Congenital Heart Defect(CHD), Kieu Duc Khanh

Kieu Duc Khanh
Boy, 6 years old, Vietnam
Congenital Heart Defect(CHD)
Severance Hospital 2013 Kieu Duc Khanh’s mother was raising him by herself with money from her cleaning work. She found that her baby did not breathe normally when he turned 2 years old. She was not able to get a proper diagnosis even after taking his son to Ho Chi Minh Heart Institute, which is 1,700km from the Honoi city where they live in.

She was frustrated. A Korean volunteer has requested to Korea Health Industry Development Institute for helping Kieu Duc Khanh. In April 2013, Kieu Duc Khanh came to Korea and received medical treatment at Severance Hospital.

“It took the whole month from the medical checkup to diagnosis. Kieu Duc Khanh had complex congenital heart defects, and in total three surgeries were needed.”
- Professor Jae-Young Choi of Severance Hospital


Single ventricle, double inlet ventricle, transposition of great vessels, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, and foramen ovale. He was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect. Especially, his heart had only one chamber instead of two on the left and right due to his single ventricle disease, and it accompanies with cyanoderma and shock.

Therefore, the surgery for this was one of the most difficult ones. Kieu Duc Khanh had the first surgery in 2013, and the final Fontan surgery in May 2014. Both of the two surgeries were very successful.
Kieu Duc Khanh’s mother sent a letter saying that she would keep the love from Korea in her heart, and give the love to some other people during her lifetime.