get what you meant with ugly.

Kerry: She had never heard of this ugly sweater thing.

Tessy: Yes. What are you talking about? And then you had that costume.

Kerry: Yes.

Tessy: And I was like, “Oh my god, this is for me, because I’m brown. It matches.” Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree.

Kerry: So now you can bring the ugly Christmas sweater concept back to Switzerland. That was a good time. And it was so nice, you would never know.

Tessy: May I ask, how long did the miraDry go for? I was asleep. I remember you came inside. The procedure was one arm up, you know.

Kerry: Both of your procedures were, I don’t know, between an hour and an hour and a half. And that’s probably including the numbing. During the miraDry you were asleep for a while. And to me this is just crazy that here we are, within one day really. And her neck is going to continue to tighten. But this is now just so dramatic, the change in your appearance. And it’s crazy that you can have that drastic of a change for an hour to hour-and-a-half procedure and have no downtime.

Tessy: No downtime. No black. I am black. No blue. You know what I mean? Hard for those people who want to judge.

Kerry: And it’s a shame that you didn’t do this before the Miss Universe Switzerland pageant. This is so good.

Tessy: I look like a different person. Even when I was video calling with my boyfriend, with my friends, I was like, oh my god, I see the difference. I just did it some hours ago, but I still see the difference. It’s still swollen, but I see the difference. I was like, “Hey, wait for it. It will come better.” But that is a good sign. I reacted well, you know. I just cannot forget the sound. I don’t feel anything, but that is still in my brain. But it’s amazing.

Kerry: Yeah. No exercise helps with that. Some people just have that in their anatomy with this chin.

Tessy: Yes. And then I had one, two, three people saying, why do you do liposuction? You can do the fat-burn injection, that’s what they call it.

Kerry: The fat-away injection?

Tessy: What for? Suck it out, finish. Everybody thinks they know better. If you know it, do it. Don’t just blah blah. And they said, why did you do that? That’s not good for your body health, you should do this injection. No man, that is just marketing for people who have no money or no experience. It’s not about money, but it’s about experience. If you want to lose something, it’s A to Z, right? I inject Botox and filler. Yes. But not for fat. You still add something inside. So think before you want to argue with me. That’s what I responded.

Kerry: Yeah. The liposuction is very simple, and again, it’s not prohibitively expensive relative to other procedures, right? So who cares? And I know now I’m going to be looking more at necks. You could just… and you see how fast it goes.

Tessy: And with that fat-away injection, you still get swollen for a while. And you see me.

Kerry: And it’s only going to keep getting tighter and tighter. I love it. Now we need to invite Dr. Berlet so we can ask some of those questions, including the miraDry numbing. We can discuss your Botox breakfast today.

Tessy: Yes. Good. And liposuction with bolognese fantasies.

Kerry: And onion soup during miraDry. So we have brought in Dr. Berlet. We have some pressing questions for you. First of all, I am curious, is this normal to see immediate effects from neck liposuction? To me this is so drastic, and to have such a little scar 3 days after. Is that normal?

Dr. Berlet: You can see it almost immediately. As soon as you’re done you can see the cut of the jaw. It has a little bit of swelling, and it’s still swollen at this time.

Kerry: So relative to other body parts, is the neck faster? Because I remember you did liposuction on me, and I did feel like I saw it right away, but you were like, “Oh, you have no idea. It’s going to continue to get better for 3 to 6 months.” Is there something about the neck where the effect is so much faster?

Dr. Berlet: Well, you’re really creating that cut right along the jawline. So you can see that pretty quick.

Kerry: Is it just because it’s a more concentrated body part? You take the fat out, and does the fat ever come back once it’s out?

Dr. Berlet: Well, essentially the theory is you’re born with a certain amount of fat cells, and so you’ve removed them. And the way you get fat is basically the cells get bigger. So if you remove them, they’re gone.

Kerry: Good deal. And that was what, an hour, hour and a half?

Dr. Berlet: Not even.

Kerry: Not even. Right. Because there was the numbing. And it’s so fast, and it really is not, relative to other procedures, very expensive. And we were wondering, what was the name of the other thing people do, where her friend asked if you did that, where you inject?

Dr. Berlet: Oh, the Kybella. It’s mesotherapy, and the idea there is you inject the tissue with something that will help dissolve some of the fat.

Kerry: But it doesn’t kill the fat cells, right?

Dr. Berlet: Well, it does something. But better to take it away. I’m not a big fan of it.

Tessy: Thank you. Me too.

Dr. Berlet: It has a lot of downsides. You need multiple treatments. It’s fairly expensive to do. You have immediate swelling afterwards, where it actually gets bigger and then it shrinks a little bit. Then you come back in a couple months, you do it again.

Kerry: Why do people do that rather than liposuction?

Dr. Berlet: Well, I think it has to do with whether you’re a surgeon or not.

Kerry: Oh, just because people offer this.

Tessy: Yeah. And those people who told me I should do that, they come from a dermatology clinic, and I’m just like, you are dermatology and not plastic surgery. So go learn better before you want to speak to me. I got some judgment: why didn’t she do that? Why do you do liposuction on the face? Because I want the result. And the permanent result in one treatment, as he said. As you see, there was no long downtime, no swelling. And with the injection, you first get swollen and then you have to do it again. No, thank you.

