Savannah Guthrie has undergone her third eye surgery in 17 months in hopes of finally repairing the damage caused when her son Charley threw her a toy train and tore her retina.
Host Today, 49, did not appear on the show Tuesday morning and later revealed on Instagram that her absence was due to “one last little eye surgery,” which took place at the New York Presbyterian. .
The last procedure of the mother of two Savannah comes more than a year after she suffered a temporary loss of vision and a broken retina when her young son Charley, who is now four years old, “threw a train” at her. He 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 in Business”: Savannah Guthrie has undergone a third eye surgery, 17 months after her son Charley threw her a toy train and tore her retina.
Wow! Anchor Today’s eye problems began when her now-four-year-old son, Charley, accidentally threw a toy train (pictured) that broke her retina in late November 2019.
However, Savannah seems to think that the latter procedure marks the end of her long medical journey, which was further delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw her cataract surgery postponed until July last year. .
Sharing a black and white photo of herself modeling a clear eye patch after the last surgery, Savannah wrote, “One last little eye surgery and I’m back to work !!!”
She then paid tribute to her ophthalmologist, Dr. Ashley Brissette, to help her regain her health.
It’s been almost a year since Savannah’s last eye surgery, which took place in July 2020 after several postponements amid the pandemic.
At the time, Anchor Today admitted she had been struggling quietly with her vision, which had become “distorted” and “blurred” as a result of her injuries.
“It’s been a long time, I’m very excited,” Savannah said of the procedure. I think it’s Christmas morning because if they take out this cataract I can really see it, and it’s taken me a long time to see.
‘[My vision] it’s distorted and has something wavy, and now I have this cataract, which is a big blur. Once they eliminate that blur, I think it will be much better. ”
Anticipation: In July, Savannah shared her excitement at the possibility of undergoing surgery to correct her cataracts, a procedure that had been postponed as a result of the pandemic.
Hard recovery: Prior to the cataract procedure, Savannah had to undergo retinal regrouping surgery and several laser treatment wheels.
The TV host was quick to add that her symptoms were incredibly “common” and that many people who undergo retinal collection surgery end up with cataracts.
“So apparently if you have this retinal ligation surgery, it’s very, very common to have cataracts, so it happened to me,” he explained.
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that occurs when proteins begin to break down and clump together. Cataracts can make a person’s vision blurred, blurry, or less colorful and cause trouble reading or doing daily activities.
Most cataracts are age-related, according to the National Eye Institute (NIH), but they can also develop for other reasons, such as eye injury and eye surgery.
Cataract surgery is incredibly common, so common that Savannah’s host partner Carson Daly jokingly asked her if she was going to do the procedure live.
“Um, no, because they cut my eye off, so I didn’t think our viewers really wanted to see that,” Savannah said laughing.
Savannah’s co-star, Hoda Kotb, said she has witnessed her friend struggling to see him for the past year.
“A difficult time is kind of underestimated. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Savannah sometimes holds the papers like that,” Hoda said, throwing the paper in her face, “and she’s reading with one eye “.
Very nice: before getting into surgery, the mother went on Twitter to share a sweet photo of her son Charley playing the game Operation
The surgery only takes about half an hour and Savannah hopes to have a short recovery and get back to work in a few days.
“I won’t be back tomorrow because I’ll take a bandage, but maybe later in the week,” he told his teammates.
Before going to surgery, the mother went on Instagram and Twitter to share a sweet photo of her son Charley playing the Operation game.
“He went out for cataract surgery!” she wrote. “This was an expected complication after retinal detachment. Very hopeful to see it [100 per cent] and get back to work this week!
Today’s star eye problems began when his son Charley accidentally threw a toy train that broke his retina in late November 2019. Although his initial surgery restored the temporary loss of his vision, his vision it has not been what it used to be.
“My eyesight isn’t big,” he told People in April. “I have to have a couple of follow-up surgeries, which is unfortunate but not unexpected.”
Savannah, whose surgeries had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, explained that her vision “is not where it was” and believes it is “getting worse.”
“Finally, I hope that when everything normalizes, I can schedule these surgeries and I hope there is a big improvement,” he said. “I don’t think my eye will ever be the way it was, but I think it will improve a lot.”
Although she had to wait until the summer to schedule follow-up surgeries, she admitted she was very grateful to have had the initial surgery when she did it.
“It saved my sight,” he said. ‘If I hadn’t been able to do this surgery, I think I probably would have lost my sight in that eye. So yeah, I’m very, very grateful and that’s just one of those things. It is an inconvenience. It’s a story that goes on.
Doctors initially hoped to be able to repair his torn retina with several laser sessions, but eventually it was decided that surgery was his best option.
The hardest part is standing still, keeping your head down. You have some kind of neck and back pain, ”he said during his long post-surgical recovery. “I can’t say it was easy … but it’s manageable and everything will turn out well.”
Unfinished: Savannah (pictured after eye injury in December) had to postpone follow-up surgery due to pandemic
Damage Solution: Savannah’s Retina Appears Before (Left) and After (Right) Surgery
When Savannah returned to work after the new year, the Today program interviewed her surgeon, Dr. Donald D’Amico of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, to better explain what he did to repair his torn retina.
Her retina was torn. The retina coats the back of the eye as wallpaper, “he said.” When the retina breaks, it begins to fall down the back of the eye and you lose your vision.
“Fortunately for Savannah, the tear was next to the retina and not in the center, so the prospect of her central vision of returning is very good.”
A gas bubble was placed in the back of Savannah’s eye to help her slowly fixate on the back of her eye, which is why she had to lie face down. most of the day.
“Think about how you would put a poster on the wall,” Dr. D’Amico said. ‘We’ve all put up a sign on the wall with glue. You need to hold it for a few minutes or seconds to get it to stick.
“The blister keeps the retina bound to the eye and as the body absorbs it, laser treatment and freeze treatment provide the permanent scar that keeps it stable.”