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Savannah Guthrie shares before and after photos of her torn retina

Upon her return to the anchor chair, the TODAY anchor shared some photos of the injury that had kept her sidelined for the last month.
/ Source: TODAY

Savannah Guthrie's right eye has been through a lot in the past month — and she has the photos to prove it.

The TODAY anchor shared before and after pictures of her torn retina on Instagram Monday as she returned to work after missing three weeks due to retinal detachment surgery in December.

"Actually this isn’t gross at all but if retina pictures aren’t your cup of tea then don’t swipe!" she wrote in the caption. "The first pic is my retina 'before' - with a massive tear... that’s that big dark spot in the middle of the pic.

"The next one is my retina 'after' - smooth as butter and reattached like new like the day I was born! I’m so grateful to the careful doctors who operated on me and very hopeful about getting most of my vision back eventually!! Here’s to 20/20 in 2020! #retinasofinstagram"

Savannah suffered the retinal tear in late November when her 3-year-old son, Charley, accidentally poked her in the eye with a toy train while he was sitting in her lap.

She underwent multiple laser treatments that doctors hoped would fix the issue, but the tear ultimately required surgery to repair.

Dr. Donald D'Amico of Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian in New York City, Savannah's surgeon, described the surgery on TODAY last month.

"You think of how you would put a poster on the wall,'' D'Amico said. "We've all put a poster on the wall with glue. You have to hold it for a few minutes or seconds in order to get it to stick. The bubble (from the procedure) holds the retina reattached in the eye, and as the bubble goes away by the body absorbing it, the laser treatment and the freezing treatment provide the permanent scar that keeps it stable."

D'Amico also said Savannah got lucky with the location of the tear.

"Fortunately for Savannah, the tear was at the side of her retina and not the very center, so the prospect for her central vision to return is very good," D'Amico said.

Savannah remained upbeat throughout her recovery, leading up to her return to the show on Monday.