Brandi Glanville is preparing to undergo an intensive exploratory facial surgery she has described as having her “face taken off” for a “power wash” beneath her skin.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 53, revealed on her Brandi Glanville Unfiltered podcast last week that surgeon Dr. Carlo Henrado will perform the procedure this Friday. The operation comes after nearly two years of severe facial swelling, suspected parasitic infection, and the recent discovery of a benign tumor in one of her facial lymph nodes.
Glanville’s health troubles began in July 2023, when she first noticed dramatic swelling and changes to her face. By December 2024, she had publicly shared her belief that she was harboring a parasite. Earlier this year, she said that she traces the infection to ruptured breast implants, theorizing that leaking silicone clogged her lymph nodes and blocked proper drainage, creating conditions for the facial infection to take hold.
On her podcast, Glanville outlined what the surgery will entail. “Dr. Carlo Henrado is taking my face off on Friday and going to do an exploratory surgery to kind of do a power wash under my skin,” she said. She added her own unsettling observation about the suspected growth: “I think it’s alive, personally, because it moves when it wants.”
The reality star admitted to mixed emotions about the impending operation. She said she was “scared to death” of having the surgery done, but excited at the same time.
Co-host James Maas attempted to clarify the surgical approach during the podcast discussion. “So he’ll be able to peel back your face to determine whether it’s fungal balls or…” he offered, before Glanville interjected that the surgeon would simply “cut it out.”
The procedure, which Glanville noted is “more intensive than a facelift,” involves lifting back facial tissue, removing suspected growths, and aggressively cleaning the affected area. She described the surgeon’s approach in vivid terms: “He’s going in there with a power washer basically, and knives.”
Following the cleaning, the surgical plan includes a regenerative component. Glanville explained that her blood would be spun and processed for a platelet treatment to be applied “on the inside of her face.”
The surgeon has identified two specific areas of concern that could represent fungal growths or, in Glanville’s characterization, “something alive” beneath her skin. She relayed his optimistic framing of the procedure’s potential impact. “If I can cut the head off the beast, the other stuff, we’ll be able to get,” the doctor told her.
In an earlier podcast episode, Glanville revealed that the surgical investigation will extend beyond the facial tissue itself. Doctors also plan to examine her gums, sinuses, and eustachian tubes as part of the broader effort to address her chronic symptoms. “They’re going to go in and hopefully put a balloon in my eustachian tubes and clear that out so that everything can drain,” she said in the previous episode.
Glanville has not publicly confirmed or named the exact medical designation of the procedure she will undergo.
The reality star has expressed hope that this operation could prove definitive. She characterized it as potentially being “the surgery” that finally resolves her prolonged health crisis, which has included not only the visible facial swelling but the June diagnosis of a benign facial lymph node tumor.