‘Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro Gives Update on His Impaled Hand

Buddy Valastro is almost completely healed and embarking on a new adventure almost three years after a freak bowling alley accident left him with serious injuries to his right hand. The Cake Boss star, 46, opened up to Extra Monday about his recovery process, which has required multiple surgeries along the way. 

“I’m worried about everyone else seeing it. It was pretty gruesome,” the baker admitted, sharing that he does have “a lot of mobility and strength” in the injured hand already. “I’ve got one more surgery I gotta get and get a finger straightened out,” Valastro continued. “But considering… 95%. My hands are everything to me. Without my hands in the decorating world, I’m nothing.”

Valastro’s life changed completely on Sept. 20, 2020, when his attempt to reset a malfunction in the bowling pinsetter at his at-home bowling alley in Montville, New Jersey, went seriously wrong. When the reality personality’s right hand got stuck between the machine and a metal rod, he was impaled three times between the ring and middle finger. It was Valastro’s son, Buddy Jr., who saved the day by grabbing a saw and freeing his dad from the machine.

“It’s just a really freak accident. You know, it was crazy just the way it went down. But I really am so proud of my sons and brother-in-laws who were here and really helped jump into action to set me free and help put me on the road to recovery,” Valastro said on the TODAY show not long after the incident.

The chef has also gained a new appreciation for his hand, he told Extra. “You don’t really realize until something is jeopardized,” he said. “I was really immobile for about six months where I couldn’t even use my hand. I had five surgeries on it. I remember the last surgery I was scared because I couldn’t bend my hand.” Valastro’s doctor has assured him a full recovery is possible, however, with the last surgery set to “release the tendons” and have him “good to go.”

Valastro’s progress will be shown on the new TLC series Buddy Valastro’s Cake Dynasty, which is set to premiere this fall. “My kids are in it because it’s kind of like the succession, my kids coming into the business. I think it’s going to be amazing. It’s probably the best television I’ve ever made,” he gushed.