Meet the B's

Dr. Gallus (00:03):
This is Dr. Kat Gallus and you're listening to All the B's, the unfiltered plastic surgery podcast with me, Dr. G, and my scrub tech Bri. Hi Bri.

Bri (00:13):
Hi. Hi, Dr. G. It's our first episode. So I know you, but the audience may not. So I'm going to ask some questions. Where did you grow up?

Dr. Gallus (00:24):
So I rarely admit to this, but I grew up in Florida. I know. On the beach, so I've ended up on the beach on the different coast now. But I grew up in Florida in the Space Coast where the, famous for space shuttles and NASA.

Bri (00:39):
And do you ever go back there?

Dr. Gallus (00:41):
No.

Bri (00:43):
It's hard to leave San Diego. So what made you move to San Diego?

Dr. Gallus (00:48):
Well, I came to San Diego with the Navy. I did my internship here at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, and I've been here ever since.

Bri (00:57):
What do you like best about San Diego?

Dr. Gallus (00:59):
I mean everything, maybe not the cost of living, but everything else is amazing. The weather's amazing. I like living near the water. Yeah, sunshine.

Bri (01:10):
What made you decide to be a doctor?

Dr. Gallus (01:13):
So it's funny, I was watching a sitcom the other day and they were making fun of somebody who was a marine biologist, cua they're like everybody wants to be a marine biologist for at some point when they're a kid. And I totally wanted to be a marine biologist. I think it sounded cool and I thought you got to work with dolphins. And then I realized that's not actually the case. And I liked science still. And I thought, okay, well, I went into research, actually, I did a lot of science research in high school, was kind of nerdy. And I realized I like working with people more than being in a lab. And so being a doctor seemed like the natural extension of that.

Bri (01:54):
Of saving the dolphins?

Dr. Gallus (01:58):
That's right. No dolphins involved.

Bri (02:01):
What was going to medical school like?

Dr. Gallus (02:04):
Medical school was a big change. You're always challenged. You think high school's challenging, then you get to college, you think college is going to be challenging and it is. And then just when you think, oh, okay, I've got this. You go to medical school and also challenging. So it was a good time. I was in DC which was a great town to be in and it was challenging. But I did kind of surprise myself because I really liked surgery. And I tried to again, approach medicine with open arms, not wanting to show up and be like, I'm going to be this. So I tried to be open to all the other different aspects of medicine, but I really kept gravitating towards surgery.

Bri (02:46):
What was the highlight and the worst part of med school?

Dr. Gallus (02:49):
I would say probably the worst part of med school is your clinical rotations, some of the hours are really long I, and that just continues on when you get to. But sometimes when you're doing those clinical rotations, we would do away rotation, so you're living out of a hotel room or a dorm room and working at a hospital that you're not familiar with. I would say the highlight, I went down to Chile, which is where my mother is from, and I did a plastic surgery rotation there, which was amazing. So I spent six weeks there working with a group of plastic surgeons in Santiago.

Bri (03:23):
What medical school did you attend and how big was your graduating class?

Dr. Gallus (03:28):
So I attended Uniform Services University. It's in DC, it's also known as the military medical school. I had that appeal of going there because I was on a military scholarship for undergraduate. I went to Duke on an ROTC scholarship. And so that's how USUHS, as it's known, was first presented to me. And I thought the appeal of not going into further debt to go to medical school was a great idea. In turn, I had service to the military afterwards. But yeah, that's how I ended up in DC at Uniform Services.

Bri (04:02):
And most importantly, what do you do when you're not in the office doing surgery?

Dr. Gallus (04:07):
I hang out with my kids. I have three daughters and my dog and my husband. I do work out a lot. I like going to yoga and sculpt classes and we walk around on the beach and play in our pool. So that's what I do.

Bri (04:27):
Perfect. Well Dr. G, everyone.

Dr. Gallus (04:31):
Alright, now I get to interrogate you.

Bri (04:33):
Okay.

Dr. Gallus (04:34):
So Bri, what made you want to be a scrub tech?

Bri (04:38):
What made me want to be a scrub tech? Well, way back when, seven years ago, I was super unsure of my career path. I eventually went to school to be an EMT and I worked while I was working at AMR, I worked, went to school for another year and then eventually did half of my firefighter degree. And about halfway through that, a year and a half into that I was like, I don't want to do the days and the hours. And I have two kids, two young kids at that point I was like, I don't want to be away from home anymore. So I was like, I think I'm done with pre-hospital and I wanted something a little more stable. And the OR has always been so interesting to me. So I went and got my degree to be a scrub tech and here I am.

Dr. Gallus (05:29):
That's awesome. Well, so why don't you tell everybody what a scrub tech does in the OR?

