Savannah Guthrie underwent her third eye surgery in 17 months, hoping to finally repair the damage caused when her son Charley threw a toy train at her and tore her retina.
The 49-year-old host Today did not appear on the show on Tuesday morning and later revealed on Instagram that her absence was due to “one last little tiny eye surgery” that took place at the New York Presbyterian.
Savannah’s mother of two’s most recent procedure comes more than a year after she suffered a temporary loss of vision and a broken retina when her youngest child, Charley, now four years old, “threw a train ”on it. She has already undergone retinal detachment surgery and cataract follow-up surgery, as well as several laser treatments to try to repair the serious damage caused by the accident.
“Back to Business”: Savannah Guthrie underwent a third eye surgery 17 months after her son Charley threw a toy train at her and tore her retina
Oops! Today’s anchor eye problems began when her four-year-old son Charley accidentally threw a toy train (pictured) that tore at his retina in late November 2019.
However, Savannah seems to believe that the latter procedure marks the end of her long medical journey – which has been further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw cataract surgery postponed until July last year.
Sharing a black-and-white photo of her modeling a clear eye patch following the latest surgery, Savannah wrote, “One last little eye surgery and I’m in business again !!!”
She then paid tribute to her ophthalmologist, Dr. Ashley Brissette, for helping her regain her health.
It has been almost a year since Savannah’s last eye surgery, which took place in July 2020 following several postponements amid the pandemic.
At the time, Anchor Today acknowledged that it had quietly struggled with her vision, which had been left “distorted” and “blurred” by her injuries.
“It’s been a long time, I’m very excited,” Savannah said of the procedure. I feel like it’s Christmas morning, because if you remove this cataract, I can really see and I had a hard time seeing.
‘[My vision] it’s a bit distorted and then it has a wavy thing, and now I have this cataract, which is a blurry place. Once it eliminates the ambiguity, I think it will be much better. ‘
Anticipation: In July, Savannah shared her enthusiasm for the prospect of undergoing surgery to correct her cataract, a procedure that was postponed due to the pandemic.
Hard recovery: prior to cataract surgery, Savannah had to undergo retinal reassignment surgery and several rounds of laser treatment
The TV host was quick to add that her symptoms were incredibly “common” – and that many people undergoing retinal resection surgery end up with cataracts.
“So it seems that if you have retinal surgery, it’s very, very common to have cataracts, so it happened to me,” she explained.
A cataract is a cloudy area of the eye lens that occurs when proteins begin to break down and clump together. Cataracts can make a person’s vision blurred, blurred, or less colorful and can lead to problems with reading or daily activities.
Most cataracts are age-related, according to the National Eye Institute (NIH), but can also develop for other reasons, including an eye injury and eye surgery.
The cataract operation is incredibly common – so common that Savannah’s co-host, Carson Daly, jokingly asked her if she would have the procedure live.
“No, because it catches my eye, so I didn’t think our viewers really wanted to see that,” Savannah said with a laugh.
Savannah’s anchoring colleague, Hoda Kotb, said she witnessed her friend struggling to see for the past year.
“A difficult period is a kind of underestimation. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Savannah sometimes keeps her papers like that, “Hoda said, pulling the paper over her face,” and reads with one eye. ”
Too cute: before she went into surgery, her mother took her on Twitter to share a sweet photo of her son Charley playing Operation
The operation lasts only about half an hour, and Savannah hopes to have a short recovery and return to work in a few days.
“I will not return tomorrow because I will have a bandage, but maybe later in the week,” she told her colleagues.
Before entering the operation, the mother went to Instagram and Twitter to share a sweet photo of her son Charley playing the game Operation.
“I went to cataract surgery!” she wrote. “This was a complication expected after the retina was detached. Very hopeful to see [100 per cent] and back to work this week! ‘
Today’s star Eye problems began when her son Charley accidentally threw a toy train that broke her retina in late November 2019. Although the initial operation restored her temporary vision loss, her vision was not what it was.
“My vision is not great,” she told People in April. “I have to do some surgery later, which is unfortunate, but not unexpected.”
Savannah, whose surgery was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, explained that her vision “is not where it was” and believes that “it is getting worse.”
“Finally, I hope that when everything becomes normal, I will be able to schedule those operations and I hope that there will be a big improvement,” she said. “I don’t think my eye will ever be the way it once was, but I think it will be much improved.”
While she had to wait until the summer to schedule further operations, she admitted that she was incredibly grateful that she had the initial operation when she did it.
“It saved my eye,” she said. “If I hadn’t been able to have surgery, I think I probably would have lost my sight in that eye. So yes, I’m very, very grateful and that’s just one of those things. This is an inconvenience. It’s a story that goes on.
Doctors initially hoped they would be able to repair her broken retina with several laser sessions, but in the end it was decided that surgery was the best option for her.
The hardest thing is to stay still, with your head down. You have a kind of neck and back pain, ‘she said during her long recovery from surgery. “I can’t say it was easy … but it’s easy to manage and everything will be OK.”
It’s not over: Savannah (pictured after eye injury in December) had to postpone pandemic follow-up
Damage repair: Savannah’s retina is illustrated before (left) and after (right) surgery
When Savannah returned to work after the new year, the Today show interviewed her surgeon, Dr. Donald D’Amico of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, to better explain what he did to repair his broken retina.
Her retina was broken. The retina covers the back of the eye like wallpaper, ‘he said. “When the retina is torn, it starts to fall from the back of the eye and you lose your sight.
“Fortunately for Savannah, the tear was on the side of the retina and not right in the center, so the prospect of her central reunion is very good.”
A gas bubble was placed in the back of Savannah’s eye to help her slowly attach the retina to the back of her eye, which is why she had to sit face down for most of the day.
“You think about putting a poster on the wall,” said Dr. D’Amico. “We all put a poster on the wall with glue. You have to hold it for a few minutes or seconds to glue it.
“The bladder keeps the retina in place in the eye, and as the bladder moves away from the body, absorbing it, laser treatment and frostbite provide a permanent scar that keeps it stable.”