Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Lippert's surgeons generate publicity
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Plastic surgeon Lew Dae-hyun, left, and orthopedic surgeon Choi Yun-rak
By Jhoo Dong-chan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Plastic surgeon Lew Dae-hyun and orthopedic surgeon Choi Yun-rak at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital has received wide publicity since they performed a surgery on U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark W. Lippert.
The 42-year-old U.S. envoy was sent to the hospital after he sustained a slash on his face and left arm and hand with a 25-centimeter long kitchen knife wielded by pro-North Korea radical activist Kim Ki-jong during a breakfast meeting last Thursday.
Kim’s attack left an 11-centimeter-long gash on Lippert’s right cheek and caused nerve damage in his left hand.
The hospital initially expected more than five hours for full operation.
Lew and Choi immediately organized a special surgical team and performed two different operations simultaneously on Lippert’s right cheek and arm. The operation halved the anticipated operation time, taking only two and a half hours.
Lew, now a leading plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Korea, once learned surgery from Tark Kwan-chul, a retired medical professor in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Yonsei University.
Tark, like Lew, performed a similar surgery when President Park Geun-hye, the then chairwoman of the Grand National Party, was slashed with a knife on her face by a radical leftist nine years ago. (The Grand National Party is a predecessor to the ruling Saenuri Party.)
Orthopedic surgeon Choi is also renowned for hand and microsurgery operation in Korea.
Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital said Tuesday that the U.S. ambassador has recovered fast and does not feel any pain on his face now.
Lippert left the hospital Tuesday and is expected to receive outpatient treatment afterward.