A young girl from Loudi, Hunan, who was suffering from urinary incontinence and myelomeningocele, no longer feels self-conscious about her condition, thanks to successful treatment

Little Lu from Loudi, Hunan, and her family are living happily and harmoniously again. This joy comes after Little Lu was successfully treated for years of myelomeningocele and urinary incontinence at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital in Shenzhen.

Three years ago, a surgery turned the joy of childhood sour for 9-year-old Little Lu. She was taken to the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Ya Medical College due to a lump in her lumbosacral region and a deformity in both feet. The diagnosis was spina bifida, myelomeningocele, and tethered cord syndrome. She underwent two surgeries: one to repair the myelomeningocele and another to release the tethered spinal cord. However, post-surgery, she gradually developed urinary incontinence, difficulty urinating, and her foot deformities did not improve.

Three years after the surgery, Little Lu was taken to a local hospital due to a high fever. She was diagnosed with hydronephrosis and a urinary tract infection and received anti-inflammatory treatment. Although the fever subsided, her urinary incontinence did not improve. It was only after much searching that her family learned about Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo, who is renowned in China for treating myelomeningocele. They felt hopeful for Little Lu’s urinary incontinence and foot deformities.

Little Lu’s parents brought her from their hometown in Loudi to Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital in Shenzhen. The hospital staff warmly welcomed them and admitted Little Lu for treatment. Professor Xiao conducted a thorough examination, finding her external genitalia developed normally but her right hand smaller than her left. No pathological reflexes were elicited. A 15cm transverse scar was noted at the sacrococcygeal region, with muscle atrophy in the buttocks and lower legs, more severe on the left side. Sensation and pain were reduced below the knees and ankles, especially on the left side. The left lower limb had grade 3 muscle strength, and the right had grade 3-4. Both feet had high arches and deformities, with a small ulcer on the left foot’s outer side, leaking a small amount of white secretion. Both knees had reflexes, but the Achilles reflex was absent.

The diagnosis included neurogenic bladder, tethered cord syndrome, hydronephrosis, high arch deformity of the left foot, high arch deformity of the right foot, neurogenic ulcer on the outer side of the left foot, and postoperative myelomeningocele. Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo reassured that although there are tens of thousands of children with myelomeningocele, urinary incontinence, and foot deformities nationwide each year, they are confident in making every child treated at Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital almost normal.

Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo performed the Xiao procedure (artificial somatic-autonomic reflex pathway), tethered spinal cord release, and spinal canal expansion decompression on Little Lu. The surgery involved separating adhesive scar tissue and lipomas, revealing underdeveloped sacral nerves with partial fibrosis. After thoroughly releasing the tethered tissue and satisfactorily suturing, part of the lipoma was removed, and the wound was closed anatomically. The surgery went smoothly, and after half a month of treatment, Little Lu regained her health.