The first surgery on a 14-year-old Chinese boy for his deformed feet succeeded on Thursday in Shanghai.
Meng Weixin, a boy from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has been suffering from a rare disease that led to his feet to swell notably and his toes twisted since he was about one year old. The extraordinarily big feet had made him unable to wear any shoes and he can only walk, even in cold winters, bare-footed.
After one of Meng's teacher posted his condition online, the Children's Hospital of Shanghai (SCH) contacted Meng's school and showed their willingness to provide the boy medical examination with treatment for free.
The surgery started at 08:30 and lasted for over four hours. According to Ying Hao, SCH's chief surgeon, the surgery was successful and Meng is expected to walk wearing a pair of special-made shoes two or three week later.
"The surgery was successful. The left foot is expected to recover satisfactorily, but the right foot has to be treated in two to three phases," Ying Hao said.
Being able to wear shoes like other people has been this boy's dream since his childhood. "I wish I could wear shoes like my classmates. I wish I could run fast like they do. I wish I could go everywhere I want," said Meng Weixin.
Now Meng gets closer to his dream, even though his feet might only recover 70 percent of normal feet as he has missed the best time for treatment due to poverty.
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