Witnesses claim that unnecessary surgery had definite relation to Shin Hae Chul's death

The fifth hearing for Sky Hospital's Director Kang, who is charged with medical malpractice, was held on March 7 at Seoul Central District Court. If you recall, Director Kang had operated on the late singer Shin Hae Chul after recommending to him a surgical procedure that he did not need. Unfortunately, complications rose from this procedure, and Shin Hae Chul passed away from a pericardial puncture which led to the poisoning of his blood and eventual death.

At the hearing, three people were present as witnesses, namely the three medical examiners who had conducted the autopsy of Shin Hae Chul's body. The very first person on the witness stand was Choi, who had 25 years of experience working as a coroner. Choi stated, "The cause of death is a puncture. It is not certain whether the puncture occurred post-surgery or during the time of surgery but I think it's correct to assume that the puncture formed in relation to the surgery. Typically, it's true that a puncture is not supposed to form. Every surgery is different, but there was a microscopic puncture; it could be that we didn't see it. What's certain is that punctures don't form on their own. If the surgery was done well, then the post-surgery puncture should not have formed."

Director Kang rebutted, "After the surgery, we pumped carbon dioxide into the small intestine and confirmed that there were no areas that were leaking," asserting that the puncture did not form during the surgery. In response to Kang's rebuttal, Choi returned, "Even if it was a post-surgery puncture which occurred due to thermal damage, if the procedure was done well, then it wouldn't have formed [in the first place]."

Another coroner by the name of Choi, who has 15 years of experience, said, "It can't be known whether [the puncture] formed post-surgery or during surgery but we need to judge whether it was inevitable."

Park, who was the last of the witnesses and has 7 years of experience, said, "It is possible that the post-surgery puncture formed due to damages during the operation. It's hard to say whether it was medical malpractice, but I don't think that punctures are something that are inevitably formed [from surgery]. Bottom line, [the puncture] shouldn't have formed."

Director Kang argued, "I used an ultrasonic cutter to perform the detachment surgery. It's possible that there was thermal damage in this process. I still deem that it occurred post-surgery."

The sixth trial will be held on April 1. Two doctors from Asan Medical Center will be present as witnesses.

Share this article