'Law & Order: SVU' Star Has Collapsed Lung, Continues to Work

Zap2It.com | January 13, 2009

Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Hargitay will finish out the season

A partially collapsed lung isn't stopping Mariska Hargitay.

The "Law & Order: SVU" star will continue to work even though her rep says she's been "sidelined with a pneumothorax," report news sources.

Hargitay, 44, "will appear in all episodes for the rest of the season of 'Law & Order: SVU,'" the rep adds.

A pneumothorax occurs when air fills the pleural cavity, the body cavity surrounding the lungs, crowding the lungs and causing shortness of breath, among other possibly life-threatening symptoms, depending on the seriousness of the condition.

A collapsed lung could occur from an injury, chronic lung disease, infections, cancer or very rarely, spontaneously.

There's no definitive reason given for Hargitay's condition, although her rep says that the injury did not occur on the set of the show since she had been on vacation.

TMZ.com says that the actress was sledding in the Hamptons around New Year's Eve, but no one will confirm if a sledding accident caused the lung problem.

Hargitay was nominated for a Golden Globe for playing Det. Olivia Benson on "SVU," but did not attend Sunday's ceremony.