Thando Thabethe sets the record straight about the R5m surgery lawsuit against her

Radio and TV personality Thando Thabethe has responded to allegations she did not pay for her aesthetic surgery. This follows a R5 million lawsuit against her and her friend and TV producer Tumi Maimela which was filed by Vivari Aesthetics, as reported by Sunday World on Sunday, 20 August.

The 947 radio host said that the matter is with her legal team and they are the ones looking into the dispute over the alleged unpaid surgery bill. Sunday World reported that Maimela, whose company Redwood Productions is behind Thabethe’s reality show titled Unstoppable Thabooty, wrote to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) following their near-death experiences after surgeries conducted by Vivari Aesthetics.

According to the lawsuit by the cosmetic surgery clinic, Thabethe and Maimela went under the knife in exchange for airtime and marketing on Unstoppable Thabooty on BET Africa, DStv channel 129.

The clinic said that it agreed to perform a 360 liposuction surgery worth over R180 000 on Thabethe and a 360 liposuction, mastopexy, and Brazilian Butt Lift, worth over R340 000, on Maimela. However, Vivari claims that the pair did not give it airtime in the reality show, neither were the bills settled as they reportedly only received R100 000 from Thabethe and Maimela. In Maimela’s complaint, which was partly dismissed by the HPCSA, she said the surgeries were conducted on 25 November 2022 and took longer than they were told they would. She also claimed that the clinic was under-equipped, lacked post-surgical care and was not in good standing to operate patients.

According to the letter, Vivari Aesthetics was negligent, as Thabethe reportedly bled profusely after undergoing liposuction.

“I was in the room when my friend was bleeding and it looked like a little waterfalls of blood gushing out of her. This was extremely traumatic for me to witness. She needed me. That is when Dr Anushka said that Vivari is not .In addition, Maimela said she was admitted to Life Fourways hospital after she suffered heart failure allegedly due to excessive bleeding from her surgeries. Maimela further said that the facility’s doctor, Anushka Reddy, confirmed that the nurses at the facility were not registered.