Derek Hough says wife Hayley Erbert underwent successful skull implant surgery
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Hayley Erbert's surgery to replace part of her skull was a success, her husband Derek Hough said.
"With immense relief, gratitude and overwhelming joy I’d like to share that Hayley’s cranioplasty surgery has been successfully completed as planned," the "Dancing With the Stars" judge said in a Thursday Instagram post, which included a photo of him bending down to stare at Erbert from the rail of her hospital bed. Erbert, who had suffered a brain bleed weeks prior, was not shown in the picture.
Hough went on to thank the medical team and Dr. Mai, the physician who performed this week's surgery, as well as an operation earlier this month to address the 29-year-old's brain bleed.
Read more: Derek Hough's wife Hayley Erbert has skull surgery after brain-bleed hospitalization
"This surgery marks a significant milestone in my wife’s recovery journey," Hough added.
After a Dec. 5 performance near Washington, D.C., the professional dancer was rushed to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel, Hough had said. She underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.
Last weekend, Hough said a follow-up surgery was required to install a skull implant to “restore the skull to its natural shape and protect the brain from injury.” Since the initial surgery, Erbert was missing a piece of her skull and had been wearing a helmet.
Read more: Derek Hough's wife, Hayley Erbert, undergoes brain surgery after dance performance
Erbert had been on the road with Hough since October for his Symphony of Dance Tour. She was a major part of the show, dancing with her husband throughout their Oxon Hill, Md., performance. However, Erbert was noticeably absent during that show’s final bow when Hough acknowledged each of the key performers. Several days later, Hough announced her diagnosis and emergency surgery.
Hough has not commented on a possible cause of the burst brain vessel.
Erbert and Hough married last August after dating for eight years. They first met on ABC’s dance competition series when Hough was a dancer paired with competing celebrities and Erbert was a troupe member. Hough is a six-time "DWTS" winner, a record since the show debuted in the U.S. in 2005. In 2020, he joined the panel of judges for Season 29, replacing longtime judge Len Goodman, who died earlier this year.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
