Australian star Ruby Rose has revealed she needed emergency surgery after badly injuring two discs in her back doing stunts for new DC Comics standalone TV series Batwoman.

In a graphic Instagram post to her 14.2 million followers, Rose shared 3.19 minutes of time-lapse footage from her surgery.

Backed by an inspirational music track, the operation clip included the initial incision and showed instruments probing Rose’s insides as doctors worked on her flesh and muscle near her spine.

She said the on-set accident a couple of months ago put her at risk of being paralysed because the injured discs came close to severing her spinal cord.

Production on the show, which starts streaming on Foxtel next week, was interrupted while Rose recovered from the operation earlier this year.

In her Instagram post, the 33-year-old revealed she gained a “new Pez dispenser scar” on her neck as a result of going under the knife.

“I was told I needed an emergency surgery or I was risking becoming paralysed,” she wrote.

“I had herniated two discs doing stunts, and they were close to severing my spinal chord [sic].

“I was in chronic pain and yet couldn’t feel my arms.”

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While followers called Rose a “warrior” and “so brave”, she anticipated some people might find it odd that she made a movie-quality production documenting her ordeal.

“To anyone asking why I let them video it. Did you not watch that Grey’s Anatomy episode where they left a towel in a patient??” she wrote.

“Also I wanted to see what happens when we go under.”

Rose, who plays the titular superhero in Batwoman, thanked her surgeon for “everything you did and for allowing me to keep working and doing what I love. I am forever in your debt.”

Seen walking gingerly with the help of medical staff at the end of the video, the Orange is the New Black star is something of an old hand at serious surgeries.

In a 2018 tweet that has since been deleted, Rose said she had surgery to fix a spinal issue that had plagued her for a decade.

It’s not known if her recent surgery was linked to Rose being a late cancellation at Comic Con in San Diego in July. She was due to speak on two panels but pulled out.

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Her “Pez” scar was visible in a video she made apologising to fans: “It is devastating. My face is literally everywhere but I’m not going to be there, which stinks.”

She didn’t say directly what was behind her no-show, but said cast and crew needed to finish “this ambitious episode”.

Rose debuted as Kate Kane/Batwoman in a DC Crossover episode in December that linked three storylines from CW’s Supergirl, Flash and Arrow and served as a trial run for the character.

She made history by becoming TV’s first openly lesbian superhero. The network made it a priority to cast an openly gay star as Batwoman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Rose quit Twitter as a result of backlash over the casting decision.

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Batwoman premieres on October 8 at 8.30pm AEST, screening on Foxtel’s FOX8 channel or available to stream on Foxtel Now.