Eddie Van Halen Has Hand Surgery

07/24/09 12:59pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen is recovering from hand surgery to treat pain in his left hand.

Van Halen began developing pain his left thumb and pinky finger on the final leg of Van Halen's most recent tour, but it got so bad he went to a specialist in Dusseldorf, Germany to get it treated, according to Rollingstone.com.

"It got progressively worse to the point that about three months ago I wasn't able to play [guitar] at all," Van Halen said. "My pinky and thumb were totally locked up and felt like there was something broken."

It turned out Van Halen had a bone spur, twisted tendon and cyst in the joint of his left thumb. Specialists told him they could only fix it through surgery, which he says scared him. But he went ahead with it and the operation was successful, so he's waiting for four to six months for the hand to heal. He'll get his stitches out shortly, and says he's thankful doctors found the problem.

"In the meantime I am able to write a bit, but can not overexert my hand because it needs to heal properly," he told the website.

Van Halen married Janie Liszewski, his girlfriend of three years, late last month. Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen served as the best man, and Van Halen's brother Alex Van Halen, who's an ordained minister, presided over the service.