Why Joe Manganiello got a 3-foot dragon tattoo to cover surgery scars from a seven-year battle with a mysterious illness

Joe Manganiello recently revealed the story behind his massive dragon tattoo. The Magic Mike actor said that the red-and-black design covered scars from multiple surgeries as he battled a mysterious illness for seven years. He recently shared photos on Instagram.

Why did Joe Manganiello get a dragon tattoo?

Manganiello has revealed the personal meaning behind his first tattoo. The 49-year-old actor got a three-foot dragon inked along the right side of his body, from his hip to just above his knee. The red-and-black design covers scars left by several surgeries. He mentioned it as 'BLOODLINES, Chapter 4: Enter the Dragon.’

In an Instagram post on October 19, Manganiello explained that the tattoo was connected to his experience with a serious illness. He also linked its meaning to his new memoir, Bloodlines.


“In chapter four, I related my struggle with the illness to my body sending out knights to fight a (western) dragon that didn't exist,” he wrote in the caption.

Trigger warning:

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He explained that the soldiers in this comparison kept damaging his body when they could not find an enemy to fight.

Manganiello said, "The idea to cover my surgery scars with my first tattoo, a three foot dragon down my right side, was my effort to take back what little agency I felt that I had, and to signal to my body to stop attacking the dragon… because the (eastern) dragon was me."

He described the dragon as a way to signal to his body to stop attacking it. He added that the eastern dragon represented him.

The actor shared photos showing the tattoo's progress, from its initial outline to the finished design. The images offered a closer look at the artwork and the scars it was meant to cover.

Joe Manganiello recently shared photos from his health battle

The tattoo reveal came days after Manganiello shared a separate Instagram post about his illness. On October 15, he posted photos from his hospital stay and described the physical toll of his seven-year health battle.

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In the caption, he explained that his weight dropped by 60 pounds in the two weeks after surgery to remove part of his large intestine.

He explained, “In the days following the amputation of my large intestine, my weight began to plummet. I would ultimately lose a total of 60 lbs during the two weeks following the surgery. If you zoom in, you can see the top of my first ostomy bag creeping up over the sheets.”

The caption further read as follows:

“A shot of my abdomen after the reconnection/take down surgery or anastomosis, in which my ostomy bag was removed and what was left of my digestive tract was reconnected.

An example of the multitude of skin conditions I was plagued with during the seven years I was sick. My skin, an immune organ, was stricken with just about every condition known to man, usually in combination.”

In an interview with PEOPLE, Manganiello described the condition as nearly fatal. He said he underwent numerous colonoscopies and several major procedures during the seven-year ordeal.

Manganiello's health problems began around 2016, when he became seriously ill and required emergency intestinal surgery. Doctors removed part of his large intestine. He later needed another operation to reconnect his digestive tract. The procedures left him with extensive scars. He also relied on an ostomy bag for a period during his recovery.