'Stranger Things' Star Gaten Matarazzo Undergoes 4th Surgery For Rare Birth Defect
By Mike Walters on January 29, 2020 at 11:13 AM EST
'Stranger Things' star Gaten Matarazzo is about to undergo his fourth surgery for a genetic disorder called Cleidocranial Dysplasia which the actor has suffered from since birth.
Gaten, who plays Dustin in the hit Netflix series, posted a photo on Instagram of himself in a hospital bed, preparing to go under the knife.
"Surgery number 4! This is a big one!" he captioned the photo.
He continued, "To learn more about Cleidocranial Dysplasia and how you can help those with the condition you can go to ccdsmiles.org."
Matarazzo was not specific to exactly what was being worked on in this fourth surgery, but has addressed it in interviews he is having work done on his mouth.
According to rarediseases.org," Cleidocranial dysplasia is a rare skeletal dysplasia characterized by short stature, distinctive facial features and narrow, sloping shoulders caused by defective or absent collarbones (clavicles). Major symptoms may include premature closing of the soft spot on the head (coronal), delayed closure of the space between the bones of the skull (fontanels), narrow and abnormally shaped pelvic and pubic bones and deformations in the chest (thoracic region)."
It continues, the condition could cause "Delayed eruption of teeth," and issues with the mouth. In the show, Dustin's voice, have become part of his famous appearance and sound.
“It’s one of the reasons why I haven’t been getting roles, because of my lisp, and the teeth situation, and my height,” the actor said in an interview on 'The Doctors.' He added, “That affected pretty much everything. I would go three times a week for auditions all the time and get constant ‘no.’ ”
Fans have flooded his Instagram page to send messages of support to him and wish him a speedy recovery. "Hope u have a speedy recovery," one person said.
"I love you so much I hope everything goes perfectly fine and you recover soon," another added.
One person seemed to confirm the surgery would be on his mouth and teeth, saying, "Good luck gaten! As a wise man once said: ‘i told you a million times, my teeth are coming in!’"
"You got this dude. You got this, Gaten. You are one strong kid," other fans posted.
I think we can all agree with this one, "Hope you have a speedy recovery! Surgeries are a pain in the butt."
