Warm Story | UFCH Provided Medical Care for a 9-year-old Boy with Scoliosis

In March, we made a special trip to one of our partner organizations to visit a 9-year-old boy, Xiao Nian, who had been helped by UFCH. This little warrior underwent a minor surgery at Shanghai United Family Hospital – an orthopedic spinal curvature surgery that will change his life. When it was mentioned that he will be able to learn how to drive a car or fly an airplane in the future, he held his head and laughed.

Xiao Nian is a very sensible child, with a touch of shyness. He grew up with a condition called congenital multiple spinal deformities called scoliosis, which caused his neck to be crooked, his shoulders to be high and low, and his body to be tilted to one side. If not treated in time, condition will worsen as he grows until he cannot live a normal life.

Upon receiving the request from partner, the Foundation team immediately began working on Xiao Nian’s medical care. With the help of UFH and our partner, the guardians took Nian to Shanghai United Family Hospital (Changning), where he received comprehensive medical treatment.

    

Before                                                               After

The medical team of Professor Tan Jun collaborated with orthopedics, pediatrics, anesthesiology, psychology, nursing and other forces to arrange diagnosis and treatment for Xiaonian. Preoperative CT three-dimensional reconstruction images and one-to-one 3D printed models allowed doctors to see that almost no part of Xiao Nian’s spine and thorax was completely normal, which was simply a museum of spinal congenital malformations.  After careful study and optimization of the surgical plan, the doctors decided to simplify the surgery by turning a big operation into a small one to avoid the great damage to the child’s body that the surgery would cause.

The surgery went well and the complex and dangerous spinal deformity was removed and reliably fixed according to plan.
Compared with other children of the same age, Xiao Nian has a different kind of strength. Before the surgery, the medical staff not only arranged psychological counseling, but also bought a toy bear to help Xiao Nian eliminate tension. To everyone’s surprise, Xiao Nian silently hugged the bear and calmly rubbed his feet before and after the surgery, such a strong and optimistic Xiao Nian made all the medical staff very happy.

       

By the third day after the surgery, Xiao Nian was walking on the floor and was discharged from the hospital. Every day, the social workers at the charity organization helped Xiao Nian with lung capacity and chest expansion exercises to improve lung and spinal function, as instructed by the doctor. Two months after his surgery, Xiao Nian returned to the Shanghai United Family Hospital for a follow-up checkup. He was much taller, had gained weight, happy and confident.

 

Healing Brings Hope