William Harris, MD - Facial Plastic Surgeon in Beverly Hills, CA

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. Hello and welcome. Today on Meet the Doctor, my guest is William Harris, who is a facial plastic surgeon in Southern California. Welcome, Dr. Harris. Can you tell us about yourself?

Dr. Harris (00:44):
Thank you for having me. I'm a transplant originally from Atlanta, Georgia. Did a lot of my surgical training and then did my fellowship in Palo Alto, California. Decided I loved California, which I knew kinda going into fellowship. Was used to a big city growing up and decided LA was spot the to practice. Fun as well as a personal interest in just being in LA and all it has to offer, uh, within and in activities around. So that was how I ended up in LA and started my own practice back in September of 22 in facial plastic surgery.

Eva Sheie (01:19):
What part of Los Angeles are you in?

Dr. Harris (01:21):
So I'm in Beverly Hills and uh, it's a great place to be. A lot going on. Good place for facial plastic surgery as well.

Eva Sheie (01:29):
A bold move. Are there any fun landmarks near you, near your office?

Dr. Harris (01:34):
I'm at the corner of, uh, Burton Way and Doheny, so it's kind of on the, uh, eastern edge of the triangle within Beverly Hills. I'm very close to the, the Four Seasons Hotel, which holds a lot of kind of award season events. And then going the other way, you've got everything in the middle of Beverly Hills with Rodeo Drive and kind of all the attractions that draw people to the city itself.

Eva Sheie (01:56):
So are the traffic jams around your office always for interesting reasons?

Dr. Harris (02:00):
You know, I like to think that the office doesn't have as many issues with traffic cuz it's, it's kind of tucked on the triangle. It has a, has a surface lot, which means you don't have to get into a, a high rise parking garage. So it definitely makes it easier. But yeah, there's, there's days when there's, there's lots of traffic related to award season events and that kind of thing, especially with the Oscars just happening.

Eva Sheie (02:22):
I bet you see some interesting cars around there.

Dr. Harris (02:24):
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I love cars, so I always have an eye out for cars.

Eva Sheie (02:29):
What's your favorite car?

Dr. Harris (02:30):
My favorite car would probably be, uh, classic Porsche, one of the original Porsches they made, which was a 356 and they made a convertible version, which kinda had a lowered, lowered roof lowered, uh, windshield called the speedster.

Eva Sheie (02:46):
I wanna hear about your educational path in a moment, but I wanna start first with how you think about faces and aging and just what your approach is to beauty in general when you sit down and look at a patient.

Dr. Harris (03:01):
Yeah, so I think, you know, this is somewhat of a cliche in plastic surgery now, but I really, I like a natural approach on the conservative spectrum in terms of facial plastic surgeons, I believe. So I, I tend to really let the beginning of any consult I have with a patient go towards them and, and them telling me what they're interested in. Um, and I, I do a lot of listening and then I kind of give them options of what I can do. And if I see that there's, you know, an area for opportunity that, that they might not have thought of that would kind of add to what they're interested in, then I I'll mention it and explain that. But I certainly don't, don't push any procedures on anyone, um, if they hadn't really thought about it or if it's not an area that is concerning for them.

Dr. Harris (03:41):
You know, I think plastic surgery has a reputation in some changing appearance or, you know, making someone look like someone else. And I think that's a misconception. I think really what, what I'm trying to do and, and what good plastic surgery does is enhance what somebody already has in terms of enhancing the beauty that they, they have and making them still look natural like themselves, but maybe a more refreshed or younger version of themselves. And, you know, you really, really shouldn't see anyone that I've done walking down the street and tell that they've had plastic surgery.

Eva Sheie (04:13):
Are there any tools or imaging systems that you use to kind of help people visualize what they're going to look like?

Dr. Harris (04:20):
Yeah, I think, I think it's a nice way to, to kind of give someone an idea of what can happen with their surgery. Um, it's never, you know, a fully predictive method of, of showing someone, uh, surgical outcomes. But I use a program called Mirror, which is a big photo suite and you know, mainly I use it for rhinoplasty. I think when you get into facial procedures using morphing imaging, it's, it's a little misleading and it's, it's just not a, an easy way to kind of show after results. But with rhinoplasty you can really give them a good idea of, of what's achievable. So you kind of work with the patient in terms of, you know, "Is this what you were thinking?" And then I have to guide them in terms of what I can actually do surgically. So it's, it's a back and forth, uh, between the physician and the patient in terms of, you know, what can we do reasonably without changing your, your airway to achieve kind of some of the cosmetic changes they want. And oftentimes we're combining functional changes as well. So it, um, it allows you to show these things in a way that makes it easy to understand for both of us.

Eva Sheie (05:18):
Do they get to take home like the video of the imaging or do you print out the picture?

