‘Botched’ Star Terry Dubrow Says Wife Heather Saved His Life After Medical Emergency

Dr. Terry Dubrow recently suffered a medical emergency that could have gotten very serious if it wasn’t for wife Heather Dubrow. The Botched doctor recounted the scary episode to TMZ, revealing that he and his Real Housewives of Orange County star wife were out to dinner in Los Angeles last Thursday when his speech began to slur.

While the odd affect lasted for less than a minute, Terry said his wife wouldn’t let it go, telling their son to call 911, despite the whole scene frustrating the plastic surgeon, who said he felt fine. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they took Terry’s vitals and cleared him, but Heather insisted they take him to the hospital. Terry, who was embarrassed by the situation, hopped out of the ambulance and refused, calling an Uber to take him home instead.

It was then that the Bravo star got a series of calls from his doctor friends, who had been contacted by Heather to convince Terry to go to the hospital to get checked out. When doctors did run tests, it was then they learned that Terry had actually suffered a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a brief blockage of blood flow to part of the brain that causes “a temporary period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke” lasting only a few minutes and not causing permanent damage.

Doctors also discovered Terry had a patent foramen ovale, or PFO, which Mayo Clinic defines as a hole in the heart that didn’t close the way it should have at birth. When a blood clot traveled through the PFO to Terry’s brain, he experienced the TIA, which could have been a full-blown stroke in the future if not diagnosed and treated. Doctors were luckily able to fix Terry’s PFO, and he’s already been cleared for workouts and to perform surgery. 

Just days before his TIA, Terry opened up to PopCulture.com about Season 8 of Botched and shifting attitudes towards type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, which is being used for weight loss. “I think these drugs are a breakthrough, they’re here to stay, but we don’t really know exactly how to use them,” he explained. “They have a lot more complications in non-diabetics than we really realize. But if we stop people from shaming people for using these, like they’re cheating, we will learn more quickly how to use them and be able to use them more effectively and safely. So let’s stop the Ozempic-shaming. Let’s learn how to use them and tell your doctor if you’re on these drugs.”