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‘Miracle boy’ with heart defect who got Hong Kong’s first ventricular assist device transplant enjoys new life

Landmark surgery allows 12-year-old to return to school as he waits patiently for organ donation that might be years away

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Yeung Chin-kwun, 12, is the first patient with single ventricle disease in Hong Kong to receive a ventricular assist device implant. Photo: Handout

Carrying a black canvas bag and wearing a dark blue shirt, Yeung Chin-kwun looks like any other boy hanging out in the park. Except the bag contains five pounds of medical equipment, and the young heart underneath his shirt cannot beat by itself.

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The 12-year-old Hongkonger has a mechanical pump made of metal – a ventricular assist device, or VAD – implanted in his chest.

“He was born with heart disease,” his father, who declines to be named, explains. “It’s a miracle that he’s still alive at this point.”

“Now my son can leave the hospital and walk on the streets. I am so thankful to the medical crew that helped him.”

Yeung Chin-kwun (centre) with his father and nurse specialist at Queen Mary Hospital, where the surgery was performed. Photo: Handout
Yeung Chin-kwun (centre) with his father and nurse specialist at Queen Mary Hospital, where the surgery was performed. Photo: Handout
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With his surgery in January, Yeung became the first person in Asia with single ventricle disease to successfully receive a VAD implant. The condition occurs when one of the heart’s two ventricles does not develop fully.

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