Brazilian plastic surgeon has revealed details of the procedure that temporarily left Usher's wife, Tameka Raymond, in a medically-induced coma.

Two months after giving birth to the couple's second son, Raymond, 38, traveled to Brazil to have liposuction on her stomach, says Ellen Dasptry, a rep for Sao Paulo plastic surgeon Dr. Silvio Sterman, who was to have performed the surgery.

"Tameka Raymond came here on Friday to do a liposuction. Shortly after she went under [general] anesthesia, she suffered a cardiac arrest," Dasptry tells PEOPLE.


Induced Coma
Raymond never had the liposuction. According to Dasptry, after her cardiac arrest, Raymond was immediately revived and placed in an induced coma.

"When an attack like this happens, the doctors put the patient to sleep... and make sure that everything is okay and that there has not been any damage," explains Dasptry. "This is the protocol every time and this is what was done."

After a day in the ICU, Raymond was transferred to a larger facility, Sao Paulo's Hospital Sírio-Libanês, considered one of the finest in Brazil, says Dasptry. After nearly a week of recovery, she "is doing very well," says the surgeon's spokeswoman.


Usher Flies to Her Side
On Saturday, Usher canceled a performance at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala to fly to Brazil to be at his wife's side. Davis told partygoers the singer had to leave due to "serious injury in the family." Usher and Raymond have two sons: Usher Raymond V, 1, and Naveid Ely Raymond, who is two months old. Raymond also has three sons from a previous relationship.

On Feb. 8, Usher's rep Simone Smalls issued a statement on the star's behalf: "Tameka Raymond is in stable condition after suffering complications from routine surgery in Brazil. Her husband Usher is with her at the hospital. No further details will be released, and the family requests privacy at this difficult time."

Raymond's case has stirred debate within the medical world over whether a wait of two months between giving birth and undergoing liposuction is sufficiently long.


Surgery Too Soon?
According to New York City cosmetic surgeon and dermatologist Neil Sadick, "The general feeling is no abdominal surgery should be performed within eight weeks because of the distension and inflammation of the abdomen/uterus due to pregnancy. [Women] should wait at least three months postpartum before undergoing any type of procedures to the abdomen... They would need to get clearance from their OB/GYN and internist."

But Dasptry says Raymond met with her Brazilian surgeon Feb. 6 to undergo tests and was determined to be "in good health." "In plastic surgery all over the world, there is no rule that says a woman can't have plastic surgery performed two months after childbirth," says Dasptry.

c'mon people.....stop with the surgery already

americans are nuts

ever hear of exercise?

japanrocks said:

That's right. Not to diss her, I'm glad she's ok I guess, but this surgery for everything is out of control

I hope she's okay and that everything works out.

japanrocks said:

So Americans are "nuts" but more plastic surgery procedures occur in Brazil and Argentina, which is prolly why she went there in the first damn place. I know it's en vogue around here to bash Americans but plastic surgery is not unique to us so stop with the generalizing.

What I want to know is why is her surgeon discussing her case with the media???
[Edited 2/12/09 19:37pm]

I wonder if Usher knew that Tameka was gonna have this surgery.

You can exercise all you want, but that is not going to drastically improve the stomach area of a woman after she has had kids-especially not 5 like Tameka. Most people don't have Heidi Klum's genetics.

scriptgirl said:

There are things you can do to reduce the effects kids have on your body. while it was Tameka's body to do with as she pleased, NOTHING is worth almost dying for, I will never look at myself on want to cut on me.

Vendetta1 said:

Factor into that all the trash folks talked about Tameka before she and Usher even got married, how they called her ugly.

I wonder how much that had to do with it.

This same situation happened to Kanye West's mother. Am I correct?

My guess-a whole helluva lot.Those gossip blogs are vicious.

why go to brazil when you're married to usher and can go to the best plastic surgeon in hollywood?

angel345 said:

Absolutely! That's exactly what came to mind when I read this story, and unfortunately she was not so lucky!

alphastreet said:

Outside of Atlanta, a lot of African Americans from the United States prefer to work with plastic surgeons in in Latin and South America because the doctors are exceptionally skilled at working with issues unique to black skin, such as keloid scarring. I would imagine it would have been nearly impossible for her to get a procedure done in Atlanta to given they live there, and given the scope of privacy infringement typical of today's tabloid media . In any event, I remember when my sister (who lives in Atlanta) had her child by C-section, she was lucky enough to have a Brazilian OBGYN who also was a also plastic surgeon...that doctor stitched her up so flawlessly she has only the faintest hint of a scar that leaves all the women we know going like this:


when they see it. By the time the second baby was coming, my sister was in a heavy funk because her beloved Brasilera quit the hospital to go into private practice as a full time plastic surgeon...being in Hotlanta, the land of all things Chocolate-y Beautiful, homegirl realized how much money there was in servicing a city chock full of affluent African Americans in the celeb world based there.

