Karamo Brown is sharing the painful truth about a cosmetic procedure that went seriously wrong. The Queer Eye star revealed this week that a buccal fat removal surgery he underwent in 2021 left him with chronic pain and health complications that haunted him for years.
What Happened
Brown decided to get the procedure after gaining 70 pounds during pandemic lockdowns in 2020. Hoping to slim his face and respond to online criticism about his appearance, he underwent buccal fat removal, which removes fat tissue from the cheeks. What should have been a straightforward procedure quickly turned into a nightmare. The surgery created scar tissue that blocked his salivary glands, causing painful saliva buildup in his cheeks that left visible lumps.
"There'd be times you'd see me smile, and it was tight," Brown explained in his interview with People. "My cheeks would be big because they were full of saliva, full of scar tissue. I was in the worst pain." The complications made everyday life brutal. He described going months unable to eat normally because food only worsened the swelling and discomfort.
The Hidden Toll
For years, Brown suffered silently while the public speculated about his appearance online. When his daytime talk show Karamo launched in 2022, he was filming six episodes daily while managing severe swelling and dry mouth that made speaking difficult. Rather than reveal the truth, he focused on weight loss, which he found helped reduce the visibility of the scar tissue. "I stopped eating because it helped the feeling of not having so much scar tissue," he said. Brown felt too embarrassed to publicly discuss what he'd done to himself, even as the pain consumed his daily life.
Finding Relief
Eventually, Brown underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the damage. The procedure worked, and he says he finally feels like himself again. "I'm so thankful because I was in pain every night, every day," he shared. "It was horrendous. Thanks to this doctor, I feel so much better. I'm smiling better, there's not saliva collecting, the scar tissue's gone." Brown's openness about the botched procedure is a reminder that cosmetic surgery carries real risks, and that online pressure to change our appearance can have serious consequences.
Cover photo: Deb Haaland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
