Pete Burns on his plastic surgery: pus squirting out, science fiction horror


Nightline had a “Celebrity Plastic Surgery” segment on Tuesday, followed by a ABC Primetime “Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Too Far” special on Wednesday. (You can watch the Nightline episode online if you’re in the US. That part starts at 8:30. Most of the segments from the “Celebrity Plastic Surgery” special are here, or you can watch it in several parts online.) Nightline spoke with a celebrity plastic surgeon named Dr. Garth Fisher who has been on Extreme Makeover, used to be married to Brooke Burke, and has fixed botched plastic surgery for Lisa Rinna and Bruce Jenner. They focused on celebrities who have admitted to the work they’ve had done, and even though we’re aware of these people it was still pretty shocking.

Dr. Fischer estimates that around 70% of celebrities have had plastic surgery. Kendra Wilkinson, Holly Madison, Kourtney Kardashian, Jenna Jameson and Jordan are among the women whose breasts Dr. Fisher has done. He has a “teardrop” technique that supposedly makes cleavage look more natural. He also fixes a lot of overaggressive and unnatural looking surgery from other doctors, and advises clients against getting unnecessary surgery. Of Heidi Montag’s work, he said “she looked great before the surgery… if she came into my office I probably wouldn’t have offered those things to her. We turn down… probably 40% of the people who walk into here. You really have to be the good doctor and protect them no matter who they are.”

heidimontag
Then they had that interview with Heidi Montag you’ve probably heard about, where she mildly trash talked her now-deceased surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan, and said “I definitely think I should have been way more informed. I think that doctors should really walk you through all aspects of it, not just the glamorous side of it… Doctors, it’s like they’re selling you cookies or something… if I could take it back I would.” Radar has more on Heidi’s segment on the Celebrity Plastic Surgery Special if you’re interested.

There was some coverage of Lisa Rinna’s lip re-do, which was shown on her TV Land Reality show, Lisa loves Harry, then we got to see Pete Burns. If you’re not familiar with this guy, he’s the British former lead singer for the band Dead or Alive (they had that big hit “You Spin Me Round” in 1985) and has been on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. Burns’ face is so outrageously distorted that he looks like a marionette. He’s had “dozens” of injections and procedures, including a botched nose job, silicone lip implants that got infected, steroids, filler and tissue reconstruction. He described some truly disgusting complications from his surgery. (Warning on this description, it turned my stomach.) There are also some quotes from Pete below that were shown on the Celebrity Plastic Surgery special. Pete may look completely unnatural to us, but he seems to either like it or not notice. He continues to get a ton done, and said that he has his surgeon on speed dial.

peteburns2

On why his botched nose job didn’t stop him
Sometimes you’re just unlucky and it was fixed. If it goes wrong and you can fix it, I don’t see why it’s any big drama.

On why he continues to get plastic surgery & injections
I see it as an artform. I see myself as my own clay, and I was remodeling it.

On when the silicone in his lips got infected
I developed rashes around the mouth, then I developed lumps. [The plastic surgeon] just kept injecting me [with steroids]
My lip was at least 18 inches away from my face, the lower lip… When you wake up and your adam’s apple has come out… further than your jaw and one side of your face is so swollen you can’t open your eye and there’s yellow discharge, not just leaking squirting with a hiss it would squirt from my face. It was like one of the worse science fiction or horror movies you could ever see.

I went as far as LA and NY to see specialists and all they could recommend was amputation…

Narrator: eventually [Pete’s] lips were saved by an Italian surgeon who specializes in rebuilding faces eaten away by cancer. Burns endured two years of intensive treatment.

On fixing the botched lip implants
It was removing what amounted to pints of fluid that my body produced trying to fight this substance that was in me. I had 11 kidney stones, near liver failure, thrombosis, nearly lost sight in one eye, I couldn’t eat food.. so for two years like that.

Burns received a $700,000 settlement from the doctor who gave him those lip implants and kept injecting him with steroids instead of properly treating him. He was unable to tour or promote his greatest hits album and admits that he was suicidal at the time.

