Artie Lange Collapses After Gig And Has Emergency Surgery

Comedian Artie Lange has said that he collapsed after a stand-up gig, rushed to the hospital where he had emergency surgery. The former Howard Stern sidekick said that he collapsed at his appearance in Chicago, and based on his schedule would mean his stand-up at Thalia Hall on July 1. Lange revealed the news on his Twitter where he said, “After Chicago gig I collapsed. I had emergency surgery. All the blow & H I’ve done for yrs blew hole in my nose & landed in my chest…”

Cocaine and heroin can cause a what is called a “septal perforation,” or a hole in the nasal cavity, but it is unclear how his chest was affected by his drug abuse. Artie said his chest was infected and doctors then “ripped open my chest and got it all.” He added that he “cheated the devil for the hundredth time.”

A week after collapsing, Lange said he is still in the hospital with “tubes in a hole in my chest” and “a permanent IV line in my arm to my heart for long-term antibiotics.”

Despite the seemingly serious surgery, Artie said he’ll be back performing next week because he needs the money.

Lange is known to abuse drugs and suffered several setbacks as a result of his many addictions. Last March he was arrested on charges of drug possession outside his Hoboken, New Jersey home. Police found cocaine, heroin, and drug paraphernalia in Lange’s possession while he was in his car in the parking garage of his home in Hoboken.