'Stranger Things' star Gaten Matarazzo is having surgery for a rare bone disorder

Move over Eleven, because four is Gaten Matarazzo’s lucky number. The 17-year-old Stranger Things star took a break from the world of The Upside Down to give his fans a more personal update on January 29, when he revealed on Instagram that he’s giving a thumb’s up to going under the knife for a fourth time.Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson on the throwback horror series, posted a picture of himself from his hospital bed as he prepared for surgery for a rare bone disorder known as cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD).

 

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Surgery number 4! This is a big one! To learn more about Cleidocranial Dysplasia and how you can help those with the condition you can go to ccdsmiles.org.

A post shared by Gaten Matarazzo (@gatenm123) on Jan 29, 2020 at 7:34am PST

“Surgery number 4! This is a big one!” he wrote. “To learn more about Cleidocranial Dysplasia and how you can help those with the condition you can go to ccdsmiles.org.”Fans and fellow celebs were quick to wish the star good luck on Instagram. Stranger Things co-stars Millie Bobby Brown and Cara Buono wrote, “good luck love!!! sending my love gate” and “Sending you supernova good vibes. Love you,” respectively. Other well-wishers included former The Walking Dead star Michael Cudlitz and singer Sierra Boggess.This isn’t the first time Matarazzo has opened up about his condition. In Spring 2019 he posted a similar photo for “surgery number three,” and he has also spoken about CCD in various interviews.“It’s one of the reasons why I haven’t been getting roles, because of my lisp, and the teeth situation, and my height,” the actor said on a 2018 appearance on The Doctors. “That affected pretty much everything. I would go three times a week for auditions all the time and get constant ‘no.’”On the reverse side of things, Matarazzo revealed at the time that the disorder is also why got the part on Stranger Things when it debuted in 2015.“It really started out when I was stretching in the audition room,” he said. “They were like ‘Wait, wait, wait what did you just do?’ and I said, ‘What? I’m stretching’ and they said ‘No, do it again’ and they said, ‘Why do you do that? Your shoulders are touching.’ … So I started explaining what it was and how I had a condition from birth that affects my teeth and everything.”

 

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Great weekend meeting fans and raising awareness for @ccd_smiles also, it was an amazing way to spend my birthday

A post shared by Gaten Matarazzo (@gatenm123) on Sep 9, 2018 at 4:19pm PDT

According to CCD Smiles, CCD is caused by a genetic birth defect that can be either passed down or occur randomly. It occurs once in every one million births. Matarazzo, whose parents do not have it, has been working with the organization since 2016 to share his story and to help spread awareness.“The feedback has been great,” Matarazzo told People that same year. “A lot of people were messaging me saying, ‘You made me feel better about myself, that you can show that you have this condition on TV and embrace it.’ I feel like I’m raising awareness for it. It makes me feel good.”[video_embed id='-1']Before you go: Fearless scuba diver fends off shark with her bare fist[/video_embed]