Dr. Harris (05:23):
Usually the way I do it is I'll, I'll save all the morphed images and you know, based on which ones we decide that fits them best or their, their goals best. Uh, I'll send them those images in an, an email after the, after the consult and then, you know, they can, they can have some more time to think about it, look at those images, and then we'll talk over the next week or so or however long it takes. Some people, you know, it's, it's months of kind of getting it right, it's less common, but that allows them to kind of be at home and then we go back and forth and if there's little tweaks they wanna make on what we did in the office, then we can, we can do that, you know, through that outlet.

Eva Sheie (05:57):
In your practice, are you seeing mostly rhinoplasty cases or is it a mix of other things?

Dr. Harris (06:04):
You know, I, I do more rhinoplasty but I also do a lot of facial rejuvenation, which um, includes deep plane face lifting and then everything that kind of comes with facial rejuvenation, otherwise eyelid surgery, brow lifting, some facial implants in terms of chin implantation, isolated neck lifts. Do reconstruction as well for people that have, you know, had trauma for whatever reason, dog bites, cancer reconstruction, do some work with some domestic violence victims as well, um, who go through various types of trauma in terms of restoring their, their self-confidence and their appearance.

Eva Sheie (06:39):
Something that I've always wondered about and never asked anybody is like, if you got in an accident or you had an accident and you hurt your nose and knew it was broken, like let's say you're sitting in the ER and you're like, my nose is broken, can you just call your plastic surgeon and be like, come over here and help me?

Dr. Harris (06:56):
To an extent, I mean, based on my experience, you know, I've seen a lot of people in the emergency room after trauma to the nose and if you have a deviation of the nose due to broken nasal bones for instance, there is an option to reset that in the emergency room. I've had a very low percentage of people who are actually interested in that option. The other option, and I, I've done it in the emergency room, you know, same day as trauma and you do your best, you can, but one thing you're dealing with after trauma and certainly depends on the timing of the trauma is, is swelling, which is a bit of an unknown in terms of, you know, you may reset it and it looks great in the emergency room, but you get two, three weeks out and that swelling goes down and it's not set exactly like you thought cuz it's just changes. So the other option is you wait and you wait, you know, maybe three, six weeks out, let it heal in and then you address it in a controlled manner in the operating room if needed. And sometimes people, it doesn't bother them enough to, to pursue it later on, but you know, I always give people two options. We can reset your, your nasal bones now in the emergency room where we can, we can kind of do it in a more controlled fashion down the road, once you've healed a little bit more, the swelling's gone down.

Eva Sheie (08:02):
So if I'm ever in an, in a situation like this, I should just Google best rhinoplasty surgeon in Austin and just call whoever that is and say I'm in the emergency room. No?

Dr. Harris (08:13):
Yeah. If you can get a hold of somebody in the middle of the night. Usually, you know, there's, there's on call physicians for each emergency room and usually if you can, it's, it's helpful to get a, a plastic surgeon or even a, you know, a facial plastic surgeon specifically to at least consult with and, and they can send them pictures and that kind of thing. And if needed get 'em in there to, to so up any lacerations if it's on the face.

Eva Sheie (08:36):
Is there anything you should not let them do to your nose in the ER?

Dr. Harris (08:40):
I think, you know, anything with, with resetting nasal bones and kind of structural changes to the nose, I, I would, I would tend to say go with a, a trained surgeon who does a lot of facial surgery specifically, no knock on emergency room docs, but you know, someone that's really familiar with that area and kind of the, the anatomy specifically to the nose. I think it's more helpful to have someone like that if you're gonna address it on the spot right after the trauma as opposed to going down the road a little bit and doing it in the operating room.

Eva Sheie (09:10):
Yeah, that sounds like reasonable advice. Okay. So what led you down this path to where you are today? Was there something that happened that led you to know aesthetics was the direction you wanted to go?

Dr. Harris (09:27):
I mean, going way back, my, my parents were both in healthcare. My dad, um, was a general dentist in Atlanta. My mom worked for the Centers for Disease Control in kind of the aging healthcare policy department. Um, so I, you know, had an exposure to healthcare from an early age. I, you know, was always interested in, in art, uh, ever since I can remember. And then, you know, at a certain point shortly thereafter, probably 10, 12 years old, I became interested in, in possibly pursuing surgery. And so that was kind of always two paths I was taking simultaneously was, was art and then kind of gearing up towards medicine. I I felt limited a little bit by the dental field because it was only one option for surgical specialty and so I pursued, uh, medical school instead and, you know, I ultimately became fascinated with, with head and neck anatomy more than anything else and pursued residency in in head and neck surgery with always kind of that, that thought of, you know, I love the aesthetics part of it cuz it really brings in the, the artistic side of my mind and allows me to kind of bring those worlds together, which is uncommon in medicine.

