Less than a week after undergoing heart surgery to repair his aortic artery, hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow went back into emergency surgery. Kurtis, whose birth name is Kurtis Walker, was the first commercially successful rapper who brought us hits like "The Breaks", "Basketball" and "Christmas Rapping" is in need of our prayers.
“Kurtis got a bad CT. The aorta has dissected and it looks like he needs to go back to surgery,” a statement from Kurtis Blow’s wife Shirley said. “He’s back in ICU and they’re discussing surgery immediately. Emergency open heart surgery.”
It was just last week when Kurtis Blow announced he was “preparing for an aortic artery repair procedure.” It was supposed to “stabilize the artery from further damage caused by the hematoma I contacted from my recent travels to China,” he wrote on May 1.
He followed that up with a post saying that his surgery was “a tremendous success” before announcing Sunday that he had begun physical therapy yesterday and occupational therapy and was “ on my way to a full recovery 100%.”
It was unclear what changed in between his road to recovery and when he had to be rushed back into surgery.
Russell Simmons wrote Tuesday on Instagram that his dear friend, “just informed me that prayers are needed again. Please put @kurtisblow back into your prayers. He has been called to emergency open heart surgery.”
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Simmons reinforced the seriousness of the situation to his followers.
“Kurtis Blow is a survivor, but this is not good,” he added of the 59-year-old veteran. “I say this to all who loved his music, his heart is bigger than his music. His family is a testimony to his goodness. His loving wife of at least 35 years and beautiful children are examples of his willingness to give. Let’s all give him the prayers and our blessings.”
A hematoma is a collection of blood outside of a blood vessel.
There are several types of hematomas and they are often described based on their location. Examples of hematomas include subdural, spinal, under the finger or toenail bed (subungual), ear, and liver (hepatic).
Some causes of hematomas are as pelvic bone fractures, fingernail injuries, bumps, passing blood clots, blood clot in the leg (DVT), blood cancers, and excessive alcohol use.
Symptoms of hematomas depend upon their location and whether adjacent structures are affected by the inflammation and swelling associated with the bleeding and may include:
- headache
- seizures
- back pain
- loss of bladder or bowel control
- discoloration
- nail loss
- abdominal pain
In the last 24 hours, Simmons shared an additional update in reference to the Kurtis Blow “Update from his wife Shirley “Kurtis’s heart is beating on its own. They are closing should finished closing in less than 2 hours. Glory to God Glory to God hallelujah hallelujah.”