I was just talking to a friend today about this. She used to work at a plastic surgeon’s office and told me that the main concern that people have is that they will look very fake or will suffer terrible consequences. As for how painful various procedures are, she said that it varies by the person like anything else. Some people don’t think it’s a big deal afterwards while others (like Heidi Montag) think the pain is awful.

We always hear these horror stories of plastic surgery gone wrong, and we see people like Pete Burns and this poor model (video below) who look plastic and pulled afterwards. We don’t know about good plastic surgery, though, because when people have minor procedures and don’t go overboard you often can’t tell. I know that I would love to look as refreshed and natural as say, Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep. Don’t hate on me for saying either of those women had something done, I think they did and that it’s very subtle, but maybe that’s how gorgeous you look when you take care of yourself and don’t mess with nature.

Heidi Montag blames her doctor

Janice Dickinson loves her look

Model trying to fix her plastic surgery mistakes

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peteburns4

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75 Responses to “Pete Burns on his plastic surgery: pus squirting out, science fiction horror”

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  1. Mia says:

    Pete Burns’ story turned my stomach. Absolutely horrifying. But the worst part? He’s still having it done. It’s definitely a sickness.

  2. Toe says:

    I really wanna know what started this….trend. It’s just horrible.
    I can understand fixing a few things….but nowadays it’s really getting out of hand.

  3. TeeTee says:

    I watched it when it aired, it grossed me out..

    let this be a lesson to Kim Kartrashian

  4. lin234 says:

    Yikes! Like everyone there are things I wish I could change but they are minor issues in the grand scheme of things.

    I guess this is what happens when money isn’t an issue and insecurity is.

    I’m all for people having major surgery if it helps them: like breast reduction for the back, reconstructive surgery…

    But with the possibility with things going wayyy south when it comes to unnecessary surgery, I’d rather not take the risk.

  5. bellaluna says:

    Um, it’s “pus.” I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw that title.

    Heidi needs to shut up. Of course it’s her plastic surgeon’s fault; her hero, her saviour it now to blame. Especially now that he’s dead and can’t defend himself. More shameless behaviour from the twit.

  6. Stronzilla says:

    Is that a nail in his forehead? If those are his lips after they were saved then his mouth must have looked like his butt before!

  7. Nancy says:

    can you PLEASE correct the spelling? It’s PUS – Not PUSS – I mean – umm .. please

  8. Kaiser says:

    I fixed it, sorry about that!

  9. bellaluna says:

    Thank you Kaiser! Usually I’m not the spelling/grammar nazi, because people don’t like that. But, eww! 😉

  10. MarenGermany says:

    Awww POOR heidi. she is the real victim here, isnt she?
    btw: Vintage Montag/Pratt to shove over the blame to somebody who is dead.
    CLASSY!

  11. lucy2 says:

    I saw the beginning of that show – Heidi totally threw her doctor under the bus – now that he’s deceased and unable to defend himself. Just listening to her, I knew she was full of bs – I’m sure they warned her about all of it, but I bet she didn’t listen, knowing all the attention she’d get from this. Of course, the doctor shouldn’t have done so much on her, especially all at once, so he was not blameless.

    Holy crap, that’s a MAN?!? Wow. I feel sorry for people like that – there’s some kind of weird self hatred or something involved in making you choose to do that to yourself, and instead of getting the right kind of help, they just keep messing with their face. Sad.

  12. Sigh. says:

    ITAW everyone! —

    I don’t particularly like Dickinson, but her candor was a relief after that damn Montag-chick. She annoyed me by blaming a now deceased man who can’t defend himself or his work.

    Re the pain: It’s like she didn’t know things getting sliced, shaved, and/or yanked from the human body will eventually hurt, and the more of it done at once, the more pain. Such. An. Idiot.

    I won’t even get into how she then started pinning things on her mom like she’s a bulletin board…

    Re the amount done at once: She’s mad cos the novelty of multiple surgeries didn’t make her appearance or interest in her/her career any better. Sour grapes on her part.

  13. Eleonor says:

    I don’t want to imagine Pete Burns WITHOUT make up.