Dr. Harris (10:30):
Plastic surgery in particular is I think the only medical specialty where there's actually a subjectivity component. You know, there's only so many ways you can take out an appendix or a gallbladder, but there's a ton of ways you can perform facial plastic surgery. Um, and it's up to the, up to the surgeon and, and the patient in terms of finding a result that they're, they're going for and, and making that work together. And so I just enjoyed kind of that component and then ultimately pursued a fellowship and facial plastic surgery and, uh, yeah, I think, you know, doing both aesthetics and functional surgery together as well is, is interesting to me, but the aesthetic world is definitely the part that that ties best into my artistic mind.

Eva Sheie (11:09):
Who were your mentors during that training and what kind of impact did they have on you?

Dr. Harris (11:15):
Yeah, so I had a lot of, a lot of great mentors during my surgical training at Tulane and New Orleans. A lot of guys who did various parts of plastic surgery, functional aesthetic and, and everything in between. And you know, they really helped guide me in terms of just staying true to my morals within the field of plastic surgery. You know, I think there's a lot of, a lot of people out there, you know, strictly for the money within the field and staying grounded and, and doing it for the right reasons in order to, you know, help people feel their best, look their best and then restore people, uh, who've had trauma or other, other issues was an important part I learned in my surgical residency and then had amazing, uh, mentors while I was in Palo Alto who really taught me, you know, a lot of kind of running a, a practice but also, you know, keeping that integrity as well and, and going for the best results every time and going above and beyond to get there. And also, you know, taking the time to really listen to patients first before implementing our knowledge on them and also keeping a really close eye on patients post-operatively and, and checking in on them and just making sure that they never feel like you're kinda leaving them behind after the surgery.

Eva Sheie (12:24):
I think especially with the reconstructive or or trauma patients, but I mean, everybody needs to know you're still there.

Dr. Harris (12:31):
Right, right.

Eva Sheie (12:32):
Was there anything that you learned from doing reconstructive surgery or trauma surgery that helped with your perspective on aesthetics?

Dr. Harris (12:41):
Yeah, I mean, I, I think, you know, there's always an aesthetic component to any head and neck surgery. So every time you close, no matter what you did on the inside surgically, the closure is always gonna be what the patient sees. Um, so that was always an important aspect of any surgery to me and always taking time and being meticulous with closure for reconstructive surgery. But what reconstruction really teaches you over time is, is the anatomy. You know, I did a lot of cancer reconstruction, a lot of very invasive cancer resection and then reconstruction surgeries and so you learn the anatomy inside and out that way, which really helps when you're doing kind of more, for lack of a better word, superficial surgeries that that don't go as deeply into the, into the anatomy of the head and neck. So I think that's a big component of, of having that training behind me and being able to learn the anatomy through those surgeries.

Eva Sheie (13:30):
Do you still do reconstructive surgery from time one?

Dr. Harris (13:33):
I do, not the same kind of, uh, involved surgeries I was doing in residency where we were doing, you know, large free flap surgeries and moving tissue from the leg and uh, the arm to the face, uh, neck to reconstruct defects from cancer. Uh, I don't do that anymore, but you know, small mohs reconstructions from skin cancers that have been taken off or, you know, we just did a lady a couple days ago who had been an acid attack survivor, so kind of helping her with her facial scars and reconstructing her nose, uh, was what we did for her. But yeah, it's a, it's a rewarding aspect of the field.

Eva Sheie (14:10):
When someone comes to see you for the first time and sits down in that consult room, can you take us through what they should expect from you?

Dr. Harris (14:19):
Well, I think I try to make it as, uh, comfortable as possible. I, I think it's, you know, intimidating coming into a, a plastic surgery office in, in some cases because you're, you're in a vulnerable position of, of, uh, maybe a part of your, your face or neck or, or whatever it may be, you know, if you're going into a body plastic surgery office and trying to explain that to the surgeon and what your're interested in doing. So I try to try to make it very open and, and comfortable conversation. I, I listen a lot in the beginning. Um, and then I try to guide them down the, the right path and, and usually a, a conservative path for most of patients and try to give 'em the ladder of treatments. So there's a lot of, a lot of non-surgical treatments that you can do before you pursue surgical options. And if that's, if that's a better option, then I, I always present that. And then there's a lot of combinations that are great. So non-surgical combination with surgical procedures and so I try to try to give 'em the best options for them. And everyone's different, everyone requires a different approach and everyone has different social components that come into it. You know, maybe they don't have the time to take off. Maybe they, they work too much to, to have the surgical downtime. So you always kind of have to take all those aspects into, into consideration.

Eva Sheie (15:28):
Tell us about the team that you have in the office there. Like who else might we run into if we come to see you?

