Lifestyle

'NO ONE KNEW'

Netflix Star Left in Agonizing Pain by Botched Plastic Surgery

After undergoing the procedure, he experienced chronic pain for years.

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

PublishedJun 3, 2026, 3:50 PM EDT

UpdatedJun 3, 2026, 3:51 PM EDT

Updated Jun 3, 2026, 3:51 PM EDTPublished Jun 3, 2026, 3:50 PM EDT

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A TV host revealed he had suffered years of pain after a plastic surgery procedure gone wrong.

Queer Eye alum Karamo Brown, 45, told People that a failed attempt to slim down his face left him with over a year of chronic pain.

“For years, people have been like, ‘Karamo’s had plastic surgery. He has so much filler in his face,’” he told the outlet. “I was suffering for years in pain, and no one knew.”

Brown’s interest in plastic surgery arose after he gained around 70 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His changed appearance—and the comments he received about it—made him want to slim down his face.

“I was a big boy, and everyone online liked to tell me how much of a big boy I was,” Brown said. “So, I was like, ‘OK, maybe if I slim out my face, I’ll be cute.’”

In 2021, Brown underwent buccal fat removal. The 1-hour procedure involves partially or fully removing the lower cheek fat pads (located under the cheekbone) to make the lower face look slimmer.

The results, however, were not as expected—and worlds away from what he had desired.

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After the surgery, scar tissue formed inside Brown’s mouth, hardening saliva and blocking drainage.

“It turned into a year-and-a-half of pain,” he recalled. “There’d be times you’d see me smile, and it was tight. My cheeks would be big because they were full of saliva, full of scar tissue. I was in the worst pain.”

Brown still suffered from the complications when he began filming his NBC talk show, Karamo, in 2022.

“I would shoot six episodes a day, and there’d be times when I was filming my show that my mouth would get so dry and it would be so swollen,” he said.

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His insecurities about his appearance only increased, and during the second season, he lost the 70 pounds he had gained during the pandemic in an effort to boost his confidence.

“The more weight I lost, the less scar tissue you could see,” he recalled, adding, “I stopped eating because it helped the feeling of not having so much scar tissue.”

Brown said that his Queer Eye castmates also noticed his changed appearance.

While they filmed the final season of the popular makeover show—which aired in January 2026—he recalled one of his castmates seeing an old video of Brown and saying, “Oh, look how handsome he used to be."

“Those types of things affect you. They hurt your feelings,” he told the outlet.

Although losing weight helped the appearance of his cheeks to a point, he still suffered pain.

Brown chose to undergo reconstructive surgery with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Carl Truesdale to get rid of the scar tissue.

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“I’m so thankful because I was in pain every night, every day. 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. It’s good,“ he said.

He also opted for a cosmetic enhancement during the procedure. ”To be really transparent with y’all, I was like, ‘While we under, can you get rid of my bags?’ I’m 45!”

The lower blepharoplasty, during which the surgeon removes excess skin from under the eye, got rid of “60 percent of my bags,” according to Brown.

Now, he shares his story to help others with chronic pain feel less alone.

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If he could go back, he would handle his journey differently.

Brown said, “I wish I would have told people what I was going through and not allowed myself to just stay quiet.”

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Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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