The skin of the head had become like the human brain: After 11 months of treatment, a 23-year-old young man got a new life.

The story of 23 year old youth Li, resident of Hunan province of China, is much discussed these days. Till a few years ago, Lee was living a normal life like any other youth. However, during adolescence, strange changes gradually began to occur in his scalp. Initially he considered it a minor problem, but as time passed, the scalp became thick and deep lines and folds appeared on it.

The situation became so complex that the structure of Lee’s head began to resemble the outer surface of a human brain. Due to this unusual change, people started staring at him with strange eyes, due to which his confidence got shaken. People used to ask different kinds of questions, due to which Lee reduced his going out and meeting people.

Problems started at the age of 14 and doctors’ denial

Lee first noticed around the age of 14 that his scalp was a little different than normal. Initially, the skin on a small part of the head was thickened, but within a few years, a large part of the head became affected by this problem. This physical change also adversely affected his mental health.

Lee visited many big hospitals in the hope of treatment. Initially some doctors tried treatment, but were not successful. On the contrary, an early procedure left deep scars on his head. After this many hospitals refused to take the risk. Doctors said that due to the earlier treatment, there was no healthy skin left on the head, hence doing the operation now could be quite dangerous.

Got new life after 11 months of hard work and 3 hours of surgery

After living in despair for a long time, Li met Dr. Zhou Wei, a plastic surgeon at Wuhan University’s Zhongnan Hospital, and his team. After examination the doctors said that Lee Cutis Verticis Gyrata (CVG) He is suffering from a very rare disease.

Since there was no healthy skin available for direct surgery on the head, doctors planned a special two-step treatment:

1. Step 1 (Tissue Expander): Doctors placed a special type of ’tissue expander’ under the head. With their help, the healthy skin of the head was gradually stretched over 11 months so that enough skin could be prepared for the surgery.

2. Second stage (plastic surgery): After 11 months, in a complex surgery that lasted about 3 hours, the excess and abnormally thick skin of the head was removed. The head was restored to its normal shape with the help of stretched healthy skin.

Now Lee’s head has started looking completely normal and hair has also started growing again at that place.

What is Cutis Verticis Gyrita (CVG)?

Cutis Verticis Gyrata or CVG is a very rare medical condition of the scalp. In this, the skin of the head becomes abnormally thick and wrinkles start forming in it. Sometimes these folds are so deep that the structure of the head starts looking like the folds of the brain.

• Who is at greater risk? This disease usually appears during adolescence or young adulthood. Its cases are seen more in men than in women.

• How rare is this disease? According to medical experts, only a few people in every 1 lakh are affected by this condition.

• What are the reasons for this? The exact cause of CVG is not completely clear. In some cases it develops without any primary cause, while in others it may be due to hormonal imbalance, genetic factors or other skin diseases.

Experts say that CVG is not fatal in every situation, but in severe cases the social and mental life of the patient is badly affected. In such cases, advanced plastic surgery proves to be the most effective option.