‘Stranger Things’ Star Gaten Matarazzo Gives Health Update After Surgery for ‘Rare’ Bone Disorder

Gaten Matarazzo has started to bounce back after his latest surgery. The Stranger Things star posted an update from his hospital bed via Instagram after he’d gone under the knife once again to treat his cleidocranial dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that can adversely affect how bones and teeth grow. As noted by PEOPLE, he seemed in good spirits about the whole ordeal.

“Though my expression in this picture may not show it, the surgery was a complete success,” Matarazzo wrote in the caption, along with a cry-laughing emoji. “This was such a big one, it may be the last one I need. Hopefully at least. 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.”

While the actor has had three surgeries for his condition, he detailed what made this “the big one,” as he called it in an Instagram post prior to Friday’s hours-long surgery.

“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.”

Back in September, Netflix had broken its silence and finally renewed Stranger Things for a fourth season after an incredibly ambitious third go-round. Just weeks after the renewal, the streamer released some of the show’s viewership metrics, a rare move for the company, announcing that it’s their most-watched series ever.

The specific data was released back in July, just days after Season 3’s July 4 premiere, which had been viewed by 40.7 million household accounts within its first four days of availability, with 18.2 million completing the entire season.