Actor Lee Joo-an revealed the story of how he underwent an 80% liver resection for his mother.
On the 18th, he appeared on the MBC entertainment program ‘My Little Old Boy,’ where he played Gong Gil in the tvN drama ‘The Chef of the Tyrant.’
That day, Lee Joo-an caught attention by appearing after waking up without a shirt. Notably, he had a scar on his abdomen, which sparked curiosity. Lee Joo-an explained, “It’s a surgical scar from donating my liver to my mother.”
He reflected, “About eight years ago, my mother was suffering from liver cirrhosis. The doctors said my liver was slightly smaller than average. At that time, one of the three doctors opposed the surgery, and my mother initially told me not to do it.”
However, as his mother’s condition worsened, Lee Joo-an decided to go ahead with the transplant. He said, “My mother’s condition deteriorated to liver cancer, and she fell into a coma. The decision was mine, and I resolved to have the surgery with the thought of ‘Let’s return what came from my mother’s body.’” He added, “I was much more worried about what would happen if something went wrong with my mother than about the fear of the surgery.” His mother has since been declared fully recovered.
He also mentioned, “I had 70-80% of my liver resected. Before the surgery, the doctor said, ‘You could die.’ Usually, the donor is discharged first, but I had to go back to the emergency room that night due to a problem with my gallbladder. In the end, my mother was discharged first and came to visit me,” adding, “Even though it’s said that the liver regenerates after donation, it seems that its function has slightly decreased.”
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