Bri (05:35):
I process all the instruments. I prepare for the surgery. During the surgery, I give her everything she needs, not what she asks for, what she needs.

Dr. Gallus (05:47):
That's correct, yes.

Bri (05:48):
Yeah, I just help assist her throughout the surgery. It's just her and I. And then we have an awesome anesthesiologist and an awesome circulating nurse who gets to give us all the gossip while we're in surgery.

Dr. Gallus (06:01):
That's right.

Bri (06:02):
And then I just help turn over the room for the next surgery and do it all again.

Dr. Gallus (06:08):
And so people might not know, but when you're a scrub tech, you learn to scrub all different kinds of cases. What's your least favorite type of surgery?

Bri (06:18):
I actually, during my clinical rotation, no offense to her husband who's a general surgeon, general surgery was so boring for me. It was like lipoma after cyst. It was, I did not like general. I actually did a very heavy ortho rotation. I did my clinicals up in Camp Pendleton, so we didn't have, I think I only did maybe two or three plastic cases and I thought they were so fascinating. So I figured I'd either end up in ortho or plastics, but I've always just really gravitated toward plastic surgery.

Dr. Gallus (06:54):
Nice. And we didn't mention it, but you're from San Diego, right?

Bri (06:57):
Yes.

Dr. Gallus (06:58):
Born and raised.

Bri (06:59):
Born and raised. Can never leave.

Dr. Gallus (07:01):
That's right. Which is a very rare thing in San Diego actually. But what do you like to do for fun?

Bri (07:07):
Well, anyone that's born and raised here does not go to the beach. So not the beach.

Dr. Gallus (07:13):
Wow.

Bri (07:14):
I have two kids, two dogs. I work out quite a bit. I shop, my forte, and we hang out by the pool and just usually on my days off we relax as much as possible. Okay, so this podcast is called All the B's. So what is the story behind the name?

Dr. Gallus (07:35):
So we thought it was fitting to call this podcast All the B's because we have a group chat that we use during the workday to communicate with each other and it's called All the B's. And then you guys have another group chat that doesn't include me.

Bri (07:51):
B's without MDs.

Dr. Gallus (07:52):
That's right. That's the one that I'm not on, becuase it's noise I don't need to hear. But we thought All the B's also is fitting because it stands for a lot of what we do. Boobs, booties.

Bri (08:05):
Butts, Botox.

Dr. Gallus (08:07):
Brows.

Bri (08:08):
Everything in between.

Dr. Gallus (08:10):
That's right.

Bri (08:10):
And why did you want to start a podcast?

Dr. Gallus (08:13):
Well, I thought it would be a great idea for people to get to know us. Patients can get to know us and our practice, we're a little bit different because an all female plastic surgery practice, there's not a lot of them. And it's another way for patients to learn about plastic surgery. It can be intimidating to consider doing a procedure to lay yourself bare. I think you like to call it naked and afraid in front of somebody.

Bri (08:38):
I do.

Dr. Gallus (08:40):
And say, Hey, what about this? Or something that you've been insecure about or been wanting to change. And I feel like this is a way of helping people continue to find their way on that journey, make informed decisions about whether or not plastic surgery is right for them, whether they're ready for it, whether they know what it all is going to entail, so.

Bri (09:03):
What are we going to be doing on this show?

Dr. Gallus (09:05):
I think we're going to break down plastic surgery, but kind of in a way you haven't heard before. We like to keep it real. We like to keep it down to earth so that people, the person who isn't working and breathing it every day can understand what it is we do. And let you a little bit into inside our world, which includes some doses of pop culture and shopping and other things we like to do around here.

Bri (09:34):
Yes. All the ins and outs of plastic surgery. What do you want the audience to take away from this podcast?

Dr. Gallus (09:41):
I think that I would like people to know that plastic surgery can be approachable. You can feel comfortable and understand what you're getting into and kind of distract yourself from some of the hot mess that may or may not be on the internet that you can find regarding what your plastic surgery choices are. And kind of make it entertaining so it's fun to listen to.

Bri (10:05):
And where can we find this podcast?

Dr. Gallus (10:08):
You can find and follow All the B's on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere you listen to a podcast. We'll be everywhere.

Bri (10:15):
Yay.

Dr. Gallus (10:16):
For better or for worse. And also, be sure to follow us on Instagram at Restore SD, as in San Diego, Plastic Surgery. If you're listening today and have questions, need info about scheduling, financing, reviews, or photos, check out the show notes for links. Restore SD Plastic Surgery is located in La Jolla, California. To learn more about us, go to restoresdplasticsurgery.com or follow us on Instagram @restoreSDplasticsurgery. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it and subscribe to All the B's on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.