The rare condition left her bullied and depressed. Photo / Shenyang Sunline Plastic Surgery Hospital
The rare condition left her bullied and depressed. Photo / Shenyang Sunline Plastic Surgery Hospital
Plastic surgery has changed the life of a 15-year-old girl in China, who was suffering from a rare medical condition that made her look decades older.
The teen, known by the alias Xiao Feng, was bullied at school due to her condition, which causes wrinkly and saggy skin.
However thanks to a host of good samaritans, who teamed up to cover her estimated $50,000 medical bill, Feng no longer has to feel insecure.
The procedure, which took place last month at Shenyang Sunline Plastic Surgery Hospital, took seven hours according to the 10 surgeons who performed the operation.
The rare condition left her bullied and depressed. Photo / Shenyang Sunline Plastic Surgery Hospital
The medical team believe that Feng suffered from Progeria, said to occur in one in every eight million live births.
The rare condition causes a person to age prematurely and usually affects the skin and internal organs, however in Feng's case, her organs were normal.
Her mother is said to also suffer from the same genetic condition.
Head of the hospital, Dr Shi Lingzhi detailed how the surgeons had to first remove the extra skin, which measured 7cm thick.
They then set to work reshaping her nose, eyebrows and mouth.
In another turn of events, Dr Shi told MailOnline that the hospital cancelled all of Xiao Feng's outstanding medical bills.
Xiao Feng suffers from progeria. Photo / Shenyang Sunline Plastic Surgery Hospital
Instead, asking that the funds raised by the public were used on her recovery and future studies.
After her surgery Feng was presented to the public at a press conference in Shenyang. It was the first time she would see her new face.
Both Feng and her family could not contain their tears.
"Today is the happiest day for my daughter," Xiao Feng's father, Wang Hongde, told the Daily Mail.
Wang added: "The night after Xiao Feng's surgery was the night when I slept the soundest because I believed that doctors could cure my daughter's condition and help her live and study happily in the future."
Her family was emotional during their reunion. Photo / Shenyang Sunline Plastic Surgery Hospital
Before the surgery, Feng claimed nobody ever wanted to play with her and she had never taken a photo of herself.
"Nobody wants to play with me, and only pigeons are willing to accompany me because they won't dislike me or think I am ugly," she shared.
Her father also spoke of the trouble she faced in school, being mistaken for someone much older.
"When she was in her primary school, she was often mistaken for 'the parents of pupils'; and whenever she went to the town with her mother, people would surround them, look at them and discuss about them," her father told Xinhua News Agency.
Feng is still in recovery from her surgery, however, she has returned home to be with her family and celebrate the Lunar New Year.
