“I want to run!”

Guro Hospital finds hope for 12-year-old Mongolian girl

Growth plate damaged in childhood accident, leaving left leg 9cm shorter

Professor Song Hae-ryong's team to balance both legs with Ilizarov surgery

Sergeling (12), from Mongolia, visited Korea last month.

After falling on the stairs at the age of 4, Sergeling lived without any particular problems, but around the age of 7, she realized that her left leg was shorter than her right leg. As Sergeling grew, the difference in length between her legs became more and more severe, and she couldn't even walk without wearing specially made shoes.

The family traveled to Russia, China, and other places in search of a prominent doctor to treat Sergeling, but could not find a suitable doctor. Then, after inquiries, they found Professor Song Hae-ryong, an orthopedic surgeon at Korea University Guro Hospital. Trust in Professor Song, who has a lot of experience and know-how in treating about 200 patients every year with Ilizarov Treatment, led Sergeling's family to Korea.

Ilizarov surgery began in 1954 when a doctor named Gavril Abramovich Ilizarov in Russia performed bone lengthening using a circular external fixator. It is used when the height is very short, when one arm or leg is short, or when there is a defect in bone and soft tissue or limb angular deformity due to trauma or tumors. After cutting the bone, it is lengthened by about 1 mm per day, and the cut bones gradually lengthen, creating new bones automatically. The growth rate of each patient must be taken into account, and if the extension is made too quickly or if more than 30% of the person's bone length is extended at once, the bones in the extended area will not grow sufficiently, increasing the risk of future fractures, so treatment and management must be received by an expert for a long period of time.

As a result of a thorough examination after entering the country last month, Sergeling's left kneecap (patella) was dislocated, and her left leg was 9 cm shorter than her right leg. Professor Song first performed patella reconstruction surgery, and on June 20, he initially installed an external fixator on Sergeling's femur, and on the 4th, he installed an external fixator on her calf. Professor Song plans to take about 6 months as the treatment period, observe Sergeling's growth rate, and find a balance between both legs.

Sergeling's mother, Kangozl, said, "It broke my heart to see my daughter having a hard time not being able to play with her friends, but thanks to Professor Song Hae-ryong, my whole family has hope." She added, "I hope my daughter's left leg grows strong so that she can walk around normally like other children."

Sergeling, who likes the five-member Korean boy group SS501, also wants to be a singer in the future. When asked what she wants to do first when she returns to Mongolia after treatment, she is a bright 12-year-old girl who shouts "Running!" without hesitation. The family and medical staff all hope that Sergeling can overcome the difficult treatment in a foreign land and return to her home country to run vigorously like any other child of her age.

Last month, Sergeling (12/Mongolia), whose left leg was shorter than her right leg, has found us at Korea University Medical Center (KUMC), Guro Hospital. She had been noticing the increasing difference between the lengths of right and left legs. She went to Russia and China to look for a suitable doctor who can treat her, but wasn’t able to find a suitable doctor for her.

They were able to find Professor Song at the Department of Orthopedics of KUMC after inquiries. In the end, the trust on Professor Song, who had the experience and the know-how of treating more than 200 patients every year with the lengthening technique called Ilizarov surgery, led Sergeling’s family to Korea.

The Ilizarov surgery was started by a Soviet physician Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov in 1954, invented the cylinder-shaped Ilizarov apparatus for lengthening limb bones. It is also used for limb deformity correction or for lengthening a unilaterally short limb.

After the bone is osteomized, the gap between the bones is increased by 1mm a day, and the gap is filled in with new bone materials as time passes by. The patient’s individual healing rate should be taken into consideration during recovery. Because there is a high risk of fracture if the patient lengthens more than 30% or his/her original bone length or the patient tries to lengthen a big amount in a very short period of time, the patient needs to be treated and examined by the specialist for a long time.

According to the close examination done last year, her left knee bone (patella) was dislocated and the left leg was 9cm shorter than the right leg.

First of all, Professor Song performed knee reconstruction surgery, and then an external fixator was installed on the femur on the 20th of last month. On the 4th of this month, another external fixator was installed on the calf. Professor is planning on observing Sergeling for the next 6 months and work on finding the balance between her two legs.

Sergeling’s mother was saying “it was heartbreaking to see my daughter go through such hard time and not be able to hang out with other children. It is good to finally find hope thanks to Professor Song” She added that she hopes that her leg can heal fast and healthy so that she can walk around like normal children.