Laurita shared a video after waking up from a 5-hour surgery to get a facelift and neck lift, saying, "I can't feel a thing!"
Jacqueline Laurita is giving a glimpse of her latest cosmetic surgery, showing fans how she looks immediately after a facelift and neck lift.
The former Real Housewives of New Jersey star, 55, posted a video and photo of herself to Instagram Monday, May 5, after a five-hour procedure. In the clip, she is bandaged and has an oxygen tube in her nose, telling followers, "I'm just waking up after surgery. She says she feels "great" because she "can't feel a thing."
Laurita wrote a lengthy caption alongside the post, giving a shout-out to Dr. T. Y. Steven Ip, who completed the surgery, and telling followers that she was still feeling a bit numb.
"I’m still waiting for the other half of my face to wake up that was worked on last," she wrote. "Should be soon! That’s why it’s not moving yet! Lol!"
Laurita also said she was completing special exercises "to keep the circulation going," including rotating ankle rolls and knee lifts, and had coated her skin in Aquaphor post-surgery. The RHONJ alum even explained that she had to keep her head "up and straight forward" after the procedure as part of her recovery protocol.
The next steps, Laurita shared, would be the removal of her catheter and drains, after which she'd "get to go home bright and early." The Bravo alum finished off her post by saying that she wanted to be transparent about her procedure and recovery.
"I want everyone to see the reality of how this process goes and how we heal! Take care! 🫶💕," Laurita wrote.
When a fan asked in the comments section of her post if she'd been in an accident, Laurita revealed the specific procedures she'd undergone, replying, "no! But some may call it that. I got a facelift, Neck lift and CO2 laser!"
In another reply in her comments section, Laurita said the laser treatment helps with "skin resurfacing" and targets "everything from fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, freckles, scars, acne scarring etc."
Laurita has never shied away from discussing her cosmetic procedures. In 2017, she spoke with PEOPLE about her fourth breast surgery, a cup size reduction and breast tissue reduction that also marked her switch from silicone implants to Ideal Implants, which are made of saline solution.
At the time, Laurita reduced her cup size to a C and removed some of her own breast tissue. She told PEOPLE she underwent her very first breast augmentation after the birth of her first child.
"When I was younger I always wondered why people got their boobs done, I would think 'That's so gross,' and then I had a kid," she said at the time. "After I had my daughter my natural full C-cup boobs were gone. I lost my whole upper chest, my boobs were sagging and it was really gross. And I always wanted to put them back up there and I couldn't really afford to do it until I was 30 years old."
Laurita has also undergone a nose job, tummy tuck, and previous neck lift, and had her upper eye lids done before the 2016 Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion. The reality star is also a fan of noninvasive procedures like Botox and fillers.
In 2019, Laurita underwent a "liquid nose job," in which filler was injected into her face to "even out the bridge of her nose," per Bravo. At the time, she also received cheek and jawline filler, and posted about the experience of her triple procedure on social media.
On her Instagram Stories, Laurita shared a message for the critics.
"Another thing, for those of you that are always like, you know, 'Oh my god, you can't even make an expression or move your forehead,' I really don't wanna move my forehead," she said, per Bravo. "I mean, that's why I do it. So you're just gonna have to deal with it or don't look at me. It's just how I like it."