Tommy Lee ‘Has His Life Back’ After ‘Monumental’ Hand Surgery

Tommy Lee can twirl his drumsticks for the first time in years thanks to a recent “monumental” hand surgery.

The Motley Crue drummer shared about his “debilitating issues” in a Saturday Instagram post, explaining that he dealt with a condition called Dupuytren’s contracture, in which one or more fingers get stuck in a permanently flexed position. He shared one photo with his fingers bent and several graphic images of his hand during and after surgery. He ended the post with a video of him twirling his drumstick for the first time in “a couple years.”

“Well kids, it’s show and tell time — hope this doesn’t wreck your lunch,” Lee wrote. “Only three weeks ago I underwent a hand surgery by @drcohenhandsurgeon [Dr. Glenn Cohen]. He addressed two debilitating issues for me as a drummer, keyboard player and pretty much everything to do with my right hand. And yesterday was fucking monumental for me to the point of tears.

“I have my life back and my money makers,” he continued. “And for you drummers and musicians out there, I can say it’s possible to fix! And in the last clip I’m able to twirl my sticks again. I haven’t been able to do that in a few years because of the Dupuytren’s contracture and carpal tunnel issues that are now gone! @drcohenhandsurgeon and the staff there I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL.”

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Tommy Lee’s 2024 Plans With Motley Crue

Lee’s hand surgery came at an opportune time, as the drummer will be back on the road with Motley Crue starting in May. The rockers are currently booked for a handful of North American performances, including Welcome to Rockville, Summerfest 2024 and the Ottawa Bluesfest.

The band has also been working on new music with longtime producer Bob Rock, who produced their chart-topping 1989 album Dr. Feelgood. Lee recently told Bill Maher that the band wrote a song called “Canceled” about having never gone through the ordeal themselves.

“There was this article that was like, ‘How did Motley Crue ever not get canceled?’ And we were like, ‘Fuck, we got to write a song about that because we didn’t ever get it,'” Lee said. “We snuck in under the whatever threshold, wherever that was, where we got away with fucking murder.”