'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro shares update on recovery 1 year after injury, jokes he won't be a 'hand model'

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"Cake Boss" star Buddy Valastro reflected on the near-miraculous recovery he’s made after a potentially career-ending accident roughly one year ago. 

The Food Network star's hand was impaled after getting it stuck in the bowling pinsetter, a representative for his company confirmed to Fox News at the time. A malfunction with the pinsetter at his home lane, which had been an easy fix in the past, caused Valastro's hand to become lodged and compressed inside the machine, his spokesperson said.

Now, after five surgeries and a lot of physical therapy and doctor visits, Valastro says his dominant, cake-crafting hand is at about 95% better. However, he notes it may not be as easy on the eyes. 

Speaking on the "Today" show to mark the one-year anniversary of the incident, Valastro noted how lucky he feels to be able to get back to the baking work that he loves. In a major sign of his recovery, he even won a new season of his competition show "Buddy vs. Duff." 

'CAKE BOSS' STAR BUDDY VALASTRO REVEALS HE UNDERWENT A THIRD SURGERY TO FIX HIS INJURED HAND

He told the hosts that, in the days following his hospitalization, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever decorate a cake again. 

"I really had no idea what I was going to get back to," he explained. "At that point, I don’t think the doctor even knew. It was really scary because that’s part of me that I call my inner child. When I think about ‘Cake Boss,’ or I think about these cakes that I make, I think anything is possible and then I go and make it happen... with my hands. That’s what I do."

He added: "I felt like part of that might not ever be there again."

However, the "Cake Boss" stuck to it, this time believing that recovery was possible and, once again, making his hand do the impossible. He explained that he remained in that stressful uncertainty until February. After five surgeries, though, he is proud to report that he’s doing better.

'CAKE BOSS' STAR BUDDY VALASTRO IMPALES HAND IN 'TERRIBLE' BOWLING ACCIDENT

'Cake Boss' star Buddy Valastro's hand was impaled after getting it stuck in the bowling pinsetter.  (AP, File.) (AP)

"I don’t think I’m going to be a hand model," he joked. "And I might have to get another surgery over time, but I mean, considering what happened... I had a huge metal spike through my hand, the fact that I’m here talking to you guys do today, doing what I’m doing…" 

Valastro concluded by touching on the high degree of respect he now has for doctors and nurses, all of whom helped him recover in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"Hats off to all the doctors and nurses and everybody in that industry who really put us first every time," he concluded. 

The professional baker’s comments echo those he made last month during an appearance on the "Rachael Ray Show" where he showed off that his cake decorating skills had not diminished. 

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Buddy Valastro updated fans on his recovery one year after his gruesome hand injury. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)

It is indeed a medical marvel that Valastro is able to easily decorate a cake with his hand after the injury essentially mutilated it. After his hand got stuck in the pinsetter, a 1 ½-inch metal rod slowly and repeatedly impaled his hand three times between his ring and middle fingers, the spokesperson explained to Fox News at the time. 

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More than five minutes elapsed and he was still unable to remove his hand. His son cut him free from the machine using a reciprocating saw, which he used to cut through the metal rod. He has since been very open about his recovery, sharing every step with his fans on social media. In December, he appeared on the TLC special "Buddy Valastro: Road to Recovery."