  14. jc126 says:

    I feel like I’m going to vomit after reading Pete Burns’ interview. He needs professional mental help.
    I don’t know if I’d ever get anything done to my face – so many of these people look so fake, and they certainly didn’t spare any expense on their surgery, either. I’m pretty sure I’d like a breast lift after I have kids, the fates willing, but probably nothing to my face. Can they sand down wrinkles? I’d try that. But messing with “lifting” things comes out strange a lot.

  15. photo jojo says:

    I think Burns has to have some sort of body dysmorphic disorder as well. I hope he’ll get some psychological help for it.

  16. mslewis says:

    I have no idea who Pete Burns is but GEESH!!! That is one ugly human right there. If those lips are “fixed” I shutter to think what the previous set looked like. Holy jeebus!

    As for Heidi . . . I think she might be planning a lawsuit against her late surgeon’s estate. She has been saying some awful things about him plus she released those emails from him. Don’t know if she can win a suit since she was over 21 and she did say wonderful things about the doctor after the surgeries. Interesting to see how this turns out.

    I personally don’t understand why anybody would get plastic surgery on a voluntary basis. I know a woman, just an ordinary woman with a regular job, who has had several proceedings done (nose, eyes, lips, etc.) that insurance didn’t pay for. She saved her money and instead of vacations, she got plastic surgery. Me, I went on vacations to Paris!! I always thought our conversations were funny: I showed pics of the Louvre and she showed pictures of her new nose!!! People are funny.

  17. Mia135 says:

    I actually walked right past Pete Burns once in Regent Street.

    He didn’t look too happy at all, and even mildly embarassed – I guess people would have been staring at him all day.

  18. Cheyenne says:

    Jesus, I thought that was Jocelyn Wildenstein.

  19. guesty says:

    heidi is shameless. really shameless.

    as for pete burns…he looks like a cross betweem octomom & idk even know what. talk about dysmorphic disorder.

  20. Sarah Michele says:

    OMG – if that man thinks he looks good, he needs more mental help than plastic surgery. That was disgusting – he’s he should go back underground so we don’t have to see him ever again. He looks horrible and still wants to continue? get help.

  21. photo jojo says:

    Here’s a link to photos of Burns, including an original of him during his Dead or Alive days, about halfway down. http://www.butlersheetmetal.com/tinbasherblog/pete-burns-lips-cause-massive-traffic-explosion_533.html

  22. Bailey says:

    its quite unfortunate.
    and the blond one, please shut up!
    i will skip the video, the pictures alone are appetite suppressants.

  23. Jayna says:

    He has body dysmorphia. How could a physician in good conscience keep working on him until he doesn’t look human.

  24. Shannon says:

    I think anyone vain enough to have such radical plastic surgeries as these people is messed up in the head.

  25. Arlene says:

    awesome

  26. Arlene says:

    suck my naglas

  27. Stephy2585 says:

    Anyone think he looks like octomom?

  28. Kittypants says:

    Holy potatoes. I had no idea he was taking the surgery even further. The last recent picture I saw of him was extreme enough but this is just ridiculous. Horrifying doesn’t even begin to describe it.

  29. whattt says:

    wow thanks for posting! very interesting. so sad.

  30. ReallyRosie says:

    Every time I see him he has had so much more work done. I saw him on the British version of Trading Spouses. He really held my interest. There was a lot I liked about him and remember wishing that he felt more comfortable with his appearance. That he had more peace with that.

  31. MyLeNe says:

    It’s kim kardashian in 10 years 😛

  32. Bopa says:

    I think Pete needs counseling because he looked more like a woman when he dressed more like a man. He had feminine features and good makeup would have helped. Now he looks like a prop head from a horror movie.

  33. TaylorB says:

    Jayna,

    You are sooooo right. No doctor who took the oath in good faith (first do no harm) could continue to feed this illness and put him in danger in such a way. I understand people wanting to have plastic surgery or alter their bodies (tats, piercing, etc.), but there is a limit as to what a body and mind can and should endure and a point where the doctor should step back and evaluate if there are some deeper issues that need to be addressed before any further procedures should be done. This fella, and I am no shrink, seems to have crossed over from simple vanity to a form of self mutilation. I hope he ends up ok, as of now it is just sort of sad. Poor fella.

