Indian boy born with head hung at 180-degree angle has life-changing surgery

A 13-year-old boy from India who was ostracized by people from his own village because his head hung upside down has successfully undergone surgery to straighten his neck. Mahendra Ahirwar is said to be afflicted by a rare condition called congenital mypoathy, which had weakened his neck muscles so much that his head would hang at a 180-degree-angle.

Mahendra Ahirwar with his parents and siblings. (Credit: YouTube)

But now thanks to a mother-of-two from Liverpool, who set up a crowd-funding page raising £12,000 for his treatment, the teenager has undergone life-changing surgery by a former NHS surgeon. Dr. Rajagopalan Krishnan, from Apollo Hospital, headed the team of doctors who performed the ten-hour surgery on the boy. The complicated operation involved the removal of disks from his neck and replacing them with bone graft from the pelvis and then fitting a metal plate to secure the neck straight.

Mahendra Ahirwar was unable to play with his friends prior to his surgery. (Credit: YouTube)

Earlier Ahirwar was completely dependent on his parents for even the smallest of his daily needs. He was unable to go to school like his siblings and had to contend with just watching his friends play. Fortunately, Ms. Jones decided to help him out after reading about his condition in the news. “‘It was tragic. All I could think about was my own son and how I’d feel if he was in that situation,” she told Daily Mail.

Thanks to Ms. Jones' fund-raising efforts, Mahendra Ahriwar was finally able to have his surgery.

But things are now looking up for the teenager as he’s been recently provided with an electric wheelchair by an anonymous donor that has enabled him to write, watch TV and play with his friends. Moreover, his straightened neck has even made his voice louder. Although Ahirwar has to wear a neck brace for six months and needs to go for regular check ups, he is hopeful that one day he will be able to make his dreams come true.