Patient and her child
Morning Post 96101 hotline message (intern reporter Lu Bao) - At the age of 15, Shandong girl Lu Wenhong had a small painful lump, about the size of a soybean, grow on the right side of her nose. It was surgically removed at a local hospital. Afterwards, every winter the surgical area would swell, redden, and cause pain.
As time passed, her nose began to rot from the inside out. Earlier this year, within just five days, Lu Wenhong's nose completely rotted away.
Yesterday afternoon, reporters met this unfortunate woman at the Dermatology Department of the Beijing Military Region General Hospital.
Reporters observed that Lu Wenhong's nose was entirely gone, her face had stopped ulcerating, but the skin around the ulcers was red.
Due to severe erosion of the palate, Lu Wenhong's speech was very unclear. However, she still tried her best to greet the reporters.
According to Lu Wenhong, her face wasn't hurting much now, but sometimes it felt itchy. While talking with the reporters, her three-year-old son stayed by her side all the time.
Lu Wenhong's attending doctor said that when she was first admitted, her entire face had large-scale skin ulcers and necrosis with pus flowing out. Additionally, her nose, soft palate, and hard palate were all eroded away, leaving a hole in her face about 3 centimeters in diameter.
After more than ten days of treatment, Lu Wenhong's headaches, fever, and cough have all disappeared. The facial skin ulcers have significantly improved, and some of the necrotic skin has started to repair itself.
■ Doctor's Explanation
Fungal Infection Leading to Mucormycosis
The doctor explained that after preliminary diagnosis by the hospital, Lu Wenhong was found to have mucormycosis, a skin disease caused by fungal infection. However, her case is so severe that Dr. Xia claimed it was the first time he had encountered such an extreme situation.
It was reported that from the 1970s to now, cases of this disease are extremely rare, with only a few dozen recorded cases. If treated promptly, the condition would not have progressed to its current state.
Lu Wenhong will undergo two stages of treatment. The first stage mainly involves antifungal therapy, which might take about half a year; the second stage focuses on functional restoration of facial organs, including plastic surgery, with a treatment period of approximately three months to half a year.
The estimated medical costs for both stages are preliminarily set at 500,000 yuan by the hospital.
Lead: Mr. Ma
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(Edited by SN009)