A young boy cruelly nicknamed Mickey Mouse due to his rare condition has undergone an amazing transformation. Three-year-old Qibao was born with several large, dark-coloured moles covering his skull. The extremely rare condition is known as congenital naevus and is caused by an abnormal overgrowth of pigment-producing cells in the skin. Doctors hatched a plan to help the boy live a normal life. Surgeons assured his family they could remove the overgrowth, but first, he would have to have his skin stretched so they could cover the gaps left by the removal of the moles on his head.
Pre-op video footage shared on social media by his family showed Qibao had grown large balloon-like skin on both sides of his head, which caused the cruel nickname. His mum described how the other children in their home of Fujian province, southern China, mocked her son. She said, “We wiped away our tears and moved forward." Now, five months after the treatment began, surgeons have declared Qibao's treatment a complete success after the removal of the moles and the large growths on the side of his head. Post-op video footage shows Qibao with his head covered in bandages playing happily in the hospital's nursery. Qibao's courage touched the hearts of social media users across China. One wrote on Douyin, China's version of TikTok: "This boy is so brave and so is his mum. I cried watching this." Another said, "I used to get teased too for my appearance. This really hit me." A third said, “He looks so happy now. This is the power of medicine and love.”
