Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo has recently revealed that he had successfully undergone a fourth surgery for his rare genetic disorder.
The 17-year-old has a rare genetic disorder called cleidocranial dysplasia, which affects the growth of his bones and teeth.
On Friday, he took to Instagram to share that the procedure had gone well. He posted a photo of himself in a hospital and captioned, “Though my expression in this picture may not show it, the surgery was a complete success. This was such A big one, it may be the last one I need. Hopefully at least.”
He added, “Those who suffer from Cleidocranial Dysplasia usually have Supernumerary teeth, which are extra teeth that grow in the gums. I’ve had several surgeries to extract these teeth from within my gums and help expose the teeth that should have already grown in considering my age. In this surgery, the team of amazing medical professionals extracted 14 supernumerary teeth and exposed six of my adult teeth. I was under for four hours.”
“My recovery for the past few days has been great and I can’t thank the team that did the surgery enough. Thank you all for your kind wishes and prayers. It means a lot. Again, if you’d like to learn more about Cleidocranial Dysplasia, you can go to ccdsmiles.org. Thanks again everyone.”
Previously, a Matarazzo’s representative told PEOPLE that he was doing well after the surgery.
Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things, previously told PEOPLE that he has a very mild case of CCD and living with it can very difficult, especially when it comes to casting.
In 2018, he said, “It’s one of the reasons why I haven’t been getting roles, because of my lisp, and the teeth situation, and my height.”
Matarazzo also explained that his character was missing teeth in the first season of Stranger Things because of his condition.
Using his platform to raise awareness about CCD, Matarazzo said, “The feedback has been great.”
“A lot of people were messaging me saying, ‘You made me feel better about myself, that you can show that you have this condition on TV and embrace it,’” he added. “I feel like I’m raising awareness for it. It makes me feel good.”
