Chinese boy who had both eyes gouged out
in random attack undergoes implant surgery
- - Guo Bin has undergone an operation to provide him with eye implants
- - If successful the six-year-old could have his sight partially restored
- - Youngster snatched while playing outside home in Linfen, Shanxi Province
- - His aunt Zhang Huiying, who later killed herself, remains the prime suspect
By ANTHONY BOND and DAILY MAIL REPORTER
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A little boy who had his eyes gouged out in a sickening attack has undergone surgery that could one day lead to the partial restoration of his sight.
In the first of two operations, Guo Bin was fitted with implants similar to eyeballs by Dr Dennis Lam in the Southern China city of Shenzhen yesterday.
Dr Lam had volunteered his services after the six-year-old had been found with his eyes gouged out and covered in blood in Fenxi, Shangxi province, on 24 August.
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Hope: Guo Bin has undergone surgery that could one day lead to the partial restoration of his eyesight
Preparation: A doctor examines Guo ahead of the first of the operations that could help restore his sight
Expert: Dr Dennis Lam volunteered to conduct the operations on the six-year-old free of charge
Police suspect his late aunt Zhang Huiying, who later committed suicide by throwing herself down the village well, was responsible. The boy's DNA and blood were found on her clothes.
Once he has recovered from this first operation, Dr Lam will fit prosthetic eyes to Guo, which will be connected to tissue and muscle allowing them to move.
A spokeswoman for Dr Lam told the Agence-France Presse news agency this had been done to give volume to the eyes in order to fit an eye shell.
Then sensory devices that generate electronic signals could be fitted that would help him to identify shapes.
Dr Lam hopes Guo Bin will benefit from the further development of electronic eye technology, although this is something that is five to 10 years in the future.
According to the BBC, Dr Lam, who is based in Hong Kong, said: 'We don't know if this will be successful in the end, but if there is this possibility, then why should we not give a chance to little Bin-Bin?'
Implants: Guo Bin is accompanied by his mother Wang Wenli before undertaking the surgery
Guo Bin recuperates with his mother following the attack in the rural area of Linfen city that left him blind
Initial reports had said the corneas were missing when the boy's eyes were found, leading to speculation that his attacker was an organ trafficker, but police later ruled out organ sales as a motive saying the corneas had been found attached to the eyeballs.
Police had offered a 100,000 yuan ($16,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the sole suspect. Reports said the little boy had been drugged before his eyeballs were gouged out.
The brutal attack on the boy -- who has a cleft palate -- shocked Internet users in China, who demanded retribution.
Guo's attack has triggered an outpouring of support within China, as well as frustration that his assailant has not been found.
Horrific: The Chinese boy lies in hospital after he had his eyes gouged out
China Daily reported that donations had been flowing in since reports about the boy hit the headlines late last month, and Guo Zhiping said the amount has reached 800,000 yuan (£83,686).
The suicide of Guo Bin's aunt sparked public suspicion that she might be the assailant, but the boy's father, Guo Zhiping, said it was impossible because the two families are on good terms.
A vice-president of a school for blind children in Taiyuan, surnamed Li, said that the school would accept Guo Bin and exempt his tuition fees if he wants to attend it.
His family found him covered in blood and crying in pain three to four hours after the attack in a rural area of Linfen city in Shanxi province.
The Beijing Times newspaper quoted the parents of the boy, whose family name is Guo according to police, as saying that their son had told them he was walking along a path when he was grabbed by a woman. She used an unspecified tool to gouge out his eyes, they said.
An entire eye cannot be transplanted, but a cornea could be vital for a patient with faltering vision.
Recovering: The youngster was playing alone outside his home in Linfen, Shanxi Province, when he was snatched on Monday evening
Mortified: Relatives of the youngster talk to a nurse. His parents realised he was missing when they tried to call hm inside the house but received no response
Guo Bin's devastated father said: ‘We didn’t notice his eyes were gone when we discovered him – he had blood all over his face. We thought he had fallen down and smashed his face.’
The boy was rushed to hospital where doctors were shocked to find his eyes had been removed. His father said: ‘His eyelids were turned inside out, and his eyeballs were not there.’
Guo Bin was shown on state TV being taken in bandages from an operating theatre to a hospital bed, writhing in agony as his shocked family wept.
China Central Television said he had been drugged and ‘lost consciousness’ before the attacker removed his eyes.
His parents discovered he was missing when they called for him to come in around 8pm on Monday but received no response.
After a frantic search with relatives, they found him screaming in a field near their home in Fenxi, north China. The kidnapper had reportedly told Guo Bin: ‘Don’t cry and I won’t gouge out your eyes.’
Distraught: The boy's father found his son screaming in a nearby field with blood covering his face
Despair: The boy's mother hugs a relative at the hospital after her son's injuries were revealed
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