Kathy Griffin Says Her Vocal Cord Repair Was Successful Following Damage from Lung Cancer Surgery

Kathy Griffinshared a new update — and her new voice — after undergoingvocal cord surgery, following her treatment for lung cancer.

On Friday, July 26, the comedian, 63, gave her Instagram followers an update about her vocal cords. She previously revealed that she underwent a "groundbreaking" surgery in June to repair her voice.

"Many of you know I had lung cancer, and then during my lung cancer surgery, the surgeon actually killed my left vocal cord permanently. But I had a groundbreaking surgery," she said in the update.

"I got a lady surgeon — a lady this time," she joked. "And her name is Dr. Anca Barbu, and no, I'm not getting paid to say that, she's just amazing... I have an implant in my left vocal cord, and you guys, I sound like myself again!"

"I can yell, and I'm so excited for that!" she continued, before using her newfound voice to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

"There's hope for the first time!" she added, raising her voice and waving her hands in there, before shouting out her upcoming tour dates. "I feel like I have a voice, and she can really win this!"

"Anyway, I know it's weird that I'm connecting the two things, but I'm just excited to be able to... I'm a comic, I lost my voice, and it's back now... It's like a boob job in my throat," she joked.

Last month, Griffin said she would be undergoing surgery on June 12 to treat her left vocal cord, telling her fans in an Instagram post the day before the procedure that she was "getting an implant in my left vocal cord, which was left permanently paralyzed during my lung cancer surgery, where they took out half my left lung."

"I also have an aperture, which is a tear above my -

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vocal cords and that's why sometimes when I'm doing stand-up my voice goes to a higher pitch," she continued.

Following the successful procedure, Griffin shared another update video, which featured a clip of her in a post-op examination with her doctor, as she gives the comedian the go-ahead to speak for the first time.

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Griffin said in August 2021 she had been diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent a lobectomy to remove the disease in the same month.

Over a year later, she said she also underwent anoperation on her left vocal cordin May 2023. In a conversation withPEOPLE in June 2023, she revealed the procedure on her vocal cord “was really gnarly."

“They use a hook to open your mouth,” Griffin said, adding that general anesthesia was necessary during the 15-minute procedure, “because there's a freaking needle down my throat!

“Then they put a needle on a camera and they put it down your frickin’ throat,” she continued. “And then they inject your little teeny meanie vocal cord with this substance.

At the time, she also opened up about her "cancellation" following her controversial photo with a double of Donald Trump, telling PEOPLE that she felt she was finding two different versions of her voice at once following her vocal cord surgery.

“I feel like I figuratively lost my comedic voice because of the Trump photo scandal, I literally lost my voice due to the cancer surgery and now I finally have my voice back,” Griffin told PEOPLE. “I’m a grateful, naughty comedian again!”

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