Dr. Pimple Popper Sandra Lee feared she’d ‘never do surgery’ again after stroke caused ‘PTSD’
Dr. Pimple Popper Sandra Lee feared she would “never do surgery” again after suffering a stroke in November 2025.
“I had a stroke four months ago, I’m OK now,” she told Page Six radio hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real on Thursday morning.
“In the beginning, I was like, ‘What am I going to do? Like, am I going on disability? Is this going to be it? I’m never doing a surgery again.’”
Lee, 55, candidly admitted to fearing the uncertainty of the future, adding, “You have a little PTSD cause it happened while I was actually taping the show.”
“It’s sort of associated in my mind with the show,” she continued, referring to her TLC reality series, “Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out.”
The TV personality shared that while she feels “99 percent better,” she realized “there’s a range” and “sometimes it gets a little worse” and “a little better.”
Lee has still been able to perform surgeries and “talk to people without looking insane,” she said. However, she still struggles with not being able to fully lift her left arm.
When asked if she knew what may have caused her stroke, the surgeon explained that high blood pressure and cholesterol run in her family.
“My father had a little stroke when he was about 60, so older than I am, but I’m mid-50s, which is hard for me to say, but that’s part of it,” she continued.
Lee admitted she’s neglected going to a physician to check her vitals, saying she tricked herself into believing she didn’t need to, as she looks and feels younger due to dermatologist treatment.
“For you to kind of say, ‘OK, maybe I should see a doctor for my blood pressure, my cholesterol, that sounds like a mold,’” she said.
The Lifetime star explained she hopes her story will “push others” to take care of themselves.
Lee previously revealed she had an ischemic stroke while working on Season 2 of her show.
Recalling the stroke, the TLC star told People that she thought she was experiencing a hot flash until she got “super sweaty” and didn’t feel like herself.
“As a physician, I couldn’t deny that I had slurred speech, that I was having weakness on one side, but I was like, ‘Well, this is a dream, right?’ More like a living nightmare,” she said.
To help with recovery, Lee has been in physical and occupational therapy.
