No plan for amputation on train crash survivor

Updated: 2011-10-04 07:24

(Xinhua)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按钮 0

SHANGHAI - Doctors in a Shanghai-based hospital said Monday there was no plan to amputate the leg of a toddler, who miraculously survived July's fatal high-speed train crash in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Xiang Weiyi, who was pulled out of a demolished train car 21 hours after the crash, suffered serious injuries to her left leg, which would definitely bring damages like muscle necrosis and fibrosis, said Zhao Li, head of the pediatric orthopaedics department of Xinhua Hospital, where the toddler was treated.

"Teratogeny, such as the abnormal length and malfunctions of the leg, is possible in the future, but we will try our best to avoid it or reduce its extent," said Zhao.

Zhao said Xiang could stand up from time to time from late September, but the wounds were still healing, and problems like blood supply still existed.

"We hope the wounds heal soon and then start rehabilitative treatment before diagnosing and treating the sequel problems," he said.

Xiang arrived at the hospital on August 22 after undergoing five operations at a hospital in Wenzhou, where the crash occurred.

Xiang, who lost her parents in the crash, was the last survivor to be found in the wreckage after a bullet train rear-ended a stalled train on a railway in Wenzhou on July 23, killing 40 people and injuring 177.

Xiang was transferred to Shanghai at the request of her uncle Xiang Yuyu, who wrote a letter to the Ministry of Railways on August 14 pleading for better treatment for his niece.