“Surely that can’t be real?” one viewer wrote after taking a look at the “horribly stitched” face of Khloe Kardashian.
The TV personality pulled back the curtain on her deeply personal medical journey dealing with a cancerous tumor that developed on her cheek. The model shared graphic images of her post-surgery status last Sunday (May 4), giving her fans a close-up look at her scars.
Despite crediting her surgeon for doing a “stellar job,” many users felt uncomfortable by the stitching which they felt was not done in a competent manner.
“I’m not medically trained nor do I intend to ever stitch a wound but I can sew reasonably well and I know full well I could do a better job than that!” a netizen said.
“Who in the world would make those kinds of stitches on someone‘s face?” another asked.
Khloe Kardashian gave fans a close look a the post-op scars of her 2022 skin cancer tumor removal
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
The 40-year-old model uploaded the photos as a way to promote the services of 7Q Spa in Glendale, California, as well as to give a shout-out to her surgeon at the time.
In 2022, what she initially mistook for a persistent pimple turned out to be melanoma.
“After noticing a small bump on my face and assuming it was something as minor as a zit, I decided to get it biopsied seven months after realizing it was not budging,” she explained.
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
As Bored Panda previously reported, Khloe underwent immediate surgery after her diagnosis, and credited Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Garth Fisher for not only removing the tumor but minimizing the scarring.
“Not only did he remove the tumor and made sure that I am completely cancer-free, but he did such a stellar job on making my scar as small and beautiful as possible,” she wrote.
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
Despite the removal, the procedure left Khloe with a visible indentation on her cheek—a permanent reminder of her ordeal and a complicated turn of events for a member of a family many consider to be “obsessed with perfection.”
Khloe regularly injects filler into her cheek to make up for the volume lost because of the procedure
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
Khloe then “waited nine months after surgery to get the indentation filled,” due to her doctor advising her to hold off on any cosmetic corrections until it was medically safe.
After that time period had passed, the model had her cheek sculpted with acid fillers. While the exact compound used has not been specified, the two most commonly used fillers use hyaluronic acid or polylactic acid.
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
Hyaluronic fillers, sold under brands like Juvéderm and Resylane, are easier to dissolve and provide immediate results that last between 6 and 18 months.
Polylactic fillers, on the other hand, can last from 1 to 2 years and stimulate the body’s natural collagen production.
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
Regardless of material used, the model thanked the team at 7Q Spa, and expressed complete satisfaction with the work they had done to contour her cheek and restore some of the symmetry she had lost during the surgery.
“It will always be something we have to fill due to the mass but she has a magic wand if you ask me,” she said.
Skin cancer can come back, so patients are encouraged to regularly evaluate previously affected areas
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
Khloe had struggled with the threat of skin cancer for most of her adult life. For instance, when she was 19 years old, she had a similar tumor removed from her back. The experience made her keenly aware of the importance of regular self-examination and annual checkups.
“I’ve gone through this process a couple of times and I am so grateful that most moles have not been cancerous,” she said.
Image credits: Khloé Kardashian
According to New York dermatologist, Ariel Ostad, the likelihood of melanoma coming back depends on how late the cancer is caught.
“The deeper the melanoma, the more chance of it spreading and coming back locally and that’s why early detection leads to a cure,” he explained.
“Unfortunately skin cancer can come back. There’s no method that has a 100 percent cure rate,” Ostad added, explaining that patients have to regularly evaluate previously affected areas, conducting a full-body skin cancer screening at least once a year to make sure there’s no recurrence.
"Sad." Netizens took to social media to sympathize with Khloe's situation
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