Comedian Jay Leno‘s road to recovery for injuries he suffered in a car fire will be longer than he anticipated, according to doctors.
“He did well with that surgery,” Dr. Peter Grossman said at a news conference Wednesday. “He is in good spirits today.”
On Saturday, Leno, 72, was underneath one of his vehicles he was working on when the fire began. He had “fairly significant” burns to his face, hands, and chest, Grossman said.
“I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet,” Leno told Variety.
However, the former Tonight Show host will undergo more surgeries over the next few days, according to Grossman. Leno’s injuries included deep second-degree burns and possibly third-degree burns, as the injuries are still developing.
“Our hope is that when everything is all said and done, he will do well. But burn injuries are progressive and dynamic, and it’s hard to predict ultimately what the final outcome will be at this stage in the game,” Grossman said.
JAY LENO SUFFERS SERIOUS BURNS IN CAR FIRE
“Currently, there’s elements of nerve damage,” Grossman said. “I do anticipate him making a full recovery. Whether there will be remnants of this injury is still way too early to tell.”
Grossman described the celebrity host as “kind” and willing to be almost an ambassador of sorts for the center.
“He has been a remarkably kind and engaging resident,” Grossman said. “He was passing out cookies to some of the children here today in the burn unit, and he’s incredibly compliant, and we’re very fortunate he’s been so kind to everybody here.”
Leno is anxious to get back to work, according to the doctor, and is up and walking around fully coherent.
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He has the company of his wife, Mavis Leno, 76, at the burn center in West Hills, California.
