What to Know
Teddi Mellencamp has been going through a lot lately. In 2022, she was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma and she underwent 17 surgeries. Last year, she shared that the cancer had progressed to stage 4 and spread to her brain and lungs. At the time, she said she had a 50/50 chance of surviving. Understandably, her cancer battle has also impacted her mental health, and she has described feeling depressed, anxious, and isolated at times.
Amid all of this, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum recently underwent a procedure that was not related to her cancer treatment. Based on how she described it, it seems she felt the need to defend her decision.
She underwent a blepharoplasty, also known as an eye lift.
When she took to her Instagram Stories to tell her followers about the procedure, she emphasized that her doctors told her it was OK to move forward with it during her cancer treatment.
She shared videos from before and after the procedure, seemingly addressing those who might be skeptical of her decision. “Upper bleph day with best doctor out there,” she wrote over a video from before the procedure. “And yes, I got the OK from my cancer doctors…”
Over another video, she wrote, “I hear all of you saying I don’t need this… But I want it!”
The plastic surgeon Teddi went to, Dr. Sarmela Sunder, also posted about it.
“Teddi had noticed that the skin of her upper lids had been weighing heavily on her over the past couple of years,” the surgeon wrote on Instagram. “For a lot of people, fluctuations in weight (due to natural causes, pregnancy, prolonged steroid use, medications) can lead to skin laxity.”
According to her, this impacted Teddi in several different ways. She said it “lead her face and forehead to feel very tired at the end of the day,” and also “another thing she noticed was that she couldn’t wear eye makeup without it transferring to the upper part of her lid.”
Apparently, Teddi had been waiting some time for this procedure. “Even though she wanted this procedure for a bit, we wanted to wait until she was medically cleared for it by her oncologists,” the surgeon explained. “She got the ‘all-clear’ and we were able to perform the procedure under local anesthesia. Just like everything else in her life, Teddi handled it like a true champ!”
Teddi called the procedure “easy peasy.”
In an update from after it was complete, she seemed happy with the results and said she would share more updates later. She also revealed that she had immunotherapy scheduled later in the week.
“Stitches come out Thursday, I have immunotherapy Wednesday, this week is planned out to a T,” she told her followers.
Ahead of that appointment, she shared another update with her followers and admitted that she was feeling pretty anxious. “It’s immunotherapy today, up bright and early,” she said on October 14 before adding that it was “scan day, which always makes me a little bit more nervous because I haven’t had my scans done in about four months.”
She said waiting for her results is always “the worst part” and makes her “the most anxious.”
Later, she shared a photo that showed her with a cold pack on her eyes because of her recent eye lift procedure. “All the cancer scans came back good,” she wrote. “Immunotherapy time and ice time for blephy poo.”
READ NEXT: John Mellencamp’s Daughter Says Her Dad Gives Same Birthday Gift To The Kids Every Year
