4-Year-Old Child Who Underwent Heart Surgery in Critical Condition... Medical Team Flew 300km by Firefighting Helicopter

Fire Agency and Seoul National University Hospital Assist Inter-Hospital Transfers
Child Safely Moved, Recovering in Intensive Care Unit

A 4-year-old child experiencing respiratory distress was safely treated thanks to medical staff who flew approximately 300 km round-trip by fire department helicopter from Seoul. On the 29th, the fire authorities announced that at around 8:40 a.m., an urgent request was received from Jeongseon Hospital of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service in Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, to airlift a boy named A (4) to Samsung Medical Center.

Boy A, who had a history of heart surgery at Samsung Medical Center, showed symptoms of respiratory distress starting the previous night and urgently visited the emergency room at Jeongseon Hospital. At that time, A was in a critical condition with oxygen saturation far below the normal level. Although intubation to assist breathing was necessary, Jeongseon Hospital was unable to perform the procedure and had to transfer him to a larger hospital.

A 4-year-old boy who suddenly experienced a drop in oxygen saturation and required emergency surgery after heart surgery is being urgently transported from Jeongseon, Gangwon-do to Seoul on the morning of the 29th using a fire department helicopter.
[Photo by Fire Department]

Boy A's parents also requested Jeongseon Hospital to transfer him to Samsung Medical Center, where he had previously undergone surgery. The 4-year-old boy, who suddenly experienced a drop in oxygen saturation after heart surgery and required emergency surgery, was urgently transported from Jeongseon, Gangwon Province to Seoul on the morning of the 29th using a fire department helicopter. After arriving at Seongnam Seoul Airport by helicopter, the child was transferred by ambulance to Samsung Medical Center. Provided by the Fire Department.

The 4-year-old boy, who suddenly experienced a drop in oxygen saturation after heart surgery and required emergency surgery, was urgently transported from Jeongseon, Gangwon Province to Seoul on the morning of the 29th using a fire department helicopter. After arriving at Seongnam Seoul Airport by helicopter, the child was transferred by ambulance to Samsung Medical Center. Accordingly, at around 9:55 a.m. that day, emergency medicine medical staff from Seoul National University Hospital boarded the fire department helicopter, traveled to Jeongseon, and at around 11 a.m., picked up boy A at Jeongseon Public Stadium and arrived at Seoul Airport about 30 minutes later.

A 4-year-old boy who suddenly experienced a drop in oxygen saturation and required emergency surgery after heart surgery was urgently transported from Jeongseon, Gangwon-do to Seoul on the morning of the 29th using a firefighting helicopter from the National Fire Agency.
[Photo by National Fire Agency]

The transfer from the airport to the hospital was handled by the Seoul Severe Patient Public Transport Center (SMICU). SMICU is commissioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and operated with support from Seoul National University Hospital. It is a special ambulance equipped with a ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) devices. Boy A was in a critical condition with oxygen saturation that was difficult to recover, and after intubation at the hospital, he is currently admitted to the intensive care unit receiving treatment.

A fire department official explained, "In hospitals with poor medical conditions, doctors may not be able to board the fire department helicopter or doctor helicopters may not be operated, which can cause gaps during inter-hospital transfers. This transfer of boy A was a case where medical staff from a third hospital and the fire department assisted the transfer."

Meanwhile, in principle, doctor helicopters have restrictions on transporting patients beyond their designated regions. Also, when a doctor helicopter is dispatched, doctors from the receiving hospital are involved. If the patient is transferred to a hospital that does not operate a doctor helicopter, a doctor from the sending hospital boards the fire department helicopter. However, in regional small and medium-sized hospitals, doctors find it difficult to leave their posts and board the helicopter. Therefore, there are calls for alternatives that can quickly transfer patients in emergency situations.