‘Stranger Things’ Star Undergoes 4th Surgery for Rare Genetic Disorder

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Gaten Matarazzo gives a big thumbs-up before his “big” medical procedure.

This week on Instagram, the “Stranger Things” actor revealed he is undergoing his fourth surgery for cleidocranial dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects the development of the bones and teeth.

While sharing a pic from his hospital bed, the Netflix star wrote, “Surgery number 4! This is a big one! To learn more about Cleidocranial Dysplasia and how you can help those with the condition you can go to ccdsmiles.org.”

In the comments section, co-star Millie Bobby Brown wrote words of encouragement, exclaiming, “good luck love!!! sending my love gate.”

On Friday, the 17-year-old announced his surgery was a success and hopes this will be his “last one.”

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Though my expression in this picture may not show it, the surgery was a complete success😂. 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. 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

A post shared by Gaten Matarazzo (@gatenm123) on Jan 31, 2020 at 11:19am PST

Gaten previously opened up about his health in a January 2018 interview on “The Doctors.”

While explaining how “Stranger Things” creators the Duffer Brothers wrote his condition into the show, he dished, “So when [the Duffer Brothers] heard I had the condition, I told them... when I was just stretching in the audition room… I was like, ‘Yeah, I was born without collarbones.’ I started explaining what it was, and how I had a condition from birth. And that it affects my teeth and everything, and that’s why I was missing teeth the first season.”

Matarazzo added, “They used it in a realistic way. They asked me if it was OK if the kids in the show had bullied me because of it. And I said, ‘That's totally cool. It’s realistic.’”