Doctors are developing a surgical plan for a four-year-old boy whose heart is hidden only by the skin of his abdomen
Due to an anomaly of intrauterine development, Zhang's heart from the village of Hetai in Liaoning province is covered only by the skin of the abdominal wall, through which his contractions are clearly visible. The boy has now been taken to Shengjing Hospital, a clinical base of China Medical University. The doctors say it is unlikely that they will be able to put the heart back in place, but they are going to do their best to treat Zhang.
The boy's parents, who work as scavengers, were previously unable to seek medical help for their son due to financial difficulties. All they could do was put more clothes on the boy to protect the heart from damage and not allow him to play outdoor games.
The child's father, he said, feels guilty for not showing the boy to doctors before. “My wife and I work as garbage collectors and do not earn much. We did not take our son to the doctors because we could not afford to pay for the treatment. He never cries, although he suffers greatly, and this increases our sense of guilt."