Damn! This is so unfortunate.

japanrocks said:

It seems like she should have at least waited awhile before rushing into this surgery.

scriptgirl said:

Who says they have to?

It's a fact of human physiology that the ol' belly's going to stretch a bit with a pregnancy, and there's a high chance it's not going to look the same afterwards. Why is there this pressue for women with kids to have flat bellies when everyone knows it's unrealistic for many of them?

ThreadBare said:Factor into that all the trash folks talked about Tameka before she and Usher even got married, how they called her ugly.

I wonder how much that had to do with it.

If you notice, most of these African-American male celebrities are either married to European women or of mixed race. To add, even very light-skinned. When they see two African-Americans, especially if they're dark-skinned, they tend to be more critical and to them, out of the norm. The PR's have been behind a lot of arranged dates and marriages, since the golden days of hollywood, especially if you're a big name. They call it status. They've also done it to cover up the star's sexuality. It does affect how the masses think. Whether they're in love or not, arranged or not, it's all about what you normally see.
[Edited 2/13/09 5:20am]

To think she would have left five young children behind. Very sad.

Once upon a time people accepted or at least dealt with the fact that their bodies change. Women are dying and disfiguring themselves to look like they're eternally 18 while many men continue to just get fat and wrinkly. Is it really worth it?

scriptgirl said:

Or her surgeon. Most of these people have surgery to bounce back that quick from having a baby. It's all smoke and mirrors.

He must have known cuz who she gon leave five kids with while she's out of the country. Plus I bet she flew on a private plain to avoid being seen.
[Edited 2/13/09 8:26am]

JackieBlue said:

If you're in the public eye and you want to minimize criticism plastic surgery is unavoidable.

SCNDLS said:

And that's what's so sad. Women are supposed to have some fullness. They're women, not dolls! As soon as woman has a little pooch the stupid tabloids are questioning if it’s a baby bump. God forbid if she just had too many French fries for lunch.
[Edited 2/13/09 9:10am]

This is very unfortunate, but I'm not the least bit surprised. With more and more people willing to have plastic surgery, these types of incidents will only continue to grow and harm or kill people.

I have recently lost 50 lbs and I did with good old fashion eating right and some light exercise. I'm so happy I didn't spend a ton of money on a gimmick diet or put myself in danger with surgery. It's so much more rewarding too. It's too bad more people don't put out the effort rather than taking the quick way out.

Empress said:

That's wonderful! Congrats to you!

JackieBlue said:

Wow, thank you very much. I'm 45 and was overweight and out of shape for about 6 years, so I finally decided to do something about it. I feel so much better now.

Glad she is doing well. The world has been lulled into a false sense of security regarding invasive procedures in general. Although the results of plastic surgery are superficial the risk is real. Anytime a procedure involves anesthetizing a patient the potential for serious adverse events increases exponentially. People really are to trusting with their health, period. You would be surprised how many times I talk to a patient and inquire into what they're taking or why was a particular drug prescribed and in return I get a nonplussed look and generic response of "I don't know the DR prescribed it"
While I'm on my soapbox..do you know the most addictive class of drugs legally sold in the US is prescribed in large part to kids? Care to guess what it is?
Amphetamines, in the form of Ritalin, Adderall, Metadate, Vyvanse, etc..for Attention Deficit Disorder! Kids are hooked on this drug before they attend their 5th grade graduation. Just a few days ago had a patient tell me her kid developed a "tick" (picture random neck jerking) from taking one of these. Told her maybe we should look at some alternatives. Didn't want to hear it, just changed it to something else and kept moving.
Ok I'm done
A friendly PSA

I heard lipo patients don't undergo general anesthesia, but local anesthesia. And the procedure of lipo causes much more tumour to the body than something like a boob or nose job. It makes me wonder how Janet is still alive if she is forever going through the procedure everytime she adds on the pounds!!

whatsgoingon said:

Have you ever seen a liposuction procedure? It is one of the most traumatic and violent procedures I've ever witnessed. I can't imagine voluntarily putting my body through such an ordeal. And to think it will more than likely all come back.
[Edited 2/13/09 12:29pm]

whatsgoingon said:

It's an either or depending on the type of procedure and the amount of fat removed. I speculate that she probably was getting a lipo and at least a tummy tuck, which would require general anesthesia due to the nature of the procedure and the amount of time it would take.

JackieBlue said:

I know I would never choose voluntary surgery of any kind.
I've accepted my ugliness.....

popgodazipa said:

I heard either stapeling or lipo makes fat deposits in other area's of your body sometimes is that true?Also user must of approved....
[Edited 2/13/09 13:05pm]