Jimmy Kimmel’s son’s surgeon discusses his ‘very severe form’ of heart condition… a month after seven-year-old had third open heart surgery

The lead surgeon who operated on Jimmy Kimmel’s son Billy is speaking out about the seven-year-old’s “very serious form” of heart disease.

Billy underwent his third open heart surgery last month, and Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes performed them all at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

With the permission of Kimmel, 56, the heart surgeon gave an update on Billy’s recovery and said it is “the greatest joy” to see him doing well in a new interview with Good morning America.

Dr. Starnes added that Jimmy was “a mess” when he went into his son’s operating room and was “very emotional,” while his wife, Molly McNearney, 46, was a “rock.”

Billy has a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect in which a combination of four abnormalities affects the way blood flows through the heart.

Dr. Starnes added that Billy had “a very severe form” of the condition and reported that “he had no right ventricular connection.”

Dr. Starnes said Kimmel and his wife did not learn of their son’s heart defect until shortly after the birth, and that “it took them by surprise.”

Speaking about Jimmy and Molly, the surgeon said: ‘They thought Billy would be completely normal and that was until two or three hours after delivery.’

‘Then the nurse noticed that the child was a bit blue and raised the alarm.’

Dr. Starnes added that the experience “has to be the most terrifying and terrifying thing a parent experiences.”

Dr. Starnes shared how Jimmy and his family were doing when they underwent the surgery, which took place over Memorial Day weekend. ‘Jimmy was very emotional. And Molly was clearly emotional, but had more control over her emotions.”

Dr. Starnes said the operation was an immediate success.

After seeing a video Kimmel posted last week of Billy at home post-surgery, Starnes shared that he was “a little” surprised at how active Billy was.

‘I knew he would get better after he put a valve in it. “I didn’t expect him to improve so quickly,” he said.

Last Monday, Kimmel announced that his youngest son had successfully undergone open-heart surgery over Memorial Day weekend.

The comedian posted a sweet photo of Billy smiling softly as he lay in a hospital bed as he shared the health news.

“This weekend our boy Billy had his third (of three, we hope) open heart surgery,” Kimmel wrote in his lengthy caption.

“We went into this experience with a lot of optimism and almost as much fear and came out with a new valve in a happy, healthy child,” he continued.

Kimmel first revealed in 2017 that his then-son had undergone his first heart surgery, prompting him to advocate for healthcare and insurance reforms.

Kimmel praised ‘Billy’s physicians, led by the brilliant surgeon Vaughn Starnes, cardiologist Tim Casarez and the excellent, hardworking staff, physicians, nurses and nurses at CHLA, including but certainly not limited to Misty, Ann, Sylvia, Dana, Caleigh, Nick, Bekah, Julie, Kenny, Caroline, Lisa, Stephanie, Ellize, Ivy, Pam and Carrie came through for us with immeasurable kindness and expertise.”

The late-night host called it a “humbling experience” to meet other “vulnerable” children and their parents, as well as the “miracle workers” doing their best to “save” the young patients.

Kimmel praised his wife Molly “for being stronger than is reasonable for any mother,” and hailed young Billy as “the toughest (and funniest) seven-year-old we know.”

“There are so many parents and children who are not lucky enough to go home after five days,” he added. “Please share your love, heart and prayers with them….”

The comedian tipped his hat to the late Sen. John McCain, who was the leading voice in scuttling a bill that would have overturned the Affordable Care Act during the Trump administration.

He also noted that the health care law “largely” allowed CHLA to accept young patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Kimmel has spoken about his young son’s heart condition in the past, including in an emotional speech in 2017 shortly after Billy was born.

Just three days after Billy was born, Kimmel announced on his show that the little boy needed open heart surgery due to his congenital heart condition.

When Kimmel revealed his son’s condition, he explained, “Basically the pulmonary valve was completely blocked and he has a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart.”

During his impassioned speech, he added: “If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, then it shouldn’t matter how much money you make.”

But he also spoke about Billy in a lighter tone.

‘Poor kid. Not only did he get a bad heart, but my face too,” he joked.

In May 2017, after Billy’s first open heart surgery, Kimmel spoke on his show about how Billy’s heart condition was discovered shortly after his birth.

“He seemed like a normal, healthy baby,” he began. “My wife was relaxing in bed, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed that he was a little purple, which is not usual.”

‘(The doctors) determined that he was not getting enough oxygen in his blood, neither in his heart nor in the lungs. They did an x-ray and his lungs were fine, which meant his heart was not. It’s a terrifying thing,” he continued. “They discovered Billy was born with heart disease.”

Kimmel’s subsequent updates were positive, and in December 2017, he brought seven-month-old Billy onto the show and announced that he had undergone his second open heart surgery.

‘By the way, Billy is doing great. He has one more operation to go – this is amazing – he had surgery a week ago. They say he is probably on track to win at least a bronze medal at the 2036 Olympics,” he announced.

Kimmel has been married since 2013 to Molly, executive producer and co-head writer of his show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In addition to Billy, they share nine-year-old daughter Jane, and Kimmel has two adult children — Katie, 32, and Kevin, 30 — from his first marriage to Gina Maddy from 1988 to 2003.