InBae Yoon M.D.

Dr. InBae Yoon, a world-renowned physician and prolific medical inventor, who was awarded 226 U.S. patents and 22 International patents, passed away December 30, 2014, in Ellicott City, Maryland. He was 78.

Born on July 15, 1936, Dr. Yoon grew up in Korea living through major historical conflicts — the Japanese Occupation of Korea (1910-1945), World War II (1939-1945), and the Korean War (1950-53) — that left him and his sister orphaned in a divided homeland. Despite these life-changing struggles, his determination to succeed led him to graduate from Yonsei University School of Medicine in 1961. He became a Korean Navy officer and started his career as a Medical Doctor.

In 1963, he married Kyung Joo Yoon, the love of his life, and immigrated to the United States where they settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Yoon trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) at hospitals affiliated with both University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. After spending several years in successful private practice in Hagerstown and Bethesda, Johns Hopkins University granted dual appointments to Dr. Yoon both as a full-time Assistant Professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in the School of Medicine and as the Director of Laparoscopic Sterilization Clinic. He served in those positions from 1973 to 1978.

Dr. Yoon was a pioneer in the use of laparoscopic surgery in OB/GYN. In 1973, Dr. Yoon developed his first medical invention, the “Yoon Ring,” a safe and reversible device for tubal ligation of the fallopian tubes. His greatest achievements were made in the ongoing development of new medical techniques and instruments for endoscopic surgery. His revolutionary vision was that a wide range of procedures could be performed using the minimally invasive techniques that he was developing for OB/GYN. His work opened up broader uses for laparoscopy in other medical specialties, and today, for many procedures, minimally invasive surgery has become an option preferred over open surgery—an idea that would have been unheard of in 1970. In 1981, he was appointed Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Wyman Park Hospital, continuing his research in endoscopic surgery.

In 1985, Dr. Yoon opened a critical door for endoscopic surgery with his invention of the Safety Trocar, a device that allows for a safer entry of surgical instruments into the body. In 1988, his invention gained wide acceptance when Dr. Yoon started his long relationship with Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson began to manufacture safety trocars for use around the world, and, in 1990, it established Ethicon Endo-Surgery (EES) based on Dr. Yoon’s inventions and became the exclusive manufacturer of all of Dr. Yoon’s laparoscopic inventions, including his 1994 Surgical Clip and Applicator. In 1995, EES Patent Attorney Matt Goodwin said “Dr. Yoon is the most prolific inventor in the field of medicine this century.”

In 1996 through a generous donation, Dr. Yoon established the I.B. Yoon Multi-Specialty Endoscopic Research & Training Center at his alma mater, the Severence Medical School at Yonsei University in Korea. At the center’s dedication ceremony, Dr. Yoon said “To me, it goes without saying that we—the medical professionals—exist because there are and will be patients who need our care…. Whatever we do, we must always question ‘Are we doing all we can for our patients?’ and ‘Are there any better ways to improve our patient care?’ When we keep these in the foremost part of our mind, I believe all creativity and necessary energy will naturally stem from them.” In 1997, for his contributions to the field of medicine, he was awarded the Creative Thinking National Recognition Award from the Creative Thinking Association of America.

Dr. Yoon retired in 2005 having touched and saved so many lives with his vision. “I can’t be happy with the way things are. I always have to try to make them better. When I was a child, I’d spend sometimes two, three, or four hours in a room pretending that I could fly. I’d do all kinds of strange things,” he said, “That’s the way I was born.”

Dr. Yoon will be sorely missed by his family. Devoted husband of Kyung Joo Yoon. Loving father to son Samuel C. Yoon with wife Cassandra, daughter Suzanne J. Yoon with husband Walter, and daughter Cynthia D. Yoon with husband Phillip. Brother of InShin Yoon. Grandfather of Andrew Yoon, Kaitlyn Yoon, Sophia Yoon, Matthew Yoon, Anneliese von Pechmann, Ian von Pechmann, Ava von Pechmann, Mira Tiongson, and Evan InBae Tiongson.

Services will be held at Witzke Funeral Homes, 5555 Twin Knolls Rd., Columbia, MD 21045, on Sunday from 3pm to 4pm, where visitation will follow from 4pm to 6pm. Graveside services will be held at Crestlawn Memorial Gardens, 2150 Mount View Road, Marriottsville, MD, on Monday at 11am.