On the mend! Matthew Perry is recovering from a recent health scare, his rep confirms to Us Weekly.
“Matthew Perry recently underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital to repair a gastrointestinal perforation,” the rep says. “He is grateful for the concern and asks for continued privacy as he heals.”
A gastrointestinal perforation occurs when a hole develops in the gastrointestinal tract, which runs from the throat to the rectum, according to the health organization Sepsis Alliance. It can be caused by diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and appendicitis, among other conditions. It can also be the result of trauma, such as a gunshot or knife wound.
Perry, 48, has spoken candidly through the years about his past with drug and alcohol abuse. He checked into a 28-day rehabilitation program in 1997 for an addiction to Vicodin, which he began taking to ease the pain from a watercraft accident and having his wisdom teeth pulled. He returned to rehab in 2001.
“When I was in big trouble, it was so public because I was on a TV show that 30 million people were watching,” the Friends alum, who played Chandler Bing, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “The fact that I [am] on TV makes people listen a little bit more, so I take advantage of that from time to time.”
Perry went on to open a sober-living facility, The Perry House, in Malibu. He sold it in 2015.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “But the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me stop drinking?’ I will say, ‘Yes. I know how to do that.’”
