Cigarette packs patch up hole in Chinese man's chest

A Chinese man with a huge hole in his chest has survived for 10 years by covering the wound – with cigarette packets.

Rao Jiacang, 51, was left with a gaping hole over his chest - through which his beating heart can be seen - after he ran out of cash to complete surgery.



He said: "I had the operation in 1998. I was then laid up for almost five years but gradually got used to the wound, and since 2003 I have been back on my feet.

But he is now desperate for a donor to come forward to pay for proper treatment to cover over the wound measuring seven by three inches.



He says he keeps the plaster coverings sterile, and changes the cigarette boxes several times each day.

An estimated one in 8,000 people are dextrocardiac - that is, their heart is not on the left hand side of their body, but slightly to the right.