Thursday, October 22, 2009

'Boar hair' girl baffles doctors

A six-year-old girl has baffled doctors after her skin apparently turned into boar hide. Until just a few months ago she had just a small birthmark on her back.

But the hairy hide has grown and grown and now it covers Li Xiaoyuan's entire back and is starting to grow on her arms and face. The schoolgirl, from Fengkai, southern China, is under near constant medical supervision as doctors try to work out what's wrong.

Her dad Li Yan said: "Doctors told us it was just a birthmark even when it started spreading but now it covers half her body.



"None of the other children want to play with her – they are really mean." Mum Li Jiang added: "It breaks our hearts to see her suffer like this."

Surgeon Dr Lou Zhongquan of Zhaoqing City Dermatological Hospital believes the youngster may be suffering from a rare hereditary disease that has sent normal moles out of control.

He said: "If they were smaller we could use laser treatment. But even if we removed these with surgery there is a very strong chance of post surgery haemorrhage."

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