Jimmy Kimmel’s Son’s Surgeon Says His Heart Defect ‘Surprised’ Them: ‘The Scariest, Most Terrifying Thing’

In an interview with “Good Morning America,” Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes opened up about Kimmel’s son Billy’s heart defect.

Jimmy Kimmel’s son’s surgeon shares new details about 7-year-old’s heart condition.

In a new interview with Hello America, Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes opened up about Kimmel’s son Billy’s heart defect, which the surgeon said the late-night host and his wife Molly McNearney didn’t know about until after Billy was born . Dr. Starnes obtained permission from Kimmel to conduct the interview.

“That surprised them,” Dr. Starnes began. “They thought Billy was going to be perfectly normal until two or three hours after the birth. That’s when the nurse noticed the child was a little blue and called the alarm.”

The doctor noted that this experience “has to be the scariest and most terrifying thing a parent can experience.”

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Related: Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Son Billy, 7, Successfully Underwent Third Open-Heart Surgery: ‘Happy, Healthy Kid’

Dr. Starnes explained that Billy suffered from a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart condition in which four different heart defects affect normal blood flow in the heart. This causes low-oxygen blood to circulate through the body and may usually require surgery during infancy or early childhood.

Noting that Billy suffered from a “very severe form” of the disease, Dr Starnes said the young boy “had no right ventricular connection”.

In late May, Kimmel announced that his son Billy had undergone his third open heart surgery. The comedian shared a photo of his son smiling in a hospital bed, revealing in his Instagram caption that he underwent another open heart surgery over the weekend. Billy was born with a congenital heart condition in 2017.

“This weekend our boy Billy underwent his third (hopefully three) open heart surgery. We approached the experience with a lot of optimism and almost as much fear and came away with a new valve inside a happy, healthy child,” began Kimmel, who then thanked all of Billy’s “hard-working” doctors, nurses and other staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. .

“Walking through this hospital, meeting parents in their most vulnerable state, children in pain and miracle workers doing everything in their power to save them is a humbling experience. We hope you will not have never need CHLA, but if you do, know that they help families regardless of their ability to pay, thanks in large part to the Affordable Care Act (another tribute to the late Senator John McCain), donations generous from companies like Disney, for whom I am proud to work and especially from generous people like you,” he continued.

A month prior, Kimmel reflected on Billy’s previous open heart surgeries as he celebrated his 7th birthday.

On April 21, Kimmel showed his admiration on Instagram for the doctors and staff at CHLA for the work they did on his son.

“Billy turns 7 today and is doing great thanks to the doctors, nurses, therapists and staff at @ChildrensLA and @CedarsSinai,” Kimmel wrote. “Billy asks his friends to donate $7 because I’m seven to help kids at the hospital. (he also wants a spy kit) His goal is to “raise $100 to help sick children.” If you would like to donate, thank you and link in bio.

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