Chinese toddler recovering after 'brain-shrinking' surgery

Beijing

A three-year-old Chinese toddler who developed a 20-kg head due to congenital Hydrocephalus is on the road to recovery after the excess fluid was drained out and a 3D-printed titanium alloy skull was implanted, doctors said.

Hydrocephalus is a condition when excess amount of fluid gets accumulated in the brain, causing enlargement of the head, Xinhua news agency reported.

The girl, Han Han, underwent the 17-hour surgery on Wednesday and was kept under observation, said neurosurgeon Kuang Weiping, in charge of her treatment.

Born with the condition, Han Han was admitted to the hospital two months ago. Since September 2014, she had become bedridden as her head grew four times the normal size, taking up more than half of her total weight.

Kuang said they believed her skull “would rupture as the infected parts became thinner and only the "brain-shrinking" operation could save her life.

During the process, the neurosurgeon peeled her scalp and skull, and then drained the fluid collected in her head.

After the swollen structures in her brain returned to the normal size, doctors implanted the 3D-printed skull and covered it with her scalp.

"We were very, very careful, because brain tissue without a skull is like a peeled egg. Fortunately, it went smoothly," Kuang said.