Teen with “granny face” to undergo “face transplant surgery” in Shenyang

A teenage girl will undergo a facelift at a plastic surgery hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning Province as a rare genetic disease makes her look decades older.

The photo taken on December 6, 2019 shows 15-year-old Xiao Feng who had suffers from a rare disease making her look decades older. [Photo: VCG]

The 15-year-old Xiao Feng who lives in a village in Liaoning Province dropped out of school as she suffered from hutchinson-gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) which makes her skin wrinkled and loose like a 60-year-old grandma.

She refused to have any contact with the outside world and has no friends because of her fear to be laughed at or be treated as “grandma” by others due to her aging face.

A doctor from a Shenyang-based plastic surgery hospital prepares to collect blood from Xiao Feng on Saturday, December 7, 2019. [Photo: VCG]

Due to her poor family condition, Xiao Feng, who inherited the disease from her mother, was not able to afford the substantial costs of the facial plastic surgery, the only effective way to cure her disease.

Thanks to wide-spread reports from media across the country, a group of volunteers helped raise money to cover the surgery costs. A plastic surgery hospital decided to operate on her by picking up 70 percent of the treatment fees.

Xiao Feng accepts interviews with multiple media outlets at the hospital on Saturday, December 7, 2019. [Photo: VCG]

Shi Linzhi, a leading surgeon at the hospital, said they are fully confident they can improve her appearance.