A one-year-old boy from Bangladesh has recovered after undergoing a complex cranial reconstruction surgery in central China's Hubei province.

Alifa was diagnosed with sagittal craniosynostosis at just three months old, a condition in which the suture on the top of his skull fuse too early.

"Premature fusion of cranial sutures can deform the skull, increase pressure inside the head and, in severe cases, cause vision loss or epilepsy," Ma Yunfu, director of the neurosurgery department of Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province, explained.

The boy's parents sought help from several hospitals in Bangladesh, but the surgery was considered too difficult to perform locally. Their chance for treatment came when Alifa's uncle, who was studying in Wuhan, learned that the hospital specializes in correcting cranial deformities in children.