Savannah Guthrie's Having Cataract Surgery After an Accident with Her Son's Toy

From Oprah Magazine

• Savannah Guthrie is having cataract surgery, leaving TODAY early for the procedure on July 20.

• As Guthrie told her co-anchors Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly, her son Charley accidentally injured her right eye.

• The surgery won't take Guthrie off the air for long, she wrote on Twitter.

TODAY show co-host Savannah Guthrie left the broadcast a little early on July 20—to have some quick surgery on her right eye. Sharing a tale that might make mothers of toddlers everywhere want to invest in protective goggles, Guthrie said her impaired vision is related to the accidental eye injury she incurred in November 2019 when her now 3-year-old son Charley threw a toy train that ended up hitting her face.

After temporarily losing sight, Guthrie underwent laser retinal detachment surgery last year. In what she called an "expected complication" in a tweet, the reporter hasn't been able to fully see in that eye due to a cataract. "It's been a long time, I'm super excited," Savannah told TODAY co-anchors Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly. "I feel like it's Christmas morning because if they remove this cataract I'll really be able to see, and I've had a hard time seeing."

"Ya gonna do it live on the air?" Daly joked (we think?) when she broke the news.

"Uh, no, because they're slicing my eye," Guthrie replied. "I didn't really think that our viewers wanted to see that!"

Kotb said Guthrie was understating how difficult it's been for her to see, noting that she'd hold her show notes mere inches from her face. "It's kind of distorted, and then it's got a wavy thing. And now I have this cataract, which is a big blurry spot," Guthrie explained.

Fortunately, Guthrie said the surgery is a common half-hour procedure, and she's hopeful she'll be back at TODAY as soon as later this week. "Hopefully next time I see you I'll really see you!" she told Hotb and Daly.

"This little cutie has super strength!!" Guthrie shared in an Instagram post after her first procedure in 2019. "Last week, Charley threw this train at my eye and turns out it caused a large tear in my retina, which has caused me to lose sight temporarily in my right eye! It was a little bit touch and go over the last few days but it looks like the retina will hold and not detach and I won’t need full eye surgery." Wishing Guthrie a speedy recovery this time around.

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