  34. Wresa says:

    “I guess this is what happens when money isn’t an issue and insecurity is.”

    Well said, lin234!

  35. wunderkindt says:

    Octomom Pete

  36. Liana says:

    he looks like the puppet from the “Saw” movies.

  37. Marianne says:

    You know, I’m glad that Heidi’s face has settled. She looks less plastic-y now.

  38. becky says:

    yeah, i thought surgeons were required by law to turn away patients they suspect have body dysmorphia issues, i think doctors who operate on him should take their licenses taken away. and 700,000 doesn’t seem like enough settlement money at all.

  39. Shay says:

    I’m surprised that they didn’t consider French ‘artist’ (if you can call it art that is), Orlan and all the cosmetic/surgical work she has had done that makes Pete Burns look relatively conventional.

  40. Maritza says:

    Peter Burns does look like an exaggerated version of the Octomom. At least Heidi still looks human but if she continues she’ll be looking just as bad.

  41. Jay says:

    I need to look away! Why can’t I look away?

  42. Tess says:

    I thought Pete was Octomom at first glance.

    Ew.

  43. Linda says:

    Come on, Halloween is over, we’re into Thanksgiving now. Get those Nazi Zombies out of here!

  44. jen says:

    Pete Burns looks like Cher. Poor Pete.

  45. Ruffian9 says:

    Pete Burns should be instutionalised. Obviously, there’s a serious mental health issue here. People that sick, I say deserve our pity.

  46. devilgirl says:

    http://www.janetcharltonshollywood.com/category/pete-burns/

    Midway down, the old face of Pete Burns. He was 80’s hot. What a freak now!

  47. lala in nYc says:

    wow, plastic surgery can really become an addiction.

    maybe a psych review should go hand-in-hand with a plastic surgeon app’t for first-timers and serial under-the-knifers

  48. ziggy says:

    70%? I’d wager more like 90% excepting those too young to get it done.

  49. lola lola says:

    Wow, he really looks like a cartoon fish.

  50. Ophelia says:

    It’s kind of ironic that there’s an ad for the show “Bridalplasty” on the homepage, a show which apparently has crazy brides that are so insecure that they’ll battle it out with other crazy brides to get a bucketload of Montag style multiple surgeries before they get married.
    And seriously, Pete Burns does have BDD, and I really hope some of these doctors lose their medical licenses. They’re taking advantage of him. Also, is he MTF or did he just happen to want to look like a (plastic) chick?

  51. Jag says:

    I thought that Burns was going to stop after his lip troubles; guess not, and that’s sad.

    My nose was broken at age 5 or 6, and I had a horrible bump on it that caused me a great loss of self-confidence for most of my life. My parents always promised to get it fixed for me, since they were responsible for not taking me to the doctor to have it set, so it healed incorrectly. When I was finally able and stable enough in a job to get it done, I interviewed 6 different cosmetic surgeons to finally find the one I liked. No one realizes that I’ve had my nose done unless I tell them. It wasn’t a light decision, and the pain was bad during recovery. So seeing these people who willy-nilly have so many things done at once, and especially those who were beautiful anyway, just astounds me. I don’t see how the surgeons who operate on people who are obviously suffering from a mental disorder sleep at night.

  52. My2Cents says:

    It so sad. Just so sad to watch someone do tht to themselves over and over again.

    As for Heidi.. Everyone needs to stop publishing her crap. I used to think she was a sad case just desperate for fame but now I know she is a vile disgusting human who would bad mouth a dead man to gain publicity. She is so wrong.

  53. telesma says:

    Jesus, what a tragedy he is. And he was so hot a quarter of a century ago. :/

  54. ria ferrari says:

    poor pete, he looks like OctoCher. very very sad.

  55. believer1211 says:

    I think this is sad all around. Heidi and Spencer are so desperate for fame its a shame. They wait once this man has passed on to blame him for her poor choices, that is just deplorable. How could she not know that having over ten surgeries in one day wouldn’t be uber painful, gimmie a break.

    Pete Burns should be blacklisted world wide by every plastic surgergeon’s office. It should be illegal to operate on him.

