From Sina:

In Order to Correct Bow-Leggedness, Screws Are Inserted Into Bone and Tightened 3 Times Every Day

Bloody Pictures on a Weibo Post

Recently, netizen @朱小辫儿 posted on Weibo: There’s a girl on the Tianya BBS forum who had surgery to correct her “O-shaped legs” [bowed legs]. Every day, she takes a wrench and tightens every screw inserted in her bones three times, each time 7 mm deeper…3 months later, she took these screws that had already fused with her bones and flesh out. I keep wondering, what about the bloody holes in her legs?

Because this microblog post included a photograph of two legs with screws attached, it immediately caused a widespread stir with netizens, with many calling it shocking, “The pictures are horrifying”, and quite a few of them questioned, “Is it really necessary to do this just to correct bowed legs?” or “I know girls want to be pretty, but I’ve never met one willing to go this far just to be pretty.”

This Reporter Visited a Doctor to Find Answers

This reporter consulted an orthopedics expert over this matter.

The expert said that “O-shaped legs” or commonly known as bow-leggedness are medically referred to as genu varum, which is a physical deformity where a person’s ankles can touch each other while their knees cannot thus forming an “O-shaped” gap.

“The disease is usually caused by lack of calcium or genetic reasons.” The expert says people with bowed legs can easily manifest a bias when walking, have difficulty keeping balance, walk like ducks, have postures that are relatively ugly, and thus for women, it directly affects their physical image. “Those who have this disease should get it treated as early as possible. Otherwise when they get older, it can easily lead to joint pain, etc. that could affect normal walking.

“With the medical technology today, correcting bow-leggedness isn’t necessarily difficult, and many city hospitals can do it.” He said the photo on Weibo shows a method of correction that was only shortly used a long time ago. “This method isn’t scientific, as the wounds on the legs can easily get infected, and cause unpredictable damage to the patient. ”

The expert cautioned that if one is to do bow-leggedness corrective surgery, one just needs to go to a proper hospital.

Comments from Sina Weibo :

小屁孩晶晶：

Why bother? They weren’t made that much straighter! A perfectly healthy pair of legs, and she just had to go online and poke holes in them.

衣衣日记：

This surgery is common. The surgery to make oneself taller uses the same principles. In 2005, I went to my best friend’s place and saw her sister suddenly on crutches with many purple dots on her legs. They told me it was from riding a motorcycle when two cars happened to crush her from both sides, and the sad thing was that I actually believed it. Only later did I learn that it was to make her taller, about 5-6 centimeters. I heard it cost more than 100,000 RMB.

genie_god：

I reckon it’s the same principle as dental braces.

疯狂帽客：

Actually, looking at the before surgery photo, I don’t think this was really necessary.

眼镜D1：

When I was small, I lacked calcium, and had bowed legs too. I put a book between my knees and before going to bed, tied my legs tightly together. Persevered for a month with no result.

lillian__李：

I don’t know why but the pictures make me want to vomit.

周莹小朋友_：

After seeing this, double eye lids surgery and whatever is no longer horrifying [compared with this].

陈若男Says：

With the bowed legs straightened, theoretically her height should be 2 centimeters taller. This girl takes being human too seriously [is too willing to go to extreme lengths for outward appearances].

雾雨风WYF：

Every football [soccer] player has bowed legs.

艾妞妞妞：

My bowed legs are even more severe than hers, but I’d rather be ugly than suffer all this.

钟笑然可爱多：

This is so much harder than losing weight! !! I am so useless [compared to her]!

Worth it?