Former women’s tennis star Serena Williams showed off the gritty details of a recent surgery she had that removed a massive cyst from her neck.
Williams, 43, posted a TikTok video on Wednesday that included footage of her in a hospital having the operation performed on her neck and then being bandaged afterward.
“So this is me removing it,” Williams captioned the video, which showed clips of her in the hospital after surgery. “I am feeling so grateful and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all, I’m healthy.”
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She opened up about the physical pain that the entire experience caused her.
“It kinda hurt coming out. Obviously I went under for it but they had to put a drain in it because it was so much,” she said in the video. “But everything worked out, and I feel really happy to have worked with some great doctors.”
The end of the video shows Williams going to an American Girl doll star with her daughter, Olympia, while still recovering from the surgery.
“Mommy is suffering, but mom has to keep showing up,” Williams said in the video, in which she is seen wearing a bandage.
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Serena Williams is shown during the women’s final of the U.S. Open on Sept. 7, 2019. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
Williams said she found a lump on her neck in May. She had an MRI exam and was told she didn’t need to get it removed if she didn’t want to, so she didn’t. But then she said “it kept growing,” so she went back for more tests, including a biopsy that was negative for cancer.
Still, her doctors said she should have a procedure.
“They said I don’t need to get it removed if I don’t want,” Williams wrote. “So I did not get it but it kept growing. I decided to get more test and 3 test and one biopsy later everything is still negative but doctors advised I get it removed asap because it was the size of a small grapefruit and it could get infected or worse leak.”
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Serena Williams arrives in Paris before the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics on July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Brachial cleft cysts are small sacs filled with fluid that look like lumps under the skin on the side of the neck, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They are most often found in children, but adults can also get them. While they are typically noncancerous, doctors usually recommend surgery to remove them.
In her tennis career, Williams won 23 Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 more doubles titles. She was ranked No. 1 in the WTA rankings for 319 weeks, won four Olympic gold medals and was voted Associated Press Athlete of the Year five times.
Williams announced her retirement shortly before playing in the 2022 U.S. Open, which was her last tournament.
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