7-year-old Chen Jiakun of China suffers from a very rare disease called pentalogy of Cantrell, which is "a complex constellation of defects including congenital heart disease and sternum abnormalities."

In front of Chen's chest is a large mass containing his heart and intestines. People can see and feel how his heart is beating under the skin. The mass swells and throbs if he moves quickly. And coughing will cause it to grow to 15 centimeters long--almost three times its usual size.

Willing to sell their own house, the family was blessed with the generosity of many people and was sent to Shanghai Children's Hospital to undergo surgery on his heart.

"A team of around 10 medical staff will perform the surgery. The surgery is challenging, but we are confident," said professor Jia Bing, the chief surgeon.
 
To repair Chen's defective sternum, surgeons will cut a layer of the existing sternums on both sides, then slide them into the middle of the chest.
 
"This therapy is less risky and causes less harm than implanting artificial materials," Jia said.
 
The same "separate and slide" method will be used on abdomen muscles to repair defective chest muscles. Since the hole in his heart is very small, Chen does not need heart surgery.
 
The surgery will take 5 hours, and the total cost will be less than 80,000 yuan (US$10,000) -- much cheaper than the 1 million yuan (US$125,000) required by a German hospital.

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