A youngster dubbed turtle boy by cruel bullies is starting a new life after a miracle two hour operation to remove a giant shell of hard skin from his back.

Maimaiti Hali, eight - from Heping, northern China - was born with a hard, mutated growth covering most of his back.

Dad Maimaiti Musai said: “We were told surgery wasn’t possible when he was very young so we waited. But the growth got bigger and harder and became like a turtle shell.

“People bullied him and we were determined to end it. He is such a good and brave boy and he never complained. We are so glad that he is now on the mend.”

Medics at Urumqi Military General Hospital say they have cut away the growth and replaced it with skin grafts from Hali’s scalp and legs.

Chief surgeon Ye Xiangpo explained: “The skin we removed was as thick as a bull’s hide. We used scalp hair on the graft because it grows back very quickly. We expect him to make a full recovery.”

Hali added: “It was a bit painful, but I won’t worry about other kids laughing at me any more. I am looking forward to going out in the sun without my shirt on and to going swimming with my friends.”

Previously we talk about Tian Yunting, The Turtle Girl.

[Leggi Tutto]

Centenarian Zhang Ruifang, of Linlou Village in China’s Henan Province, first started developing the strange growth in 2009, when a patch of rough skin appeared on the left side of her forehead.

Her youngest son, 60-year-old Zhang Guozheng, said that when the growth first appeared they ‘didn’t pay too much attention to it’.

‘But as time went on a horn grew out of her head and it is now 6cm long,’ he said.

The growth is thought to be a ‘cutaneous horn’ - a tumour composed of keratin, the same substance that makes up fingernails, which most commonly occur in elderly people. Normally cutaneous horns are very small, several larger ones, which can stretch several inches, have been recorded in the past.

The condition has left her family worried - especially now it seems that she is developing a second horn on the right side of her forehead to match the first.

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A magician is in hospital suffering from severe frostbite after spending more than 64 hours as a human ice cube to break a world endurance record.

Latvian illusionist Gennady Palychevsky, 40, spent 64 hours and 32 minutes in the six foot square ice cube in the Russian capital Moscow before signaling for help.

The event tops American magician David Blaine’s 63 hours in ice in New York 10 years ago.

Palychevsky - known as Mr Fix - in magic circles - staggered from the ice after his frozen ordeal and was rushed away by paramedics.

His horrified wife Jelena said later: “The last night was the most difficult. Each hour we thought would be the last in the ice and at five in the morning we began panicking.”

“He wasn’t in good shape when he left the ice, he was very bad, but he’s much better now,” she added yesterday (sunday).

Medics say Palychevsky was on the verge of literally freezing to death before he called a halt to the stunt.

Palychevsky - who trained in ice baths for six months - didn’t eat or drink while he was sealed inside his ice tomb, broadcast live on Latvian radio throughout the entire stunt.

Timed videos of the event have been sent to Guinness World Records and will be made into a TV documentary later this year.

Palychevsky’s officials say he spent 32 minutes longer in the ice than the previous record holder, Israeli illusionist Hezi Dayan.

Dayan set the record only a month ago, after it was previously held by famous American magician David Blaine who spent 63 hours in Times Square encased in ice in 2000.

British firefighters called to a hospital said they spent 30 minutes using a metal grinder to free a man’s penis from a steel pipe.

The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service crew said they were called to England’s Southampton General Hospital Tuesday morning to use the 4 1/2-inch grinder to cut through the pipe without damaging the man’s sex organ, The Sun reported Thursday.

Hospital staff said they were unable to remove the pipe without assistance because the blood flow in the man’s penis had become restricted and caused him to become aroused. Doctors said the man’s penis was bruised and swollen after the operation but he did not suffer any serious or permanent injuries.

Firefighters said the man declined to explain how his penis had become stuck in the pipe.

“It was a very delicate operation that required a very steady hand and the crew was worried about things getting too hot during the cutting,” a Fire and Rescue spokesman said. “It’s certainly an unusual call-out and I’m sure the man won’t be getting into that situation again.”

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Though hardly worth recommending as a diagnostic tool, binge drinking may have saved the life of a California teen, according to media reports.

A few months ago, Evan Hamilton collapsed after downing eight tequila shots, and was rushed to an emergency room where he was diagnosed with brain tumor after a CT scan, CBS13 News reported.

The tumor was soon removed, the 13-year-old spent the next few months slowly recovering and he is expected to thrive again, although he’ll have to undergo periodic MRI tests.

“I just want to be with my family,” the Evan told the news provider, and his mother added that she was “just glad he’s alive,” admitting nonetheless that her son “made a mistake” engaging in alcohol drinking at such a young age.

According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 22,070 Americans will be diagnosed with brain cancer this year and 12,920 will die of the disease.

Experts say there are no known factors that can prevent brain cancer from developing, but avoiding exposure to radiation or certain chemicals, such as formaldehyde, vinyl chloride and acrylonitrile, may help reduce the risk, according to MedTv.com. Also, those with a family history of the disease are encouraged to talk to their doctors about screening.

Survivors and their families may consult the website of the National Brain Tumor Society for valuable informational resources.