Pediatric surgeon Kim Woong-han: 'I discovered my son's heart disease too late'

Professor Kim Woong-han, a leading thoracic surgeon in the field of pediatric heart surgery, recently shared a poignant story of how his professional responsibility and parental guilt collided. He recounted the experience of discovering his two-year-old son's congenital heart disease too late and subsequently stepping up to perform the surgery himself. His confession—that despite being a doctor dedicated to saving lives, he failed to notice the warning signs in his own child—has deeply resonated with viewers.

During the April 22 broadcast of the tvN variety show 'You Quiz on the Block,' Kim, a renowned authority in pediatric congenital heart surgery, appeared to discuss his life. Having performed approximately 8,000 pediatric heart surgeries, he has been a driving force in the development of pediatric cardiac surgery in Korea. On the show, he candidly shared not only the intense moments of his medical career but also the personal burden of guilt he carries toward his family.

Recalling the moment he first noticed the abnormality, Kim said, "While sleeping with my child, I felt his heart beating excessively strongly. Suspecting it wasn't a normal heartbeat, I performed auscultation and heard a heart murmur." A heart murmur is an abnormal sound caused by irregular blood flow and is a primary clinical sign of congenital heart disease.

He continued, "My wife is also a pediatrician, and she had mentioned several times that the child's chest shape seemed a bit protruding. But at the time, I just thought it was fine." He admitted with self-reproach, "Once we actually received the diagnosis, I felt I had no face to show my family." For a specialist who has saved countless young lives, missing the warning signs in his own son has remained an indelible source of guilt.

The diagnostic results were more severe than expected. "After conducting the tests, we found that we had already missed the optimal window for surgery. The left side of the heart is particularly critical, and one ventricle had already become enlarged," Kim explained. Ventricular hypertrophy is a pathological change caused by continuous strain on the heart; because the risk of complications like heart failure increases with delay, rapid surgical intervention was vital.

The most difficult decision followed. In medical ethics, a surgeon performing surgery on an immediate family member is viewed with extreme caution due to the intense psychological burden and potential issues regarding objectivity. However, Kim's wife left the choice to him.

"My wife said, 'You do the surgery. I think you are the best at it,'" Kim recalled, describing the desperation of the moment. "She even said, 'If something happens to the child, let's die together.'" It was a decision made at the crossroads of life and death, where peak expertise met parental desperation.

The surgery, performed under extreme tension, was a success. While his son recovered fully, Kim confessed, "Even now, the feeling of being sorry does not disappear." His story highlights the heavy burden doctors carry, balancing their professional mission with their primal instincts as parents.

Kim's account transcends the technicalities of high-difficulty pediatric surgery, touching on the fate of medical professionals, their responsibility to family, and their human anguish. It serves as a reminder that even those on the front lines saving lives are ordinary parents who can be just as vulnerable as anyone else.