Tragic Details About Savannah Guthrie's Health Issues

Savannah Guthrie is one celebrity who experienced a health crisis in 2025.

After experiencing vocal issues for some time, the "Today" co-anchor learned that the only way to correct it was to undergo vocal chord surgery. She made the announcement during the December 19 broadcast of "Today." After playing a clip of Peter Brady from "The Brady Bunch" going through vocal changes during his teen years, she segued into her announcement. "I have felt like Peter Brady these last few weeks and months," she said. "Some of you have noticed that my voice has been very scratchy and started to crack a little bit like Peter Brady, who was going through a change."

Guthrie explained that vocal nodules were the culprit. "And now I also have a polyp," she said. Guthrie, whose net worth is reportedly well into the millions, also revealed that she would have to take time off from her high-profile job in 2026 to address her issues. "It's not a big, big deal, but I am going to have to have a surgery real early in the new year and be off for a couple of weeks, so this is my last day for a little while." She continued, "But you will love this, guys; I have to be silent for a couple of weeks. Totally silent. I know the jokes write themselves." Fortunately for Guthrie, the vocal nodules, which WebMD defines as non-cancerous growths of the vocal cords, aren't life threatening. But given how important Guthrie's vocal health is to her job as a news anchor, they've obviously been impacting her life in a negative way. 

Unfortunately, Savannah Guthrie's vocal cord surgery isn't her first medical mishap. The "Today" anchor actually had three surgeries to address vision problems before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. After getting hit in the eye by her then-toddler's toy train, Guthrie suffered a retinal detachment that caused terrifying vision loss. By 2021, she'd already had two successful surgeries to correct the tear, but afterward, she started suffering from a common side effect: cataracts. "Apparently after you have that retina reattachment surgery, it's very common to get cataracts, so that happened to me," she said (via People). Fortunately, Guthrie's third surgery corrected her vision and cataracts.

In September 2020, Guthrie graciously shared some tips she'd learned that aided in her recovery on an episode of "Hoda & Jenna." During a question and answer segment, Guthrie responded to a message from a woman who was scheduled to have the same surgery that she'd already gone through. "My advice is, if you have that retina detachment surgery, and you have to spend a lot of time face down, you have to like lay down ... see if you could get a massage. Like 'cause if you have to lay down flat, wouldn't it be nice if somebody came, and if you don't want to have somebody come, have your husband do it, or even your kids." Sounds reasonable to us!