Struggling patient breathes easier after critical surgery

Just a few days after a complex surgery removed a 1.3-kilogram tumor from his neck, patient Zha said he was simply grateful for each deep, unimpeded breath he could take.

Despite still having to move with deliberate caution, the 62-year-old resident of Malipo, a remote border county in Southwest China's Yunnan's Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture, had already experienced a drastic improvement in his quality of life.

Struggling with severe breathing difficulties for months, his suffering was caused by a rare disorder known as Madelung's disease, and was further complicated by advanced cancer in his lower throat.

His complicated condition had left local doctors perplexed as his suffering intensified. That was until a medical team from Shanghai arrived mid-October, offering a lifeline.

"When we first saw the patient around Oct 20 at a free medical consultation event in a local county, his neck had swollen to the size of a bucket, compressing his airway to a mere slit," said Xu Chengzhi, a physician from the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai.

Xu was part of a national-level mobile medical team sent to conduct an aid mission in Wenshan starting Oct 15 for about three weeks. Under the guidance of the National Health Commission, more than 80 medical teams have been dispatched to less developed and remote regions with weaker healthcare resources since July.