Dr. Harris (15:33):
Yeah, so I, you know, the first person you see is, is our front desk staff and they'll get you set up in terms of getting your background, medical history and all of that. And then if you were coming in for a surgical consult, you would see me and we'd spend 40 minutes to an hour sometimes or over an hour with patients going through that process. And then at the end of that you'll meet our patient care coordinator who will kind of give you a sense of, you know, my availability and pricing for everything and kind of walking you through our options for, for that. And then we, we have MAs or medical assistance throughout the office that, that help with kind of non-surgical procedures in terms of assisting me and making you feel comfortable during, you know, injectables or whatever it is we're doing in the office. Uh, they're kind of my my second hand in terms of helping me out and really making the patient feel comfortable.

Eva Sheie (16:21):
What are your favorite nonsurgical treatments and is there anything coming that you're excited about?

Dr. Harris (16:28):
Yes, there's so many great nonsurgical treatments. I really like a couple of the microneedling with radio frequency devices. There's one in particular called Profound RF, which is kind of a one-time microneedling treatment, uh, that has radio frequency for, for tightening of the skin, improves, uh, texture and quality of the skin as well. But you know, it's kind of referred to as a non-surgical facelift and it definitely, for a younger person who maybe doesn't have as much skin laxity or soft tissue descent, it's a great option. And then I also like to combine it, uh, oftentimes with a, a surgery that I call the midline neck lift or, or holiday neck lift in order to help with skin tightening after it's been completed. It's a very small incision under the chin, which basically tightens the muscles, gets rid of any fat, um, in the submental area just beneath the chin. And I use the profound afterwards to, to help tighten the skin.

Eva Sheie (17:20):
Did you name it the holiday neck lift?

Dr. Harris (17:22):
I did.

Eva Sheie (17:23):
Oh, that's so good. That's exactly what it sounds like. So what do you like to do when you're not at work?

Dr. Harris (17:31):
I love golf. Uh, I like to travel a lot when I can. I haven't done as much lately as, as I'd like to just with, with starting a new practice, but love traveling to new places, exploring new cultures in the winter. I, I try to try to get in some skiing. I love that as well. And then I would say LA, New Orleans, everywhere I've ever lived, I try to explore, uh, the restaurant scene a bit.

Eva Sheie (17:57):
I'll let you choose which one to, to answer. What was the best trip that you've ever been on or what was the most recent trip that you went on?

Dr. Harris (18:06):
So, yeah, most recent trip I went on was to Germany and Switzerland, which was, you know, amazing. I think both of those countries have a lot, a lot to offer. Switzerland's in my mind, one of the prettiest countries in the world and got lucky enough to go skiing over there and just exploring that, that culture. Uh, they have, they have great food, but also just very scenic, a lot of hiking and, and options to do in the winter in terms of exercise. Uh, where we were, they had curling and sledding and all kind of options other than the skiing we did during the daytime. So I thought that was a, a fun trip and you know, probably try to go back maybe once a year if I can and get over there and, and do some skiing cuz it was probably the best I've ever done.

Eva Sheie (18:48):
I can imagine. I was a cross country skier, so, <laugh>

Dr. Harris (18:53):
Yeah, I stopped doing that after the first time I, I realized you could go downhill and then I said, "I don't think I need to go flat anymore."

Eva Sheie (19:00):
It's a lot easier to go downhill.

Dr. Harris (19:02):
Yeah. Once I, once I figured out you could go downhill, I thought, yeah, that's, that's okay. But it's a good workout.

Eva Sheie (19:08):
Not a lot of skiing in Georgia.

Dr. Harris (19:10):
No, actually zero skiing in Georgia.

Eva Sheie (19:12):
So did your family go somewhere every year in the winter?

Dr. Harris (19:16):
My family didn't always go, but I, I, I would go with friends, uh, to Colorado. That was kind of the, the place I went to ski in various places. And then my family and I did start going later to Jackson Hole, which has really a really pretty amazing skiing. We had a family friend who had a house there, so we got, we got lucky on that front. And, uh, I think second to the Switzerland skiing, that was, that was the best.

Eva Sheie (19:39):
It's been really nice getting to know you and learn more about you and I hope that our listeners have a feel for who you are now too. Before I let you go, tell us where we can find more information about you online.

Dr. Harris (19:53):
Yeah, so my website is uh, harris facial plastics.com. Uh, I also have an Instagram, which is just my name, so it's D R William Harris, so Dr. William Harris. And then, um, I'm on couple other sites, RealSelf, I'm on Google. I have a, a Google profile as well. So all those, all those areas are the best, best places to find me.

Eva Sheie (20:16):
Thank you.

Dr. Harris (20:17):
Thanks so much Eva.

Eva Sheie (20:21):
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.