Avatar Visual Effects Supervisor Rushes to Hospital for Surgery Right After Oscars 2023 Win: Reports

Richard Harbaugh/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Eric Saindon

One Avatar: The Way of Water visual-effects artist had quite the Oscars 2023 experience after he reportedly left the show to immediately undergo surgery after the movie won Best Visual Effects.

On Monday, multiple outlets reported that the film's senior visual-effects supervisor Eric Saindon left Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre and went into surgery Sunday night, immediately after his team accepted their Oscar.

A representative from Weta FX, the visual-effects production company that worked on Avatar: The Way of Water, told IndieWire on Monday that Saindon, 53, had experienced "intense pain" throughout the day Sunday and checked into a hospital in Beverly Hills, California, hours before the ceremony.

Saindon received painkillers from doctors and decided to attend the Oscars despite the pain after he tested negative for appendicitis and kidney stones, but experienced more pain after the team won Avatar's lone accolade of the night at the 95th Academy Awards, according to IndieWire.

Weta FX did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Tuesday.

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20th Century Studios Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

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Saindon left the awards show while he was backstage conducting press-room interviews and returned to the hospital, where doctors conducted an operation to repair a ruptured small intestine, the visual-effects company told IndieWire.

"He's doing okay and recovering as we speak. I'm just glad he left when he did," a representative for Weta FX told Entertainment Tonight on Monday night. "A rupture is serious stuff."

Saindon's mother, Lila Saindon, told NBC News Center Maine on Monday that her son was transferred to an intensive-care unit following the surgery.

She added that he won't be able to return to his New Zealand home for roughly one month.

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The artist's win for Avatar: The Way of Water on Sunday made for his first career Oscar.

Saindon worked on director James Cameron's original 2009 movie Avatar and was promoted to senior visual-effects supervisor during the production of the 2022 sequel, according to IndieWire.

The film's Best Visual Effects honor was officially awarded to Saindon and fellow VFX team members Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham and Daniel Barrett.

Avatar: The Way of Water was nominated for four total awards during Sunday's ceremony, but went home with a lone victory as Everything Everywhere All at Once and All Quiet on the Western Front dominated the night with seven and four wins each, respectively.