Dr. Berlet: Even more importantly, you’re limited in where you can put it. You have to be very careful around this area here. There’s a nerve that comes down called the marginal mandibular that affects the corners of the mouth. And that nerve can actually be poisoned by the Kybella. So you have to be careful with that.

Tessy: And I’m a highly allergic person, and I don’t know if that could be for me, you know what I mean? So sometimes people must think before they argue or say that this is better, even when it’s not.

Kerry: And people thought that liposuction was dangerous. What’s the risk?

Dr. Berlet: Everything is dangerous. What surgery isn’t? I mean, this is done under local.

Tessy: But I speak about these people, you know, they are too shy, like I said in the last episode.

Dr. Berlet: Well, you shouldn’t go to somebody’s garage to have it done, is what it comes down to. There are a lot of underlying structures in the neck, obviously, and it’s very easy to be in a superficial plane where you’re getting the fat. But you get somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing, God knows.

Kerry: Like major vessels going to the brain and stuff. So, not good. And then I did want to talk about how you did the liposuction and then touched up the filler, and I liked how that happened. Technically you could have done it all in one day, but this is now 3 days later. She did the Botox and the filler today, but I think that was good because she had to be wrapped up after. So now let it get settled, right? And do you think you could have sucked a little of the filler out when you were doing the liposuction?

Dr. Berlet: No, because it’s a different area. Completely different.

Kerry: Okay. And I watched it today, and she was singing Christmas carols during it, and Chocolate the cat was observing right in our kitchen. And so what did you do today? Just touched up so she could have her diamond face. Look at this.

Dr. Berlet: Yeah, it was pretty much to really shape these corners, what they call the gonial angles, just to give more of that cut through here. It’s a sharp look, and then you can put a little more on the jaw. We put a little touch more on the chin.

Tessy: And a good thing is, before we started, he was just like, sit down. He was taking a measurement with his eyes, and then tuck, tuck, tuck, and I was like, “Okay, wow.” That’s how it is. He calculated my face, like my beauty. They calculate my face first, by watching and feeling, and bam, you know. It was one of the best Sunday breakfasts I had.

Kerry: And a little Botox touch-up. You’re good, right?

Dr. Berlet: She has a perfect scenario. She’s got beautiful skin, and obviously the pigment hides any bruising. There might be a little bruising, but you’re not going to see it.

Tessy: And may I ask, how many fillers are now inside?

Dr. Berlet: You have four syringes. Two before and two today.

Kerry: And how long will that last?

Dr. Berlet: 9 months to a year.

Tessy: Okay. And for me it lasts longer. And then I also did Botox on my forehead and also all around my eyebrows. And today we did a new spot here. Can you tell me why you did that here?

Dr. Berlet: That helps raise the lateral brow. Brings it up and out.

Tessy: Ah. Because I asked for the fox eyes. I asked him once for the fox eyes, because I really want that. Oh, that’s why you did it. Oh my god, thank you. Calculated.

Kerry: And then we had one last question. Why do you numb for the miraDry? She was screaming bloody murder, to the point she scared Diane, who was considering it. I know different people are more sensitive in different places. What would it feel like if you didn’t numb? Because right now when you do the procedure, once you’re numb, it just feels like there’s a warm thing rubbing on you. Would it be painful if you didn’t numb?

Dr. Berlet: It’s not tolerable. It’s too hot.

Tessy: Hotter than when you do a tattoo?

Dr. Berlet: I never had either, but you’re literally microwaving the glands in the skin.

Tessy: How many degrees is that?

Dr. Berlet: It’s hot. It’s really hot.

Tessy: Okay. This is what I wanted to know, for people also to learn, you know.

Dr. Berlet: And everybody has a very different tolerance.

Kerry: He did say that somehow that morning too, the lady said you were just sensitive, because she touched you with a pen. But meanwhile today you had Botox and filler and it was nothing. So I think it sometimes depends on your day.

Tessy: Also my brain, you know. And I was hungry every time. I craved.

Kerry: Onion soup for the armpits.

Tessy: They have cravings during pregnancy, and I have cravings during surgery.

Kerry: That probably makes you hungry too. You’re like, “Oh, that does sound good right now.”

Tessy: And we have it all recorded, really perfect for the camera. It was so funny. I didn’t feel anything. And he kept on telling me, “You’re doing great. You are a patient who wants a good result.” You’ll see the video later. But you did a really, really good job. Thank you very much. It’s really a pleasure, and there will always be your patients. A lot of people will come next.

Kerry: We really appreciate you. I know she’s going to be back in February.

Tessy: Yes. To be continued.

Kerry: So anyway, cheers, Tessy.

Tessy: Cheers. I can highly recommend Dr. Anthony Berlet. I’m a really critical person, especially because I’m really sensitive and hyperallergic to everything, and look at his work. It’s amazing. And the products, I’m using the eye cream. I don’t have puffy eyes anymore in the morning when I wake up. I don’t even use my serum, because I put the eye cream over the whole skin.

Kerry: Well, we need to get you the serum, too. Thank you, Tessy. Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of Once Upon a Surgery, our first ever repeat guest. And so, yes, you can continue getting procedures and continue coming on my show. So don’t forget to subscribe and tune in to the next one. Thank you and have a great evening or morning, whatever time it is you’re watching. Merry Christmas.

Tessy: A Kerry and Tessy Christmas.