Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    A TIBETAN girl, who has suffered constant pain in her leg and couldn’t walk for 10 years, underwent a successful surgery in Shenzhen on Tuesday, which the U.S. and Shenzhen surgeons said would enable her to walk again after weeks.

    The girl, identified as Tashi Sok, had a fracture in her left thigh following an accidental fall when she was 9 years old. Receiving no treatment at that time, the girl developed a severe bone deformation, which resulted in having legs of different lengths.

    Her younger brother’s teacher once tried to find her a proper doctor but failed. However, Fu Guibing, an orthopaedic expert at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, heard about the case from the teacher and wanted to help.

    While Fu was studying in the United States at the end of last year, he met with Dr. David Roye Jr., the director of pediatric orthopaedic surgery at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and executive medical director of the Columbia Cerebral Palsy Center, and discussed the case with him.

    Roye, who established a nonprofit organization in 2016 called International Healthcare Leadership to help train medical staff in countries including China, said that he would like to help. With the support of the Children of China Pediatrics Foundation, Roye came to Shenzhen to perform the surgery, which lasted five hours and shortened the length difference between the girl’s two legs from 10 cm to 3 cm, according to Fu.

    “It was a challenge, even for an experienced doctor like me,” said Dr. Roye. “She will be able to walk in six to eight weeks.”

    “The surgery was very complicated and only a few doctors can do it in China,” said Fu. Considering the girl is from a rural family that has seven children, the hospital exempted some of the fees and a Shenzhen Project Care foundation founded by Rage Comic company will cover her subsequent medical costs.

    Shenzhen 3-D printing firm, Excellent, provided the 3-D printed materials used in the surgery for free.

    “It has been a dream of mine for 10 years that will come true soon,” said the girl’s mother who spoke through a translator as she cannot speak mandarin. “We feel we are so lucky and grateful.”