Singer Adele is on the road to recovery after undergoing throat surgery in America.

The Grammy award-winning star was forced to cancel a string of tour dates and promotional appearances after the problem with her vocal chords surfaced earlier this year.

A spokesman for Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where the 23-year-old was treated, said she was expected to make a full recovery.

"Adele underwent vocal cord microsurgery by Dr. Steven Zeitels to stop recurrent vocal cord hemorrhage (bleeding) from a benign polyp," the rep said. "This condition is typically the result of unstable blood vessels in the vocal cord that can rupture."

The Rolling in the Deep singer announced a break from her schedule in October. "Singing is literally my life, it's my hobbie, my love, my freedom and now my job," she wrote in a blog post. "I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever."

Adele's second album 21 won massive critical acclaim on release in January, with over 3 million copies sold to date.

Come see her and other massively successful music artists, in our gallery of female pop pioneers.

Adele recovering after throat operation