Bindi Irwin says she is “on the road to recovery” after having her appendix removed during emergency surgery that forced her to miss an annual gala held in Las Vegas in honour of her father. 

The conservationist shared a video on Instagram from her hospital bed just an hour after the operation, apologising if she seemed “a little out of it” but thanking everyone for their well wishes.

“I had my appendix removed. I also had 14 new endometriosis lesions that had to be removed and they kindly stitched up my hernia [acquired when she gave birth to her daughter] as well.”

Bindi was to have attended the annual Steve Irwin Gala in Las Vegas, but her brother Robert revealed on Monday that she had suffered a ruptured appendix. Her mother Terri Irwin also missed the event to be by her side.

After “many months of a grumbly appendix”, Bindi said she finally had to seek help on the day of the gala, and was flown to New York so her doctor could also check for endometriosis again.

She expressed her gratitude to the medical team at Lenox Hill Hospital, and also gave credit to Robert for hosting the fundraising event, saying he did “an incredible job raising funds and awareness for Wildlife Warriors”.

“I just wanted you to know that I’m on the road to recovery, one step at a time,” she said in the video. “And I am so lucky to have so much love in my life from my beautiful family. Sending love and light your way, and we’ll get through this.”

Bindi – who has a three-year-old daughter, Grace, with husband Chandler Powell – previously underwent explorative surgery after battling through more than a decade of pain and extreme fatigue. Doctors finally concluded she was suffering from endometriosis, which causes tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow in other places.

She later explained the surgery had uncovered 37 lesions and a cyst and she felt as if she had finally been given “validation”.

-with AAP