Shania Twain Reveals She Was Awake During 'Scary' 2018 Open-Throat Surgery to Restore Her Singing Voice: 'You Have to Be Brave'

Shania Twain revealed she was wide awake while undergoing open-throat surgery to restore her singing voice in 2018.

The 60-year-old spilled on helping Jon Bon Jovi navigate a similar procedure in a Tuesday, August 4, interview, noting the operation came after she completely lost the ability to project her voice.

"I told him the surgery was scary; it's an open-throat surgery, and you have to be awake for the surgery," she recalled. "I said, ‘I just have to be honest with you, because if you're going into this, you're gonna hear it from a surgeon anyway, but you might as well hear it from somebody who has been through it.'”

Twain's throat injury was traced back to nerve damage in her larynx, caused by a Lyme disease diagnosis. The singer contracted the illness after being bitten by a tick while horseback riding in 2003, WKML 95.7 reported.

Over time, it rendered her vocal cords unable to close properly. Rather than give up on her singing career, Twain elected to allow doctors to implant Gore-Tex rods to stabilize them.

“You have to be brave, and you have to make a choice," she told American Songwriter. "I either never sing again, I'll never be able to cope with any hour and a half, two hours of singing live, or I get the operation, and I just take the chance. What do I have to lose?”

The surgery could have been a major risk. Twain came back with a raspier version of her voice, which forced her to relearn certain tones and pitches.

The grueling recovery required the Queen of Country Pop to not speak for three weeks as her vocal cords adjusted to the results of the surgery.

However, since recovering, Twain has released two albums: Queen of Me in 2023 and Little Miss Twain in 2026.

"I decided to go for it," the "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" singer explained. "Like I said, it’s different, I embrace it, I’m grateful I can sing, I can hold a note, and I can do it loud and I can be loud and proud."

Twain's advice helped Bon Jovi find the courage to undergo a similar elective procedure after developing laryngeal nerve problems of his own.

His 2022 vocal cord medialization surgery required grueling rehabilitation and healing, but Bon Jovi, 64, told ABC he was "grateful" to be able to perform live again after his recovery.

"I'm excited. I'm also grateful and humble," he said. "[It] has taken a lot of rehabilitation. It's sort of like an athlete… because you're retraining… [like] a leg break for a footballer on the field. You have to slowly walk until you can run."

Twain performed at the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year gala in honor of Bon Jovi, taking the stage with his song "Bed of Roses." Several others also performed to honor the rocker with renditions of his music.

"Your music humbles me and has touched my heart," he thanked them at the time. "It’s been your songs that have kept me company and kept me sane."