The issue of incontinence due to myelomeningocele that troubled her for 25 years has finally been resolved. Next stop, happiness!

Miss Gao from Liupanshui, Guizhou, is finally about to live every girl’s dream of having her prince charming, a hero out of this world, come to marry her on a rainbow cloud. This dream comes closer to reality because, two months ago, she was cured of the myelomeningocele and incontinence that had troubled her for 25 years at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital in Shenzhen.

When Miss Gao was born, a round mass about 1cm in diameter was discovered at the base of her spine. As she grew, the mass got bigger. With no other option, her parents took her to the local hospital when she was just three months old. The diagnosis was congenital spina bifida with myelomeningocele, and she underwent surgery to repair the myelomeningocele. However, the surgery was not successful, leading to incontinence and difficulty in urination for Miss Gao. At five and a half years old, she felt discomfort in her feet and underwent a skin flap transplantation surgery on her right foot at the local hospital, where she was diagnosed with ectopic kidney.

Time flew, and Miss Gao reached the age to marry. Despite visiting many hospitals over the years, her condition did not improve, adding to her family’s stress. Then, by chance, they learned from a doctor about Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital, who is known for treating myelomeningocele, foot deformities, and incontinence at a leading level nationally and internationally.

Filled with hope, Miss Gao went to Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital. After a thorough examination by Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo, he noted that Miss Gao’s condition had been neglected for a long time, making the surgery challenging, but it was still possible to transform her into a pretty and almost normal girl. The diagnosis was left foot high arch inversion deformity, chronic osteomyelitis of the right lower limb, postoperative neurogenic bladder, post-myelomeningocele repair surgery, and ectopic kidney.

Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo performed laminectomy decompression, tethered spinal cord release, and lipoma excision surgery on Miss Gao. After the surgery, her incontinence improved, but her deformed feet were not treated at the time. Later, due to severe deformities and difficulty walking, which affected her normal life, Miss Gao returned to Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital. Professor Xiao pointed out that the delay in treatment and the initial decision not to treat her feet meant that amputation of the right foot was necessary. The decision was made to perform left Achilles tendon lengthening, left talonavicular joint fusion, left calcaneocuboid joint fusion, and right lower limb amputation.

After more than two months of treatment, Miss Gao can now urinate and defecate on her own. Although her feet can’t be exactly like those of a normal person due to the delay in treatment, her recovery is quite remarkable. Miss Gao expressed her deep gratitude to Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo, regretting only that she couldn’t have come to him sooner for treatment. Despite the regrets, she is thankful for the level of recovery she has achieved.