Is Plastic Surgery Responsible for Kanye West’s Drug Addiction?

Kanye West is known for speaking his mind even if no one else really understands what he is trying to discuss. During a recent appearance on TMZ Live, he made a number of comments that shocked the public.

A Public Plastic Surgery Admission

One of the comments that caught many of his fans by surprise was West’s admission that he was addicted to opioids before he was hospitalized back in 2016. He says that his addiction started after he underwent a liposuction procedure. One of the reasons he had liposuction was the fact that West did not want to be called “fat” like his brother in law, Rob Kardashian.

According to Kanye, he was “drugged out” when meeting President Trump in 2016 because of his addiction to opioids. In addition, West told TMZ that he “had plastic surgery because I was trying to look for y'all. I got liposuction because I didn't want y'all to call me fat just like y'all did to Rob at the wedding and made him fly home before me and Kim got married. I didn't want y'all to call me fat so I got liposuction and they gave me opioids.”

The Addiction Begins

After his surgery, the addiction began with West getting hooked on the opioid pills. He started by taking two of them per day following the surgery. Many of his fans found it odd that Kanye wanted to have plastic surgery since his mother, Donda West, died in 2007 due to complications she suffered after undergoing a number of plastic surgery procedures that included liposuction.

How can patients avoid becoming addicted to their pain medication? According to Dr. Kevin Tehrani, a plastic surgeon from New York City, "Postoperative pain control is important for patient comfort and safety must be followed regarding keeping with postoperative instructions. However, because of the national abuse of narcotics, I prescribe very few postoperative narcotic pain medications to be used during the immediate postoperative period. Plus, they are not to be refilled on a regular basis. Most of our patients only require a few pills and subsequently switch to non-opioid pain medications like Tylenol or Motrin."

What is Liposuction?

Liposuction reshapes the body through the targeting and removal of excess fat. The procedure can be performed through a number of techniques including:

• Traditional Liposuction – A suction device is attached to a small instrument known as a cannula. The surgeon makes small incisions in the skin before inserting the cannula into fatty areas between the skin and muscle. The fat is suctioned out through the cannula and the doctor also moves the cannula in order to break apart specific areas of fat. The result is an improved patient body contour.
• Power Assisted Liposuction – This technique is also known as PAL. Power assisted liposuction is performed using a cannula that has a vibrating tip that breaks apart the fat cells. PAL is able to be performed with smaller incisions, while removing more fat, because the cannula is moved with smaller motions.
• Tumescent Liposuction – A solution of saline, lidocaine and epinephrine is injected by the doctor into the layer of fat. The amount of fluid that is injected is normally three times the amount of fat that is scheduled to be removed. The solution swells the fat cells which make it easier to isolate these fat cells and remove them. The solution also works to ease any discomfort that is created without having to undergo the risks associated with general anesthesia.
• Ultrasonic Liposuction – A specialized cannula is used that emits ultrasonic sound waves into the fat deposits. The sound waves liquefy the fat cells so they are easier to remove. This doctor is able to remove dense fat deposits that are large as well as tighten the surrounding skin.
• Super-Wet Liposuction – This is a variation of the tumescent technique and it involves less fluid injection than the tumescent method. The amount of fluid is usually equal to the amount of fat being removed.

How did he Quit opioids?

After running out of his prescription medicine, West approached his cannabis supplier to get him more opioids. Kanye only quit taking pills cold turkey after the dealer told him that the pills “kill genius”.

Just a few days later, Kanye was admitted to a hospital for treatment. By the time he left the hospital, he was taking seven prescribed pills each day.

For now, Kanye says he is supposed to take three unnamed prescribed pills per day. However, he admitted to only taking them maybe once a week. When asked by TMZ why he was not taking his pills as prescribed, West replied “Y'all have me scared, of myself, my vision so I took some pills so I wouldn't go to hospital and prove everyone right. We are drugged out. We are following other people's opinion. We are controlled by the media. And today it all changes.”

As with all things Kanye, it remains to be seen if he makes any additional remarks about his addiction or his liposuction procedure.

MA