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Artie Lange said his nose was severely damaged by years of snorting drugs, and he also recounted accidentally snorting glass mixed with crushed OxyContin. He described undergoing surgery, but the sources available do not confirm that he later completed the reconstruction he discussed. In September 2019, he said he could still breathe through his nose and wanted to keep its appearance for a time as a reminder of his past. Those are dated statements, not confirmation of his condition today.
What happened to Artie Lange’s nose?
Lange described a long history of intranasal drug use as the broader cause of the damage. In a September 2019 interview with the Times Union, he also recounted an episode in which glass from a broken salt shaker became mixed with crushed OxyContin and was accidentally snorted. His account presents that incident as part of a longer history of damage, not as the sole explanation for his nose’s appearance.
In a 2017 interview with The Daily Beast, Lange said, “Well half of my nose is gone. My nose has no septum.” That was his description of his condition, not an independent clinical finding.
Did Lange have surgery or reconstruction?
In a 2019 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Lange described receiving emergency care and surgery after the glass incident, as well as having another operation later. He discussed the possibility of reconstructive surgery and concerns about managing pain during recovery. The episode transcript is an account of what Lange said, not a medical record, and it does not establish that reconstruction was completed.
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What did he say about his nose after leaving the Stern show?
In the September 2019 Times Union interview, Lange said he could still breathe through his nose and expected to fix it eventually. He also said he wanted to leave its appearance unchanged temporarily because it reminded him of what he had survived and might warn younger people about the consequences of drug use. The interview records what he said at that time; it does not verify whether he later had surgery.
Lange joked that people asked, “How’d that nose happen?” and that he answered, “Too much yoga,” or said he had stopped to smell roses with cocaine on them. He recounted the joke in the context of a Comedy Cellar set; it was humor, not his factual explanation of the injury.
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Did the nose injury cause his departure from the show?
The available sources do not establish that Lange’s nose injury caused his departure from The Howard Stern Show. His official biography says that after leaving the show he continued in radio and toured as a stand-up comedian, but it does not link his departure to the injury.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about his nose now?
The interviews cited here document Lange’s statements in 2017 and 2019. They do not establish his current medical condition or whether he ultimately underwent reconstruction. It would be inaccurate to treat his 2019 plan as proof that surgery later happened.
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