Savannah Guthrie has shared before-and-after pictures of her retina to demonstrate her spectacular recovery after it was torn in an accident involving her son.
Guthrie, 48, had to undergo eye surgery in early December after her three-year-old boy Charley accidentally poked her in the eye with a toy truck while sitting on her lap late November.
She lost sight in one eye following surgery, but as she returned to the Today show on Monday, the anchor revealed the good job doctors did to mend her.
‘Actually this isn’t gross at all but if retina pictures aren’t your cup of tea then don’t swipe!,’ she warned approximately 846k Instagram followers. ‘The first pic is my retina “before” – with a massive tear… that’s that big dark spot in the middle of the pic.
Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show on Monday after taking time off due to corrective eye surgery. Pictured with with Hoda Kotb (center right), Al Roker (right) and Carson Daly (left).
‘The first pic is my retina “before” – with a massive tear… that’s that big dark spot in the middle of the pic,’ she posted on Instagram (left). She added about the picture on the right: ‘The next one is my retina ‘after’ – smooth as butter and reattached like new like the day I was born!’
‘The next one is my retina ‘after’ – smooth as butter and reattached like new like the day I was born!’
Guthrie added in the social media post that came with a warning of a ‘graphic image’ and to ‘swipe with caution’: ‘I’m so grateful to the careful doctors who operated on me and very hopeful about getting most of my vision back eventually!! Here’s to 20/20 in 2020! #retinasofinstagram.’
She shared the scans after earlier posting pictures of her return to the NBC morning show.
‘Can’t stop smiling to be back home with all my @todayshow loves today!!!’ she captioned snaps of herself with Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Carson Daly.
‘Verified So relieved you’re fully recovered and back in action,’ Today show Health/Nutrition expert Joy Bauer commented.
The social media post came with a warning of a ‘graphic image’ and to ‘swipe with caution’ as she said: ‘I’m so grateful to the careful doctors who operated on me and very hopeful about getting most of my vision back eventually!! Here’s to 20/20 in 2020! #retinasofinstagram.’
She was pictured back in action on Saturday at an awards season event in West Hollywood, California on Saturday (left). Then on Monday she was back on Today, filmed in New York
Guthrie joined her TV show colleagues including Hoda Kotb (left), Libby Leist (right) and Jenna Bush (center right), for their festive party in December during her hiatus as she recovered
Despite her vision loss, she returned to work for one day following the injury, but she ended up having to take time off.
While doctors initially hoped they could repair the retina with multiple laser sessions, it was ultimately decided that surgery was her best option.
Savannah missed a couple days of work during Thanksgiving week while her eye healed, but she still returned to the show to host the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the holiday.
The following week continued with Savannah showing up to work and wearing glasses to help her eyes heal during the time.
During the worst of her recovery, Guthrie said: ‘The hardest part is sitting still, keeping your head down. You kind of get a neck and a backache. I can’t say it was easy…but it’s manageable and it’s all going to turn out OK.
She also noted the ‘hardest part’ was sleeping on her stomach because she was worried she was ‘doing it wrong’.
She was injured after her three-year-old boy Charley accidentally poked her in the eye with a toy truck while sitting on her lap late November
The Today show also interviewed Gutherie’s surgeon, Dr. Donald D’Amico of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, to better explain exactly what he did to repair the torn retina.
‘Her retina was torn. The retina lines the inside back of the eye like wallpaper,’ he explained. ‘When the retina is torn, it begins to fall off the back of the eye and you lose vision.
‘Fortunately for Savannah, the tear was at the side of her retina and not the very center, so the prospect for her central vision to return is very good.’
A gas bubble was placed in the back of Savannah’s eye to help her retina slowly reattach to the back of her eye, which is why she had to lie face down for most of the day.
‘You think of how you would put a poster on the wall,’ Dr. D’Amico said. ‘We’ve all put a poster on the wall with glue. You have to hold it for a few minutes or seconds in order to get it to stick.
‘The bubble holds the retina reattached in the eye, and as the bubble goes away by the body absorbing it, the laser treatment and the freezing treatment provide the permanent scar that keeps it stable.’
The mother-of-two, who also has a five-year-old daughter named Val, previously said Charley was unaware of how badly he hurt her when he threw the toy train and was actually proud of his impressive throw.
‘He’s two, so he doesn’t really know what he did, and of course, I wouldn’t want to make him feel bad about it,’ she said at the time. ‘I was FaceTiming with my mom to tell her, and he came running in and he said, “I did it! I did it!” He was very proud of himself.’