During the May 1 holiday this year, 28 children from Chamdo city in the Xizang autonomous region received free corrective surgeries for limb deformities at the city's Kharub District People's Hospital.

A team of surgeons from Beijing performed the operations as part of a project supported by Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, the public welfare medical team at Beijing Peking University People's Hospital and the Beijing Joint Care Foundation.

This initiative, now in its eighth year, has provided life-changing operations for nearly 300 young patients in the city, allowing them to be more confident and independent.

According to the foundation, they have been arranging for orthopedic experts to voluntarily carry out public welfare assistance activities for children with congenital hand and foot deformities in Chamdo since 2017.

"The causes of the defects are related to the local dietary habits. Xizang is a geologically active area, and local disease is also related to the natural environment," said Lin Jianhao, director of the bone and joint department at Peking University People's Hospital and chairman of the foundation.

Lin said that more than 95 percent of the patients are children with an average age of 6 to 7 years old, and the foundation has spent more than 2 million yuan ($278,000) on treatment for these patients.

Lin also said that the children feel different from others because of these defects, and this can have psychological and physiological effects on their growth, and they may exhibit behaviors such as avoiding social interactions and experience emotional distress.

"It is important to address this issue before the child matures mentally," Lin added.

In addition, this project has been training more local medical professionals to deal with these defects.

Ten-year-old Tibetan girl Wangmo was born with congenital abnormalities in her hands — each hand had six fingers but lacked thumbs and proper grips, making even basic tasks such as holding a pen or tying shoelaces difficult.

Thanks to the surgery, her hands now look and function almost like those of a normal child.

"I am very thankful to the experts from Beijing, as well as the meticulous care provided by the medical staff," Lodre Tenba, Wangmo's grandpa, was quoted as saying by People's Daily.

"Not only have they waived all treatment costs for us, but they have also ensured that we do not have to bear any transportation or accommodation expenses incurred during the treatment."

palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn