Bindi Irwin undergoes surgery for endometriosis after 10 years of pain

Bindi Irwin has undergone major surgery for endometriosis in the United States.

The daughter of the late Steve ‘the Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin spoke for the first time about her decade-long struggle with the disease in a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday morning.

The 24-year-old conservationist, who shares daughter Grace Warrior, one, with her husband Chandler Powell, also posted a confronting photo of herself in a hospital bed after the surgery.

The Crikey! It’s the Irwins star said she’d spent 10 years ‘torn apart [by] the pain’ and knew she had to have surgery because she ‘couldn’t live like I was’. 

She also explained how the surgeon at Seckin Endometriosis Center in New York City had discovered and removed a total of 37 lesions and a ‘chocolate cyst’ – a term for a cyst filled with menstrual blood.

Bindi Irwin, the daughter of the late Steve ‘the Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin. has undergone major surgery for endometriosis. She is pictured here after her surgery

The conservationist, 24, who shares daughter Grace with her husband Chandler Powell, (both pictured) spoke for the first time about her years-long struggle with the disease on Wednesday

Endometriosis is an often painful condition in which the tissue that lines the uterus also grows outside the uterus.

There are a wide variety of symptoms: pain can affect areas ranging from the abdomen and lower back to the pelvis and vagina.

Other symptoms include painful sexual intercourse, abnormal menstruation, nausea, bloating, and pain with bowel movements.   

Bindi at first wasn’t sure if she wanted to discuss her health publicly, but decided to speak out because she wanted to help other women struggling with endometriosis.

She also wanted to draw attention to the fact doctors often do not take the condition seriously enough, noting how one physician had once told her the pain was just a normal part of being a woman. 

‘For 10 years I’ve struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea. Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a very long road,’ she began.

‘These last 10 years have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc.’

Bindi continued: ‘A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman and I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain.

‘I didn’t find answers until a friend, Leslie Mosier, helped set me on a path of regaining my life. I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis.’

She said ‘going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn’t live like I was’, adding that ‘every’ aspect of her life was being ‘torn apart’ because of the pain.

‘To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep and difficult to remove, and a chocolate cyst,’ she continued.

Bindi (pictured with her husband Chandler, brother Robert, mother Terri and daughter Grace) said she’d spent 10 years ‘torn apart [by] the pain’ and knew she had to have surgery because she ‘couldn’t live like I was’. She added of her symptoms: ‘Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone’s life, however, that is not always the case’

Bindi revealed her surgeon’s first words to her after she woke up from the procedure were: ‘How did you live with this much pain?’

She said having this ‘validation’ from a medical professional after years of having her pain brushed off by doctors was an ‘indescribable’ feeling, before going on to thank her family and friends who had encouraged her to find answers.

‘Thank you to the doctors and nurses who believed my pain,’ she added. ‘I’m on the road to recovery and the gratitude I feel is overwhelming.’

More to come.