The Chosun Daily reported on 2/4 that the incident occurred on 24/3. A flight carrying seven to eight doctors from the Korean Academy of Family Medicine, including Professor Kim Jeong-hwan of Gangnam Eulji Medical Center and Academy Director Kim Cheol-min, was traveling to the Philippines for a scientific conference. Soon after takeoff, the cabin crew announced a call for medical personnel to assist a severely ill passenger.

Professor Kim Jeong-hwan and his colleagues provided emergency aid to a patient on a flight from South Korea to the Philippines on 24/3. *Photo: Facebook Kim Jeong-hwan*

Professor Kim Jeong-hwan reached the scene to find a middle-aged foreign woman collapsed by the lavatory door, her face pale. The passenger's breathing was shallow, and her blood pressure had fallen below 80 mmHg, putting her at risk of cardiac arrest. Although a stroke was suspected, the doctors lacked the specialized equipment for a precise diagnosis, adding pressure to the decision of whether to initiate an emergency landing.

Professor Kim Cheol-min quickly moved to intubate the patient to clear her airway. The patient's large build and tongue prolapse complicated the procedure with the available plastic laryngoscope. Resourcefully, he switched to a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) from the onboard medical kit. Meanwhile, Professor Kim Jeong-hwan used a stethoscope to monitor her breathing. Following this, they worked together to provide continuous respiratory support using a bag-valve mask (Ambu bag).

The woman's condition improved due to the timely emergency care. Within minutes, she began breathing on her own, her blood pressure stabilized, and she regained consciousness, responding with head movements and blinks. The team closely monitored her for the next 3 hours 30 minutes. Once the plane landed in Manila, they transferred the passenger to the local medical team.

The South Korean doctors took turns caring for the patient for 3 hours 30 minutes until the plane landed and she was handed over to the local medical team. *Photo: Facebook Kim Jeong-hwan*

Professor Kim Jeong-hwan later shared on his personal page that this was a rare and critical emergency. He emphasized that the presence of several specialists in the same field on the flight, coordinating a timely response, was exceptionally fortunate.

Binh Minh (According to The Chosun Daily, Maeil Business)