Kathy Griffin provided a health update after her vocal cord surgery via an Instagram post on Wednesday, June 12. “Vocal cord surgery went well. As you can see some scarring and swelling. It will be worth it if I get some of my voice back,” the 63-year-old captioned the post where she showed off her scar.
The day before her surgery, she shared a video via Instagram where she documented her last day before not being able to speak for two weeks. “I’m getting an implant in my left vocal cord, which was left permanently paralyzed during my lung cancer surgery, where they took out half my left lung…I also have an aperture, which is a tear above my vocal cords and that’s why sometimes when I’m doing stand-up my voice goes to a higher pitch…So, anyway, I’m never nervous before surgery and I’ve had quite a few. But I am a little nervous about this one ’cause it’s my voice and I’ve already gone through it once with the voice problem,” Griffin voiced in the clip.
She added, “Anyway, wish me luck, and I can’t talk at all for two weeks, which is going to drive me crazy. So I’ll be watching a lot of TikTok, and I won’t be making any.”
The successful surgery comes after the comedian was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2021. “I’ve got to tell you guys something. I have cancer. I’m about to go into surgery to have half of my left lung removed. Yes, I have lung cancer even though I’ve never smoked! The doctors are very optimistic as it is stage one and contained to my left lung. Hopefully no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing. I should be up and running around as usual in a month or less,” the Suddenly Susan alum wrote in her statement that was released on her socials.
This procedure she underwent led to her left vocal cord being paralyzed. “The thing that’s been really crazy and kind of like, a mindf–k, is that when I had cancer, I had no symptoms, then I got the surgery where they took out half my left lung. And now it’s like, I sound and feel like I have cancer…The thing that’s frustrating is I actually sound like I’m in pain, but I’m not,” Kathy expressed to People.