A man has spent almost 30 years of his life bent over, due to a rare bone condition.
Li Hua has suffered from a form of ankylosing spondylitis, a form of spinal arthritis most commonly found in young males, that causes immobility of vertebral and sacroiliac joints due to the fusion of bones.
As his condition worsened over the years, his upper body folded onto his thighs and he has effectively been ‘folded’ ever since.
His chin is folded on to his chest, his breastbone is folded to his pubic bone, and his face to his thigh.
Since he was 18, the Chinese national has suffered with the condition, and his family have not been able to afford the medical procedure, until 2020.
Following to a visit to Shenzhen University General Hospital, Doctor Tao Huiren began to formulate a medical plan for the man, highlighting that the operation could cause paraplegia or death.
After pointing out just how hard the surgeries would be, the medical expert compared it to ‘scaling Mount Everest’, taking two weeks to get a plan mapped out.
Ultimately, the plan was to undergo four surgeries that would break and reconstruct Li Hua’s bones, so that he could stand up straight once again.
His mother, who has cared for him since the condition rose, was by his side while they explained the risk of the procedures, emotionally saying: “What if I die, but he’s still sick? Who will take care of my son?”
The first surgery was a femoral osteotomy, which would break and reconstruct his thigh bones, in order to expand the space between his face and thigh bone for the following operations.
Crucially, they needed to insert the tube into his windpipe for anaesthesia, which would be the most important part, as without it, none of the surgeries could proceed.
