Michael McIntyre worried fans last week when he pulled out of a tour date in Plymouth. The comedian, who also presents The Wheel, said his cancellation was due to "illness", causing fans to speculate on what was wrong with the star.
Their questions were answered on Sunday evening, when Michael's official X account shared that he was cancelling more upcoming dates, explaining that he is in hospital following surgery.
Announcing that his Monday show in Southampton is also cancelled, the note read: "We regret to inform customers that Michael McIntyre will be unable to perform on Mondy 4 March. Unfortunately Michael has had an operation to remove kidney stones."
The note continued that fans will receive a new date to attend or a refund, but many of Michael's followers wondered if he would be fit for other upcoming gigs.
Luckily for them, and for Michael, recovery from kidney stone removals generally only takes a few days, with the National Kidney Foundation confirming that many people can fully resume daily activities within one to two days.
Some kidney stones can be passed naturally, by drinking lots of fluids, but if they’re too big, which seems to be the case for Michael, surgery can be required.
What surgery has Michael McIntyre had?
Treatments for kidney stones range from shock wave lithotripsy, which sends high-frequency sound waves to pinpoint where the kidney stone is. This breaks it into smaller pieces so it can be passed in your urine.
© GettyAnother option is ureteroscopy. More invasive than the former, this sees a long, thin telescope inserted into your body, either to try and remove the stone, or a laser is also inserted to break it down.
READ: Michael McIntyre reveals secret to his incredible weight loss
This procedure is performed under general anaesthetic.
The final option is percutaneous nephrolithotomy, also carried out under general anaesthetic. This sees a small cut made into the back and the stone is either pulled out, or broken down by a laser.
© Gary MoyesHELLO! spoke to consultant urological surgeon Hamid Abboudi about Michael's surgery, with the doctor explaining: "Considering the sudden and unexpected nature of Michaels's announcement, and the wording used to describe the treatment as an ‘operation’ it is likely that he had a stone in the kidney which dropped down and got stuck in the ureter.
"The most common operation used to remove such stones is the ureteroscopy and laser stone fragmentation."
We hope Michael recovers swiftly from his ordeal!
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