Actress Moon Geun-young mentioned that she underwent four surgeries because of the rare disease acute compartment syndrome, and a clear scar remained on her right arm.
On the 22nd broadcast of tvN's U Quiz on the Block (hereafter U Quiz), Moon Geun-young appeared and opened up about her time of great popularity as a child actress loved as the "national little sister" and even her inner thoughts about considering retirement from acting after the sudden onset of acute compartment syndrome.
Moon Geun-young, who gained great fame as Song Hyekyo's child role in the drama Autumn in My Heart, won national affection by turning every project into a hit, including the films A Tale of Two Sisters and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and the dramas Painter of the Wind and Cinderella's Sister. However, nine years ago she was diagnosed with the rare disease acute compartment syndrome, underwent four major surgeries, and went through a difficult time, including stopping all acting activities.
Nine years ago, while preparing for a performance in the provinces, Moon Geun-young slipped on an icy road, her arm swelled and she went to a university hospital, where it was not a simple fracture. Following a doctor's recommendation, who judged it was not a simple cast case, she had an MRI and was diagnosed with acute compartment syndrome in 2017. She said, "When the fascia surrounding the muscle is compressed, blood cannot flow, and this causes an emergency condition. That's why the word acute is attached."
Hearing that "the golden time may have passed and it could have become necrotic," Moon Geun-young entered her first emergency surgery. "I don't remember because I was waking up from anesthesia, but I was told I said to my mother, 'I'm so happy I can rest without worry now~.' My mother heard that and went outside and cried," she recalled.
She added, "I didn't know the wound was this big, and because closing the wound on the arm could cause recurrence, they kept it open. I had a bandage five times the size of my arm wrapped, and when they removed the bandage I saw my wound for the first time. I thought, 'Wow, this is serious.' I felt relieved that necrosis hadn't progressed. But when I heard, 'The finger nerves may not come back; that part was serious,' I cried. I always cried alone," she recalled.
After that she had three more surgeries and required a long rehabilitation period. Moon Geun-young said, "Because the nerves were dead, I had to do rehabilitation to revive them, and even after surgery I couldn't make a fist. I couldn't straighten my hand, I ate everything with my left hand, and at first I used a fork, then practiced using chopsticks with my left hand," adding, "Then I thought, 'I may not be able to act anymore.' I strongly thought I might not be able to use my arm. When it gradually improved I practiced using my arm by flipping coins," revealing she even considered retiring from acting.
[Photo] 'U Quiz' capture
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