Rare Chest Tumor Leads New Father on Search for Answers

When first-time dad Wen Ning suffered extreme fatigue and minor double vision, he was told the stress of fatherhood was to blame. A Keck Medicine of USC thoracic surgeon helped him confront the real culprit.

In 2023, Wen Ning was a new dad enjoying his first year of fatherhood when he began experiencing some unusual symptoms. At first, he felt overly tired. Soon after, he began developing double vision and muscle weakness.

These symptoms took him by surprise. Until then, Wen had always lived an active and healthy lifestyle. A self-proclaimed foodie, he loved connecting with new cuisines. As a consulting health care actuary, he often traveled for work. Wen says, “I was always very physically active. My favorite hobbies include playing tennis and going on hikes.”

When symptoms first began, Wen says, “Mentally, I felt what every new dad felt: exhaustion. But ultimately, I found out it was more than just ‘new dad’ fatigue.”

As his symptoms worsened, Wen decided to see a doctor. He consulted numerous physicians who chalked his symptoms up to the rigors of new parenthood. Then he saw a neuromuscular physician who, in the beginning of 2024, diagnosed Wen with myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune condition that causes fatigue and muscle weakness which can impact the ocular muscles that move the eyes, causing double vision.

Further scans revealed Wen had a thymoma, an extremely rare tumor that is often associated with myasthenia gravis. A thymoma develops on the thymus gland, which is in the upper chest behind the breastbone. The thymus plays a key role in the immune system by producing T-cells as well as hormones, particularly during childhood and adolescence.

Wen’s thymoma needed to be surgically removed, but his neuromuscular specialist was not a surgeon. Luckily, he did not have to go far to find a referral.

“At the time, my one-year-old son had a best friend who lived down the street from us, and his parents were surgeons,” Wen says. Specifically, they had trained under Anthony Kim, MD, a thoracic surgeon with Keck Medicine of USC.

“They immediately recommended that I see Dr. Kim,” Wen says. “They had witnessed Dr. Kim in the OR as well as with patients in the clinic and emphasized that he was the best surgeon they had ever trained with. It’s rare for patients to be able to get that level of insight, and it left no doubt in my mind that Dr. Kim was the right provider for me. To this day, I’m so grateful to have made this connection.”

Wen saw Dr. Kim in April 2024 and was scheduled for surgery the following month in May at Keck Hospital of USC. A bilateral thymectomy was performed to remove the tumor and his thymus gland on both sides of his chest.

“A bilateral thymectomy is quite rare, but thankfully Dr. Kim had performed this procedure many times,” Wen explains. “The surgery required going under anesthesia and eight incisions along my rib cage, but it went very smoothly.” Wen was in surgery for five hours and remained an inpatient at Keck Hospital for three days during his recovery.

During that time, Wen says, he received strong support from Dr. Kim and his team. “Every single nurse, physician assistant and physician who I encountered as part of my treatment team at Keck Medicine supported me with patience and empathy. I only ever had positive things to say about my treatment team at Keck Medicine during my inpatient stay. The process of making appointments and asking questions of Dr. Kim was very stress-free. There were no surprises on my surgery day. Dr. Kim and his team also kept my family in the loop the entire time. They made an ordeal that should have been very scary as calm and manageable as possible.”

Recovery was gradual and painful, but Dr. Kim and his team made sure to prepare Wen for what to expect and to support him along the way. “With eight incisions on my torso and a large mass removed from my chest, I dealt with a lot of pain in the months to come,” Wen says. “Dr. Kim’s team checked in with me frequently, and I was able to reach out to them with any questions that came up, such as when an unexpected rash developed on my neck shortly after being discharged.”

He adds: “Not feeling alone during the recovery process and being prepared for what was to come, however painful, was an empowering feeling that helped my recovery. I was able to return to my all my normal physical activities, including tennis and wrangling a toddler, within three months.”

Today Wen says he is feeling much stronger. “I am completely recovered from surgery, but I continue to take maintenance medications for my myasthenia gravis. Nonetheless, both Dr. Kim and my neuromuscular specialist have confirmed that I am physically much improved compared to when they first met me. The surgery was an overwhelming success.”

Wen says he wishes he had met Dr. Kim at the start and not the middle of his journey. “I wish I had known Dr. Kim earlier. I found out in our introductory meeting that his wife is the cousin of my friend from college! We were both completely stunned. I think knowing Dr. Kim earlier would have saved me so much time and frustration in finding out the root cause of my symptoms.”

When asked what advice he would give to patients frustrated with trying to gain an accurate diagnosis, he says: “My biggest advice would be to advocate for yourself. Do not stop until you find the answers to your health questions that you’re looking for, and make sure you find the right provider team to treat you. I saw many physicians of varying specialties who all told me my mild symptoms were a result of nothing more than being a new dad. However, I kept advocating for myself over the course of a year, feeling that there must be a better explanation. Ultimately, it turned out I was correct as there was a rare tumor causing all my symptoms.”

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