Debbie tells PEOPLE that having her husband by her side really helped with her recovery.
Plastic surgery wasn't always on Debbie's mind -- but then she discovered a plastic surgeon who intrigued her.
After a group of her friends found San Diego-based surgeon Dr. Amir Karam on Instagram, they all started to ponder plastic surgery. And after one of her friends decided to be the first of the group to get a procedure done, Debbie went next in 2024. And her husband, Bo, documented her journey.
In a video posted to both of their Instagrams in February 2025, Bo wrote, "My wife's new face transformation." He added in the caption, "My Wife Got a New Faceš¤Æš She was perfect before & still perfect now!" He shared a close look at what Debbie looked like before her surgery, as well as what her recovery looked like in the days that followed.
The pair traveled from their home in Arizona to Dr. Karam's practice in San Diego, staying on site for just over a week. Debbie tells PEOPLE that her daughter, who is 34 and a nurse, was "not having it" when it came to her mom getting plastic surgery, so when Bo pitched the idea to have her come along to help with recovery, Debbie was on the fence.
"I was like, 'I don't want her down there seeing me at my worst. She's not even up for me doing this,'" Debbie tells PEOPLE. "But as it got closer, she was like, 'Mom, if you really want me there, I'll be there for you.' I remember when she came in and she saw me and she was treating my incisions and putting the Aquaphor on; she was like, 'Mom, you look so good. You look like yourself, just a refresh.'"
A refresh was what Debbie was looking for. She didn't want to look drastically different -- just a rejuvenated version of herself.
For her procedure, Debbie (who was 54 at the time of her surgery and is 56 now) got Dr. Karam's signature Vertical Restore (his version of a face and neck lift), custom fat transfer and a lower blepharoplasty.
Debbie's procedure went according to plan, and she says that she was "comfortable" throughout her healing process. She experienced the typical swelling and bruising, but nothing out of the ordinary.
"Dr. Karam has always said, 'You just got to trust the process.' So that's one thing, because there were days where I was really swollen," Debbie shares. "It's usually three or four days into it, you become really swollen. We also have some videos and stuff of my incisions, and they look scary. They look bad. But it all healed very nicely."
Plastic surgery patients wear drains following a procedure to drain any excess blood and fluid to help the healing process. Debbie, who works as an OB tech in labor and delivery, says her drains were the worst part of the process. Even with that, she has no regrets.
"The only discomfort that I really had were the drains, and I had the drains in for about four days," she describes. "Once the drains came out, I was good. Not really any pain. Sleeping was a little difficult, because I had to sleep at a 45-degree angle, and I couldnāt sleep on my side, and Iām a side sleeper, but I would totally do it again."
In addition to following doctor's orders with her recovery, Debbie also leaned on her husband, who she says has been an incredible support system. No matter what was happening, he was there with a smile and a positive word.
"Honestly, I feel like thatās what helped my healing, because I did have him," she shares. "He was so positive and like, 'Oh honey you look so good.' And he was never negative. Honestly heās a wonderful man. Heās always been supportive in anything I do. But it was nice just to have him by my side. He also had fun filming and he kept all our friends updated and sent them little videos every day of my progress."
Dr. Karam tells PEOPLE that it was great to see the support that Bo offered Debbie through her plastic surgery journey. And what Bo shared on social media is exactly the same energy he brought to real life while Debbie was getting her surgery -- including how happy he was for his wife to do something that made her happy.
"I always tell [patients] I have 100% husband satisfaction guarantee because they look like themselves, they look younger, and they feel better then it's like a win for everyone," Dr. Karam says. "They're just afraid that they're going to become unrecognizable to them and that's never fun."
He continues: "I think husbands again a lot of them start off skeptical and worried and then after kind of like having a chance to see results and have a chance to talk to me they come around."
Dr. Karam has operated on patients from all over the world who have come to him because of his impeccable results. He tells PEOPLE that the base reason for people coming in for facial rejuvenation is largely the same just with bits of uniqueness among each person.
"The foundational reason is always the same," he describes of his patients."They just simply want to look the way they see themselves looking in their mind's eye which is looking as young as they feel.It's really the core reason why people do anything related to this entire category,whether it's skin care,whether it's lasers,Botox whatever,because they want to retain that youthful beautiful version of themselves,the one that they can recognize."
Dr. Karam's pricing is available on his website. Vertical Restore starts at $90,000 for women and $120,000 for men. Facial fat transfer is another $40,000, and patients must get both as part of his surgical package.