In our hospital, Zuo Yarui, a girl from Nanyang, Henan, with spinal meningocele, urinary incontinence, and severe deformities in both feet, was able to stand up again

Ten months after the Xiao procedure, the mother of Zuo Yarui, a girl from Nanyang, Henan, suffering from urinary incontinence and lower limb deformities due to spinal meningocele, and the China Children’s Charity Foundation—9958 Children’s Emergency Rescue Center, both called Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo to share the good news: Yarui can now control her bladder and bowels, and she can walk on her own!

Zuo Yarui was abandoned in a field by her biological parents shortly after birth and was adopted by an elderly couple. When Yarui was eight, her adoptive grandfather passed away. On his deathbed, he made his daughter-in-law, Zuo Fumei, promise to take care of Yarui and do everything possible to treat her condition. Despite Yarui’s deteriorating condition, Zuo Fumei never gave up on her, and their greatest wish was to see Yarui stand up, attend school, and eventually give back to society.

To treat Yarui, her adoptive family tried everything but were hindered by financial difficulties. The 9958 Nanyang Nandu Rescue Team visited Zuo Yarui’s home several times to understand their situation. Moved by the story of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they decided to help them so that Yarui could stand up and go to school.

The 9958 Children’s Emergency Rescue Center is an independent project of the China Children’s Charity Association (China Youth Children’s Charity Relief Foundation), established in early 2010. It is a national public fundraising foundation that aids children under 18 in distress across more than 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China.

Thanks to the efforts of volunteer Lei Ke, Zuo Yarui and her adoptive mother boarded a train to Shenzhen for treatment. They were headed to the best hospital in the country for treating spinal meningocele, the Shenzhen Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital. The staff at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital warmly welcomed them, and Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo assured Yarui, “I will cure you, and you will become a beautiful girl who can walk normally.”

Upon admission, Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo conducted a thorough examination of Yarui, including ultrasound, MRI, and urodynamic studies. She was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder, tethered cord syndrome, right foot inversion deformity, left pes cavus, and osteomyelitis of the right foot. On October 21, 2013, Professor Xiao performed the Xiao procedure (artificial somatic-autonomic reflex pathway surgery), tethered cord release, and spinal canal expansion decompression surgeries on Yarui. After a good recovery and stabilization of her condition, the orthopedic expert team at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital continued with surgeries on November 4, including left Achilles tendon lengthening, left talonavicular joint fusion, left calcaneocuboid joint fusion, shortening of the left toe flexor tendons, and correction of left hallux valgus. Finally, on November 27, right Achilles tendon lengthening, right talonavicular joint fusion, right calcaneocuboid joint fusion, shortening of the right toe and metatarsal flexor tendons, and correction of left hallux valgus were performed.

The orthopedic expert team at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital, especially the renowned Director Gao Chao in orthopedic correction, has brought hope to patients with severe lower limb deformities like Yarui. Thinking about walking soon, Yarui’s eyes sparkled with hope.