American figure skating legend Tara Lipinski revealed Friday that she had her fallopian tubes removed in her third surgery amid her endometriosis struggles.
Lipinski went public with her endometriosis diagnosis in September 2020 and has been open about the details of the condition ever since.
Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body. It is one of the most common gynecological diseases and its main symptoms include pain and infertility, according to the National Institute of Health.
Lipinski explained on Instagram that her third surgery involved “a painful endometrioma that formed on my ovary.”
“(My doctor) removed it and cleaned out all the remaining endometrium (which I hope won’t come back since I won’t have to do any more fertility treatments),” Lipinski continued.
Tara Lipinski revealed on social media that she recently had her fallopian tubes removed
Lipinski won the gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics at the age of 15.
Lipinski is best known for winning the gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
She outscored Michelle Kwan, denying her fellow skating legend her best chance at an Olympic gold medal.
The surgery was notable for Lipinski because of the removal of her fallopian tubes, which she says greatly reduces her risk of developing ovarian cancer.
“I have embryos on ice, so if I ever for some reason want to try to get pregnant again, I wouldn’t need my tubes — they would go straight into the uterus,” Lipinski said.
“But ALL of my doctors told me they would remove my tubes because it greatly reduces my risk of ovarian cancer. I’m so glad I had them removed!” Lipinski continued.
Lipinski and her husband Todd Kapostasy became parents last October via surrogate with the birth of their daughter Georgie.
Before Georgie was born, Lipinski suffered four miscarriages while trying to have a baby.
Lipinski, who has co-hosted many times with fellow figure skater Johnny Weir, also shared a photo of herself wearing an abdominal binder to relieve pain.