The little boy with a masked face

A Little boy’s horrifying deformity has touched the hearts of millions in China after his plight was made public.

The Chinese boy was born in Hunan Province with a rare birth facial defect which has left two huge gaps from both sides of his mouth leading towards his ears.

Due to the deformation, Huikang seems to have two faces, which has caused the media to call him the 'mask boy', a nickname he has had for the past seven years.

His mom Yi Lianxi, who was 23 years old at the time of his birth, describes being devastated when she first saw her baby boy in 2009.

The woman said that she had undergone three ultrasound scans and one Doppler ultrasound scan during her pregnancy. No deformation had been detected.


Huikang's grandmother even said that a lot of the family's acquaintances suggested they should throw away the child, but she said 'how could we do that'.

As well as coming to terms with the child’s tragic defect, the family is mocked by unkind people community who laugh at the boy's bad luck.

But when the plight of the boy came to light the family had been inundated with sympathy from the Chinese public and helped with £40,000 medical bills.

W. Duquan, a doctor from the Military Hospital in Changsha said that Huikang's condition was extremely rare and very serious.

On May 19 and September 1, Huikang underwent two operations at the No. 163 Military Hospital.

Dr Duquan, who led the treatment, said in a TV interview with Hunan Public Channel that both operations were successful.

However, he added that Huikang would need to wait for about 10 years to see if his facial bones would grow in a normal way.