Inspirational ‘bent boy’ is one step closer to standing after high-risk operation to ‘unravel’ his spine

A STUDENT nicknamed “Bent Boy” due to a debilitating spinal condition that twisted his body into a Z-shape is one step closer to standing after high-risk surgery.

Jiang Yanchen, 19, from Shandong Province, China, suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, which bends her spine backwards to the point where her head and buttocks are inches apart.

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The condition — which Jiang has had since elementary school — causes inflammation of the spine and typically leads to back pain, stiffness and swelling.

Jiang’s case is particularly serious and rare, as his spine was contorted backwards at a 180-degree angle.

This left him in constant agony and made it difficult for him to walk, eat and even breathe, as his lung capacity was 20% of that of a healthy adult.

Jiang underwent two high-risk surgeries in May and August 2023, both of which left him in critical condition, South China Morning Post reported.

Wang Yu, chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics at Beijing University Hospital, described the process of the first operation.

“We broke his cervical spine, stretched it, and stabilized it with a frame. The frame remained on his body during the process.”

The frame included a head ring and a strap that extended across his spine.

“The next step is to loosen the frame and straighten the spine, section by section,” Dr. Yu explained.

“Locking, loosening, locking, and loosening, we keep repeating these steps.”

Jiang was transferred to the hospital’s intensive care unit after the first operation.

Doctors feared he had suffered possible nerve damage as he had difficulty moving his limbs.

His mother, Yu Meiying, told reporters that her son woke up in severe pain after surgery, according to a video from the South China Morning Post.

“My son suffered a lot,” she said through tears.

Jiang said he realized he couldn’t move the morning after the first operation.

“Imagine that only your eyes and mouth could move, but you could not speak.

“When I saw the nurse walk by, I wanted to scream, but no sound came out,” Jiang recalled.

“They finally came in after I desperately raised my left hand to hit the edge of the bed.”

The nerves in Jiang’s spine had difficulty keeping up with the change in the shape of his spine as the nerves adapted to the bent shape of his body, according to Dr.

Surgeons hoped the second operation would be simpler than the first, but it carried its own risks, putting Jiang at risk of heart failure.

Despite this, Jiang managed to pass, with his spine now bent backwards into a 90-degree position instead of 180.

Jiang was finally able to get a clear view of the people in his line of sight and could now sit on a chair.

“I was able to stand for more than 10 minutes on my first try,” he recalled.

“I could stand for over an hour on the second day.

“But when I lay down, my muscles started to shake.”

Doctors finally removed Jiang’s head ring five months after the operation and he celebrated his 19th birthday in hospital before being discharged.

The process of unraveling his spine is expected to continue this year.

Despite experiencing severe pain before the operation and being unable to sit in a chair, Jiang continued with his studies and was admitted to a university in his hometown after taking his final exams while lying on a yoga mat.

“If I give up on myself, I will be a useless person even after being cured,” Jiang explained of his perseverance.

“So what’s the point of being treated.”

It follows reports of a “bent man” undergoing a life-changing operation to straighten his spine after spending almost 30 years bent over.

Li Hua, from China, also lived with ankylosing spondylitis.

“Now I can walk slowly with the walker, go to the sink, brush my teeth and wash my face. I can hold a bowl and eat like anyone else, sitting at the table,” he told the South China Morning Post.

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