Carrie Ann Inaba

‘Dancing With the Stars’ Judge Carrie Ann Inaba Updates Fans After Undergoing Emergency Surgery

Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba is updating fans after a life-threatening bout of appendicitis landed her in the hospital for emergency surgery earlier this week.

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The 55-year-old headed to Instagram yesterday with a note about her health scare, and she took special care to urge people to take it seriously if they experience any of the symptoms she did. The illness is incredibly common and easy to treat, but it can turn deadly on a dime if people don’t get to a doctor.

“I had an emergency appendectomy last week and while it’s been quite a painful experience, I also know it’s a gift to even feel this pain,” she captioned alongside a video of herself in a hospital bed. “I realize after speaking with my doctor that it could have been much worse.”

“Appendicitis attacks happen suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere,” Inaba continued. “And when you are in that much pain, the last thing you want to do is go anywhere. And when you have autoimmune disease, you are often having strange health occurrences that no one can explain or help you with so sometimes, you try to wait it out, like I did. I was wrong.”

Carrie Ann Inaba Convinced Herself that her Symptoms Were Nothing to be Concerned About

Carrie Ann Inaba suffers from several autoimmune disorders, including Sjogren’s syndrome, lupus, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis, according to PEOPLE. While she initially convinced herself that her intense symptoms were nothing more than a flare-up of one or more of those conditions, she finally had the notion to head to an ER. Fortunately, she got there in time.


“I should have come straight to the hospital right when the pain in my abdomen started, after the sudden and violent vomiting that knocked me off my feet. I should have gone when I couldn’t stand without excruciating pain… but I honestly didn’t want to leave my babies, and I’m so accustomed to pain —thought I should let it play out,” she continued.  

“If you have pain in your abdomen, please have it checked out because it could be something very serious.”

In the attached video, the dancer is radiant and healthy. But she shows her arm covered in bandages and a room full of medical machines to highlight how serious her appendicitis had become.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone at @cedarssinaifor the great care,” Inaba added. “If I needed to do it again, I would come back to you. Thankfully, my appendix will not be bothering me anymore.”