Savannah Guthrie Thanks Fans for "Prayers and Love" After Her Vocal Cord Surgery

At the end of December 2025, Today Show host Savannah Guthrie announced on-air that she would be taking a break in the new year to have surgery on her vocal cords. In January 2026, she shared a health update on social media for her fans and even hinted at her return to the long-running morning show.

Although Savannah's surgery wasn't as serious as some fans might have worried about ahead of her procedure, there was the general concern among some that she might not return as quickly as she had planned. Before Savannah left her hosting duties for her time off, she joked on the show that viewers might have noticed her voice change to a "scratchy" sound, much like Peter from The Brady Bunch during his very obvious on-screen puberty days. Now, however, fans have a better idea about how Savannah is doing.

On Jan. 5, 2026, Savannah shared a health update on Instagram. She posted a photo of herself holding up a dry-erase board with the words "All good! Thanks for prayers and love!" In the caption, she wrote, "See you soon," likely in reference to returning to the Today Show as soon as she is medically cleared to do so, given the nature of her procedure.

In the weeks leading up to Savannah sharing her health issues on theToday Show, her voice was noticeably raspy, almost like she had a cold. Except for Savannah, the cold didn't go away. And, she later explained to viewers, it wasn't a cold at all that had changed her voice, but instead vocal nodules and a polyp.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), a polyp can be found on the vocal folds. They can look and feel like little bumps or blisters, or even a long, thin growth on the vocal folds.

Nodules, which are growths on the vocal folds, and polyps are both caused by overuse and even misuse of the vocal cords. Since Savannah's job is literally to talk to her co-hosts and guests, it makes sense for this to become an issue for her.

The procedure to remove vocal cord nodules and polyps, per the Cleveland Clinic, is called a microlaryngoscopy. By going in through the mouth and down the throat, the procedure typically doesn't require any incisions like most surgeries do. This type of surgery is often used to remove nodules or growths from vocal cords, so it's likely the same procedure that Savannah had done in her absence from the show.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, after someone undergoes a microlaryngoscopy, they are expected to rest their vocal cords for at least two weeks, and up to six weeks. It's unclear how long Savannah planned to be out on the Today Show, but part of the recovery also includes refraining from talking and whispering. Luckily, according to Savannah's update, at least, the surgery was a success for her.