Throat Polyp: Why Jon Hamm Is Undergoing Surgery

Why Jon Hamm Is Undergoing Surgery
From left, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt arrive at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre on Sunday Sept. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision for Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP Images)
From left, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt arrive at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre on Sunday Sept. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision for Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP Images)

"Mad Men" actor Jon Hamm will undergo throat surgery, a representative for the actor confirmed to the Huffington Post on Monday.

He will undergo a "routine outpatient procedure to removes [sic] single polyp from his throat," Hamm's rep told HuffPost Celebrity.

While the representative did not specify the exact location on the throat of Hamm's polyp, vocal cord polyps are known to be a common condition among people who often use their voices -- such as actors.

Vocal cord polyps can best be thought of as "blisters" on the vocal cords -- they are part of a group of noncancerous lesions, known as vocal cord lesions. Other vocal cord lesions include vocal cord nodules (which are calluses of the vocal cord) and vocal cysts (which is when scarring occurs over a duct, and then that duct becomes filled with mucus), according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Symptoms of vocal cord polyps include neck pain, having a "rough" or "scratchy" voice, fatigue, and changes in pitch range, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association reported. Polyps are often caused by long-term vocal abuse, though they can also be caused by a single incident of severe vocal abuse.

Therapy and surgery are the most common treatments for vocal cord lesions, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

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