6.22.2006

Sacred Heart of Shangdong.

Seven-year-old Chen Jiakun of Shangdong province in China was born with a rare disorder: he was born with his heart, like the one in the Sacred Heart of Jesus renderings, exposed in his chest. Called the "pentalogy of Cantrell," the rare abnormality is described like this:
In front of Chen's chest is a large mass containing his heart and intestines.. People can see and feel how his heart is beating under the skin. The mass swells and throbs if he moves quickly. And coughing will cause it to grow to 15 centimeters long--almost three times its usual size.
Over five hours, surgeons in Shanghai will cut a layer of sternums from each side of the heart and slide them to the center and connect them; a similar procedure will be done with his abdominal muscles.

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