Boy with ‘boneless arm’ and decade-long journey to find hope

A jump at the age of six left young D.V.C. with devastating consequences: a left forearm almost entirely devoid of skeletal architecture, facing the prospect of limb amputation through joint disarticulation. For more than ten years, hope faded as every attempt at recovery stalled. It was only through the intervention of the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund that C.’s ‘boneless arm’ was revived, reconstructed by world-renowned hand surgeon Dr Stéphane Guero in an extraordinary surgical achievement. 

A childhood accident and a decade of escalating adversity

C. was born in 2009 in Dong Thap Province and was an active, healthy child. In 2015, after watching superhero movies on TV, the six-year-old thought he could fly. He jumped from his family’s stilt house, about 2.5 metres above the ground.

The impact caused a catastrophic open fracture of the forearm, with bone fragments penetrating through the skin. Although rushed to emergency care immediately, the sheer severity of the initial trauma resulted in prolonged and complex medical management.

A year after the initial intervention, severe necrotising infection arose as a complication of the internal plate-and-screw fixation performed when C. was seven, forcing surgeons to reoperate to debride necrotic tissue and remove the hardware.

The adversity did not end there. At the age of nine, while playing with friends, C. sustained a secondary fracture to his structurally weakened forearm.

After three major surgeries and ongoing infections, the bones and muscles in his forearm were badly damaged. Over time, his arm became very weak and lost most of its function. At each subsequent clinical review, the family was confronted with the heartbreaking recommendation to consider joint disarticulation to eliminate the risk of systemic, life-threatening septic complications.

After his accident, D.V.C.’s left forearm was left without any bone support, making it impossible for him to grasp or hold objects. Image: FV

The only way to save his arm was advanced surgery in another country, but the family could not afford it.

To pay for their son’s treatment, the family of six moved from Dong Thap to Dong Nai Province to work at a sawmill. They earned about VND7 million a month and saved everything they could for his care. Moved by their plight, the mill owner offered the family basic living quarters on site.

Because of their financial situation, C. could not go to regular school with other children. His parents enrolled him in a local charity class instead. On days without lessons, he helped with light work at the timber yard as much as he could.

His mother, Ms N.T.H., explained that more than half of their monthly income to pay off a VND100 million debt incurred during his repeated hospital stays. Yet, even with all these challenges, the family never gave up hope.

Limb reconstruction through a fateful partnership with an internationally acclaimed surgeon

Everything changed in late 2024 when a local teacher heard about C.’s situation and reached out to the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund at FV Hospital.

Through the foundation, C. was examined by Dr Stéphane Guero, an internationally acclaimed French paediatric hand and orthopaedic surgeon who travels regularly to FV Hospital to operate on children with complex congenital and post-traumatic limb deformities. He is widely recognised for his reconstructive expertise and is known as the “hand surgery magician.”

“When I first evaluated C., his forearm was completely flail. He could still bend his elbow, but everything below it just hung loose. There was almost no bone left to support it, so it was entirely non-functional,”  Dr. Guero explained.

To give C. a stable, working forearm, Dr Guero planned an extensive reconstruction. On November 20, 2024, C. underwent his first operation, which lasted almost seven hours. Dr Guero performed tendon transfers to restore basic movement to the hand, then took a structural bone graft from C.’s own femur (thigh bone) and secured it with internal fixation to rebuild the skeletal framework of the forearm.

D.V.C. at a follow-up consultation with Dr Stéphane Guero. Image: FV

“Seeing him again a year and a half later, I was genuinely amazed to see a well-formed, stable forearm bone. This progress has far exceeded my initial expectations. C.’s grip strength has now reached approximately 3 kg.” Dr Guero said during his surgical mission at FV Hospital in late May 2026.

A healthy adolescent male typically has a grip strength of 40–45 kg, so C. will need ongoing physical rehabilitation. However, this milestone marks significant progress from his previously flail limb.

During this latest admission, Dr Guero carried out a second procedure to remove excess skin and reshape the soft tissue, improving the contour and appearance of the arm. C.’s mother, Ms H., was visibly moved as she described the difference it has made. C. can now feed himself with a spoon, hold a pen to write and carry the shopping bags for her – everyday tasks that had seemed out of reach for more than ten years. With the support of the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund and Dr Guero’s surgical expertise, C. can now look forward to a more independent future.

D.V.C. and his mother share a quiet moment together as they await his final surgery at FV Hospital. Image: FV

Consultation notice: Dr Stéphane Guero is at FV Hospital from September 25 to October 1, 2026, for consultations and surgery as part of his latest surgical mission to Vietnam.

To book an appointment, please contact the Orthopaedics and Hand Surgery Department, FV Hospital, 06 Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Tan My Ward (formerly District 7), Ho Chi Minh City. Telephone: (028) 3511 3333.