“Performing a surgery is like rock climbing. The amount of tension and concentration is extreme because mistakes are not allowed, not even once. I am usually a mind wanderer but in the operation room, I pour all my energy into every moment.” For Professor Jae Suk Yoo, a beating-heart surgery is never an easy task regardless of the number of surgeries he has performed. Yet, he is still enthusiastic in solving new problems. He says, “I believe courage is the most necessary trait since only after giving something a try will one know about courage.”

Performing cardiac surgery, a lifelong dream

I dreamed of becoming a doctor as a kid, watching TV series about medical students or hospitals. Thanks to my father who worked in the medical device industry, there were piles of domestic and foreign articles related to cardiac surgery at home. More and more exposure gave shape to my dream. However, before my dreams became true, I was hospitalized as a thoracic and cardiovascular surgery patient. I had to undergo a lobectomy due to tuberculosis infected from a multiple drug resistant tuberculosis patient during my internship. It took me 2 years for full recovery after leaving the hospital. I was seriously considering whether to choose the field of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery due to limited physical strengths, but already, my heart had been set. “I was wide awake the day I performed my first surgery on a patient. It was such a mind-blowing experience for me, and I was so proud of myself.”

I learned minimally invasive cardiac surgery from Professor Jae Won Lee. It is a surgical method often used in other surgical areas but not in the heart field, the reason being that it is difficult to rely only on the screen to perform aorta surgery while the heart continues to beat. Professor Yoo went further to attempt endoscopic valve surgery using 3D scope which is more advantageous than the existing robotic surgeries as it can be done at relatively low cost and with little infrastructure. Professor Yoo became Korea’s first to successfully perform the surgery. “While Professor Lee pioneered and spread the minimally invasive cardiac surgery in South Korea, I wish to become a stepping stone in upgrading the level as I strive to generalize totally endoscopic, minimally invasive cardiac surgery.”

Writing down a dramatic script

My experience with a patient when I was working as a fellow at Asan Medical Center (AMC) was used as a source in a recently-aired medical TV drama. “There was a girl named Gyeongmi who had Loeys-Dietz syndrome. She experienced aortic rupture and became completely paralyzed. There was not much I can do to help as a doctor. I came to know that she was an orphan after seeing that she had been occasionally visited only by a Catholic nun. When I asked her if she feels lonely, she answered by blinking her eyes, and thus, I wrote on Twitter that Gyeongmi will be happy when she has some company. Thankfully, around 15 volunteers took turns to visit her during visiting hours. I believe she must have felt less lonely at least a few months before she passed away. After giving birth to my first child, I remember Gyeongmi mouthing ‘Congratulations on giving birth to a baby girl’ during my visit to ICU. I was also so grateful to Gyeongmi then.”

My experience of spending 6 years at Bucheon Sejong Hospital away from AMC served as an opportunity for me to mature as a doctor. I had to provide care for surgical patients and be in charge of all decisions and responsibilities all by myself. There was case when an ECMO was required for a patient whose heart function was extremely poor but transfusion could not be done because of the patient’s religious conviction. Prolonged use of ECMO with no blood transfusion had been unprecedented worldwide. Professor Yoo as well as all ICU nurses stayed alert and focused on the patient during the lunar New Year’s holiday. “When the patient became healthy after around 20 days of ECMO treatment and was discharged from the hospital, I felt I matured as well. It became clear to me that I can save a patient if I do not give up even if it seems impossible. I also learned that treating severely ill patients has much importance as surgery. Then, I came back to AMC because I wanted to share my experience of being in full charge of the patients with the juniors at AMC.”

Attitudes following the will

Many patients who had long suffered from heart valve disease go through difficult times in the ICU even after surgery. In some cases, sepsis can be developed as the heart fails to send blood throughout the body and, as a result, blood vessels other than the heart become contracted. One becomes sensitive at every moment because death can be reversed anytime. Professor Yoo once thought being sensitive was a disadvantage. “When I decided to maintain sensitivity but be wary of rudeness, I felt a little more at ease.”

At times, my wife asks me whether I am letting my personal life slip through my fingers as emergency surgery is my first priority, always thinking about life and death of patients. Professor Yoo thinks that the issue of work-life balance is an assignment that needs considered continuously, but now, patients come first. “I think all AMC staffs stay focused like an athlete going to the Olympics. No athlete who prioritizes training is called a workaholic, and I intend to run like an active athlete until I become confident that I can cure all patients.” Professor Yoo closed the interview saying, “I now slightly understand what my professor meant by saying doctors should have goodness and will and humility when I was a medical student. To maintain goodness, you need a tremendous amount of will, and humility allows you to accept new things. That is how you become a doctor.”