‘General Hospital’ Actress Risa Dorken Undergoes Emergency Surgery and ‘Rough’ Hospitalization

General Hospital actress Risa Dorken shared that she spent Christmas week in the hospital after an eight-month health journey. Now, she’s revealing how advocating for herself helped her finally get answers after nearly a year of suffering.

“After 3 ER trips, 7 Dr. visits, pelvic & abdominal ultrasounds, countless blood lab visits, 2 CT scans, 3 MRIs, a HIDA scan, low fodmap diet, echocardiogram and a treadmill stress test- with teary eyes, and an *invisible* problem- I had almost accepted my new reality,” she wrote on Instagram on Sunday, December 29.

“I know my body better than anyone. The pain was intolerable and I knew it wasn’t normal,” she continued. “So I tried a different hospital, and they listened! Thank you UCLA for your professionalism, care & kindness.”

Along with her lengthy caption, Risa shared several photos from her time in the hospital. The Boardwalk Empire alum listed all of the health issues she experienced.

“Emergency gallbladder removal surgery, Developed jaundice (skin + eyes turned yellow), Back in for an ERCP to remove a missed/lodged stone, Thennnnn pancreatitis. Thought I knew pain before.. nope. Now I do,” she explained. “None of those prior scans showed a ‘real’ problem, but in reality my gallbladder was in reallyyy rough shape.”

She thanked her medical team as well as her husband, Bo Clark, for helping her get through the difficult experience.

“We have answers & are healing, because I stood up for myself. It’s *sometimes* hard for healthcare providers to take you(me) seriously, when they look at your chart, see mental health conditions, run their tests, and tell you nothing is wrong- ‘it’s your anxiety,’” she wrote. “It’s devastating to feel dismissed, especially when your health (& happiness) are at stake. Wellll *sometimes* scans are off & it’s a ticking time bomb organ rotting inside you… just saying. Health. Mental Health. It’s all that matters.”

Risa concluded the post by writing, “Be nice to eachother. Why not, ya know? Being a human is hard. Wishing you all a healthyyyyy 2025! Take care of yourselves. XOXO.”

Supporters gathered in the comments section of the post to send Risa well wishes amid her recovery.

“Risa! I’m so glad you followed your instincts and are doing okay. Sending you a big hug ma,” actor Marc Anthony Samuel wrote.

“RISA!!!! I’m so sorry, and if sucks more that it seems like you had to advocate for yourself and your pain in a hospital….But glad it seems like they finally got to the bottom of it. Heal quickly pal!” another person said, while another wrote, “OMF, unbelievable after all those tests that they didn’t see gallbladder issue!! Thank goodness you persisted!! It’s a rough week or 2 to recover but you should be feeling better soon. Then on to 2025! Wishing you all the best!”

Risa has played Amy Driscoll on General Hospital from 2016 to 2024, appearing in more than 100 episodes of the soap opera. After finally getting answers to her health issues, Risa assured fans that she is “doing well.”