Valerie Bertinelli Opens Up About Scary Breast Implant Complications in New Memoir
Key Points
- She ruptured a breast implant in a fall and had the implants surgically removed.
- A postoperative infection caused discoloration, swelling, fever, severe pain and tissue damage.
- After three surgeries, she’s recovering and hopes one more procedure will complete reconstruction.
VALERIE Bertinelli is sharing a deeply personal chapter of her health journey in her new memoir, Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect.
The beloved actress revealed that after a fall at home, she ruptured a breast implant and underwent surgery to have her old implants removed.
Bertinelli wrote that the recovery became far more serious when she developed an infection, leading to additional surgeries and a difficult healing process.
In the book, Bertinelli describes alarming symptoms including discolouration, swelling, fever, and severe pain, which ultimately sent her back into surgery.
She said the complications were frightening and at one point left her with significant tissue damage that required further reconstruction.
“I sprinted down the stairs, tripped, and landed on my right boob. I heard a pop. I knew exactly what had happened,” she writes.
Despite the painful ordeal, Bertinelli says she is making progress after three surgeries and is hopeful one more procedure will help “even things out once and for all.”
Her candid account reflects both the physical challenges she faced and her ongoing journey toward self-acceptance.
“Six weeks later, I had the surgery. My doctor showed me the old implants. They were like ostrich eggs, hard and crusted over,” she continueD.
“I couldn’t believe they had been in my body. I went home, bandaged and sore, with drains under my arms, uncomfortable but hopeful,” she notes, adding that “everything was great” for “the first two weeks.”
“About a week later, my right breast took on shades of green, yellow, and blue. The next day it started to swell and turned a dark purple. I felt myself getting dizzy. By nighttime, I was running a fever.”
She goes on: “I stayed in bed, figuring that was best. Tylenol, and lots of water, and tea. When I got up, though, the pain was intense. My breast was throbbing and it kept getting worse.
“I knew I had to see the doctor, but it was Saturday morning. I decided to wait until Monday. By then, I was really sick. My breast was discoloured, painful, and swollen. I was burning up. I had fluid leaking out of the sutures around my nipple.”
