Team DailyPedia
China. A man named Hong Shu has been drinking two liters of baijiu, a Chinese spirit, every day. Having consumed thousands of liters of this hard liquor over 30 years, Hong Shu, a local from Guangzhou, never thought it would have an unusual impact on his health.
According to News.com, Baijiu is made from ice rice, sorghum or other grains, and has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of anywhere between 40 to 60 percent.
A decade ago, Shu started noticing something different about his body. The part behind his ears began to swell until it gradually spread around his throat area.
As time passed, the lump spread across his neck, developing what experts described as horse, cow, or camel neck.
The swelling was over 16 centimeters wide and 14 centimeters long. He also had two huge lumps on his neck that were about 19.5 centimeters wide.
After he was examined, the doctors found out that the 53-year-old has rare Madelung disease, a condition where fatty deposits build up in various areas of the body such as arms, legs, and in his case, neck. There are only around 400 reported cases of the extremely rare disease worldwide.
Before he was diagnosed, Shu said he struggled to sleep, eat or even breathe. He became withdrawn and depressed and did not want to go out because of his appearance.
Fortunately, doctors were able to remedy his problem by performing three successive surgeries to remove the fatty deposits around his neck. Shu is due to be discharged soon, as reported by People’s Daily Online.
Featured image via People’s Daily Online