    @Stronzilla- “mouth must have looked like a butt”, HILARIOUS!!!

  56. Richi says:

    Heidi sounds soooo dumb & stupid! c’on now!! it is scary to go under the knife! I how Kim the trashcan would look right after surgery!??!!

  57. voodoobetty says:

    I love Pete. It doesnt surpise me that he still continues to go under the knife. He always has said he considers his face a piece of art and likes to rework it I admire that he never really tried to capitalize on the hell he went through with this botched lip job. Its been a long long time now and this story is old news in the UK. I love Pete and think he is just fantastic.

  58. Green Is Good says:

    Pete Burns was also in the Band Aide video “Do They Know It’s Christmas”.

    Tragic, He was a very attractive man. He had an Androgynous look to him. Same as Boy George, and it worked. Too bad he mangled his face so badly.

  59. voodoobetty says:

    Sorry Green, Pete Burns was not in Band Aid in 1984 that was Boy George and another transgendered mini-star Marilyn. Ive been a huge fan of Petes for years. He and Boy George didnt really get along and Boy being the bigger star would probably never have allowed Pete to be in it.

  60. DAHLIA47 says:

    His lips look so gross like they’re gonna fall off!

  61. Syko says:

    Wait, that’s a guy? Holy crap!

  62. gg says:

    One part of his lip freakiness is the way he draws the upper lip on way above the real lipline. Reminds me of a cartoon called Baby Huey about a baby duck. It’s an old whore makeup trick – looks very silly on anybody.

  63. girl says:

    Whoever Pete Burns surgeon is, it is pretty plane that he or she should never be allowed around anything sharper than a plastic butter knife.

    As for Heidi Montag, she acts as though she had never had plastic surgery before. Of course she knew what was involved including the pain and recover time, etc. She consented to this and now wants to act like a victim now that the man is dead? What an asshole.

  64. Bilal says:

    I love Pete burns regardless. He is soo intelligent and i totally understand what he means when he says that his outer is a contradiction to his inner. He is forcing his demons out which most of us try equally hard to keep hidden inside, so if you are into judging books by their covers then go for it, but do take a gander in the mirror before you point fingers.

  65. Bill Hicks is God says:

    Oh man, Pete…

    He looks like someone threw Octomom, Cher and Angelina Jolie in a blender on high, poured the resulting mixture in a mould and baked in a tanning booth at 375 degrees for 3 hours or “until done.”

  66. Bill Hick is God says:

    Syko, good to see ya back!

  67. Marnie says:

    It’s Oksana!!!!

  68. glo says:

    The Janice Dickinson interviewer — I think she scares him a little bit.

  69. Lola7 says:

    I cannot find the words………..

  70. 009 says:

    Well, it IS Heidi’s doc’s fault.
    Who in the right mind does TEN surgeries on one person in one day?? HE is responsible and he was in charge. Ethics, my @ss.. Everybody knows that stable person would not want a total makeover and plastic surgeons pray on ppl with issues.

  71. Trippin says:

    Wow!! He looks like one of the Spitting Image puppets from that old Phil Collins video “Land of Confusion.” What a damn shame.

  72. getoveryourselves says:

    Geez..some of these comments here are absolutely amazing..do you listen to the interview? I don’t think Pete wanted to end up looking like this. His plastic surgeon was (and probably still is) a butcher..Pete had a case of very bad luck.

    I don’t understand why some call it a disease – get over it. There are other celebrities who have had many other procedures (even more than Pete) who have been fortunate enough to not have the same fate as he.

    It’s a shame that he had this bad experience, wasn’t his fault and his plastic surgery continues to MAINTAIN and try to rectify the massive damage caused by his previous surgeon.

    Don’t assume that people have some sort of ‘disease’ or low self esteem because they don’t have the same boring, bland look as the majority of the population.

  73. it says:

    the funny part is Pete Burns says he’s not addicted to surgery. HA! he’s destroying his body and face and he doesn’t even realise, or care. i think you should just be happy with your body, because God gave it to you for a reason, and if you’re really unhappy, fix it naturally!

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