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‘I Could Cry’

‘Today’ Host Shares Emotional Reaction to Surgery Outcome

Savannah Guthrie has been off the air since her vocal cord surgery.

Roosa Rahkonen

Editorial Intern, The Looker

Published

Jan 23, 2026, 4:07 PM EST

Updated

Jan 23, 2026, 5:16 PM EST

Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, 54, had a tearful reaction to hearing her new voice for the first time after her vocal cord surgery.

“Over the years, I noticed that my voice got deeper…and scratchier,” the NBC journalist said in a segment for the Today show on Jan. 23. “But what I thought was just normal wear and tear and aging, over time got much more noticeable, and this past year, much worse. Sometimes, it was hard to get through a sentence.”

The segment included videos comparing Guthrie’s voice at the start of her career at NBC News in 2008 to her latest interviews in 2025. In the more recent clips, Guthier repeatedly lost her voice mid-sentence.

To address the growing issue, Guthrie visited leading voice specialist Dr. Peak Woo.

Woo observed a “hemorrhagic polyp on one side and vocal nodule on the other side,” during the examination. Both can result from the overuse of one’s voice.

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The operation took eight hours and required an extended period of vocal rest afterward. After eight days of complete silence, Guthrie returned to the clinic to hear her new voice for the first time.

“I am using my voice for the first time, and it sounds good. I could cry,” the host said before her voice cracked, her expression growing tearful. In the emotional clip filmed at the office, Guthrie hugged her doctor and wiped away her tears.

The appointment was on Jan. 13, and since then, Guthrie has been working on her vocal cords with a voice therapist.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 13: Dylan Dreyer, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin are seen on NBC's "Today" Citi Concert Series at Rockefeller Plaza on May 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by NDZ/Star Max/GC Images)

Dylan Dreyer, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin are seen on NBC's "Today" Citi Concert Series at Rockefeller Plaza on May 13, 2025 in New York City.

NDZ/Star Max/GC Images

“I have to get my vocal cords back in shape now, just like going to [physical therapy] after an injury,” she said.

Guthrie, who has been off the air since mid-December, ended her segment with happy news: she will return to Today on Jan. 26.

“Time to go back to work,” she said. “And I’m hoping my results speak for themselves.”

Roosa Rahkonen

Roosa Rahkonen

Editorial Intern, The Looker

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