Doctors at the dental hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, have made plans to treat a girl child who suffers from severe facial deformities, and the treatment is expected to last until she reaches adulthood.

Cao Qiang, director of maxillofacial plastic surgery at the hospital, said the 6-year-old girl is from a low-income rural family in Hanzhong, a southern city of the province, and she was born with the second branchial arch syndrome, with malocclusion - a general misalignment of the teeth.

As the patient is so young and the various operations could be risky, the doctors decided to carry out their plan in various stages until she reaches the age of 18 – and the whole treatment will be funded by donations.