In her newly released memoir, Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect, actress Valerie Bertinelli opens up about the painful and frightening complications she faced after undergoing breast augmentation surgery.
Bertinelli, 65, recalls how the issues began following an accident in which she fell down the stairs and landed on her right breast. “I heard a pop,” she writes, immediately knowing something had gone wrong. A visit to the doctor confirmed that one of her implants had ruptured, leading to surgery to remove it.
However, the recovery was far from straightforward. Six weeks later, Bertinelli faced severe complications. Her right breast began to swell, discolor, and cause her intense pain. “I felt myself getting dizzy… I was burning up,” she recalls, ultimately needing a second surgery to remove the implant and treat an infection.
After the second operation, Bertinelli describes her breast as “cratering,” with a hole left where her nipple had been. “It looked like a horror movie,” she notes. Despite the excruciating pain and prolonged recovery, Bertinelli persevered through a third surgery, receiving a small implant and some restoration to her nipple.
Yet, the aftermath of the surgeries still left her with uneven breasts. The left implant, positioned over the muscle, was a noticeable contrast to the misshapen right side. Bertinelli plans to undergo a fourth surgery to balance the appearance and close this painful chapter of her life.
Reflecting on the journey, Bertinelli expresses gratitude for surviving the ordeal. “I’m lucky to have survived,” she writes, acknowledging that the experience has shifted her perspective on self-acceptance. “After a lifetime of always thinking I needed to fix something about myself, this last go-round has been a doozie.”
