Actress Moon Geun Young opened up about a past emergency surgery, laying bare the sheer fear she felt and the grueling road to rehab.
Appearing on the April 22 episode of tvN’s variety show You Quiz on the Block, Moon looked back on the time she underwent emergency surgery for acute compartment syndrome. The condition is a medical emergency in which pressure inside a muscle and nerve compartment spikes rapidly, cutting off blood flow; missing the treatment window can lead to tissue death or nerve damage.
Moon shared, "I was preparing for a regional theater performance. I slipped on an icy road in winter and injured my wrist," recalling how it all began. She initially thought it was just a bruise or a simple fracture, but by the next day, the wrist had swollen severely.
"If I had gone to the hospital right away, I could have found out sooner," she said. "I assumed it was just swelling and left it for about a day. In that time, things got much worse."
At the hospital, X-rays didn’t show anything definitive, and she was first advised to get a cast. But just as they were about to proceed, the medical staff noticed red flags, recommended an MRI, and diagnosed acute compartment syndrome. Moon recalled, "The doctor said, 'We may have already missed the golden hour,' and told me there was a chance necrosis had started, so I needed immediate surgery. I went straight into an emergency operation."
The reality after surgery was even more shocking. "When I saw the wound, I realized how serious it was," she said. "Thankfully, necrosis hadn’t progressed, but I was told the nerves in my fingers might never recover." She added, "I parked in the underground lot and cried for a long time," revealing just how devastated she was.
Moon then underwent three additional surgeries and a long period of rehabilitation. She confessed that everyday life became a struggle because she could barely use her right hand. "At first, I couldn’t do anything with my right hand. I even had to eat with my left," she said. "I was terrified that if I couldn’t use my arm, I might never be able to act again."
As she continued, Moon’s eyes welled up. The fear of losing the most crucial part of her body as an actor—and the long journey back to the stage—hinted at the immense ordeal she endured.
Meanwhile, after a lengthy hiatus, Moon Geun Young has returned to the stage with the play Orphans.