A Chinese man, able to afford only part of his surgical treatment, was not able to cover the final costs of the surgery, leaving a 7 by 3 inch open wound in his chest which he’s been keeping covered using cigarette packs for a whole decade now.
Part of his ribs and skin were hacked away by surgeons in 1998, hoping to remove part of his infected lungs.
But the 51-year-old, from Taining in China’s Guangdong province, says he was unable to afford the rest of the treatment after stitches were taken out.
He said: “I had the operation in 1998. I was then laid up for almost five years but gradually got used to the wound, and since 2003 I have been back on my feet.
“But no-one would give me a job and people were scared of me with the big hole in my chest.
“Because of that, I haven’t dared to go outside, in case people get frightened.”
He says he keeps the plaster coverings sterile, and changes the cigarette boxes several times each day.
And we thought China offered universal healthcare.
More, and with a better image of the wound, at Metro UK…