• China’s famous “folded boy” has received life changing corrective surgery at Chengdu’s BOE hospital, that has pushed scientific boundaries as no one thought it would be possible to save Jiang Yanchen.
This is the inspirational story a 21-year-old Chinese man who once lived with his body bent backward nearly 180 degrees.
• Diagnosed with a rare congenital muscle disorder at age 2, Jiang could neither squat nor walk normally. By middle school, his neck had folded back onto his spine, and his body gradually twisted into a “Z” shape. Some doctors once predicted he would not live past 13. But Jiang defied the odds.
• At the end of last month, he was discharged from Chengdu BOE Hospital, after completing four high-risk surgeries and completing more than 100,000 minutes of rehabilitation. A big congratulations to the medical team at Chengdu’s BOE, and to the patient who dedicated himself to hundreds of hours of rehabilitation.
The patient, Jiang Yanchen, is a college student from Dezhou, Shandong Province. His story has touched many across China.
In 2022, he lay prone on a yoga mat to take the national college entrance exam, scoring nearly 60 points above the threshold for Shandong’s second-tier universities and securing admission to Dezhou University. By 2023, however, his condition had worsened. He suffered respiratory failure, his lung function dropped to just 20 percent of normal, and severe osteoporosis raised surgical risks dramatically.
In December 2024, Jiang was admitted to Chengdu BOE Hospital. Spinal surgeon Liang Yijian called it “the most severe deformity I have seen in over 20 years. “The challenge was unprecedented. Unlike typical kyphosis, Jiang’s spine bent in reverse, lengthened and pressed inward. His chest and abdomen left almost no room for breathing; even his diaphragm could not descend.
Liang’s team pioneered a groundbreaking “reverse osteotomy” technique — reshaping and shortening the spine in the opposite direction to create space for correction. Doctors say it marks the world’s first successful correction of a “reverse folding” spinal deformity caused by congenital muscle disease, according to People’s Daily.
Between December 2024 and June 2025, Jiang endured four major operations: a reverse osteotomy, cervical revision, hip release, and thoracic correction. Together, they realigned his spine by roughly 170 degrees. In early August, Jiang stood and walked with the aid of a walker. Doctors confirmed his recovery goals had been achieved.
On his 21st birthday, August 6, he sat upright in bed for the first time and looked directly at his friends and doctors. “From now on, I’m parting ways with the past 20 years,” he said. “I’m ready for a new life,” according to the report
Over the past year, Jiang trained six hours a day, performing dozens of repetitive exercises hundreds of times – adding up to more than 2,000 hours, or 100,000 minutes, of rehabilitation. His therapist said he never once backed down. He will resume university life and has already started planning for graduate school.
We wish him future success and happiness!
About Chengdu BOE International Hospital
Opened in 2020, Chengdu BOE Hospital is a key city asset delivering high-quality, internationally standardized, reliable medical care.
The hospital has gathered some of the country’s finest medical talent – with over 1,000 talented medical professionals. They really do offer comprehensive care.
BOE is committed to medical excellence:
· World-class infrastructure
· International standard accident & emergency (A&E) services
· Inpatient and outpatient care
· Diagnostic services
· Surgical procedures
· Rehabilitation services
Location:
Chengdu BOE Hospital 成都京东方医院
Address:
Jingxing Road No. 1, Chengdu Tianfu International Biological City, Shuangliu District
成都市双流区，天府国际生物城景星路一号
Telephone:
+86 28 6066 0666
Website:
www.cdboehospital.com
