China News Service, Taiyuan, October 23. Title: The hard work of slow pulling: saving limbs and supporting life
China News Service reporter Fan Lifang
65-year-old Zhou (pseudonym) was pushed into the orthopedic clinic of the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University in a wheelchair by his family. He has been suffering from diabetic foot for 7 years. His toes are black and his bones are exposed. He has sought treatment in many ways to no avail. He can only sit and sleep with his legs in his arms every day, which is extremely painful.
This time he came to ask for amputation.
Zhang Yonghong, director of the orthopedic limb orthopedic reconstruction and infection ward of the hospital, said, "Let's try again." After debridement and infection control, he then applied the concept of "traction tissue regeneration" and used tibial transverse bone transfer technology to open a "small window" on the tibia of the calf, install an external fixator, and slowly stretch the bone fragments. Blood flow is re-perfused into the foot, and new flesh grows little by little. After 146 days, the large skin defect on the sole of the foot healed completely on its own. Lao Zhou returned to his normal life.
Zhang Yonghong has treated many patients like Lao Zhou who came with the last glimmer of hope. He has been practicing medicine for more than 30 years and has been deeply involved in the fields of orthopedics, limb lengthening and bone defect repair. In June 2026, he was awarded the international academic honor "Honorary Professor of the Russian Ilizalov Center".
Experts who receive this honor automatically become international honorary members of ASAMI International, remain in the international academic history for life, are invited to participate in keynote sharing at the world's top orthopedic conferences, and lead international complex case consultation and the formulation of industry technical standards. As of 2025, only 43 experts from 12 countries have received this honor. Previously, only one person from China had won this honor.
Zhang Yonghong (third from left) was awarded "Honorary Professor of the Russian Ilizalov Center". Photo courtesy of Zhang Yonghong
This honor dates back to the 1990s.
At that time, Zhang Yonghong was still a resident physician when he met an 8-year-old girl with severe femoral osteomyelitis infection. Under medical conditions at the time, the only option was amputation.
He remembered that girl's back for many years. Later, he went to Germany to study, and went to Russia, Japan, India, and the United States for exchanges many times. He learned from Professor Qin Sihe and Professor Xia Hetao, leaders in the field in China. He repeatedly studied the surgeries of top orthopedic experts, practiced skills, and spent time in the laboratory, bit by bit, mastering the technology.
"'Tissue regeneration' originated in the Kurgan region of Russia. Traditional orthopedics believes that bones must be squeezed to grow. This technology subverts this understanding. Slow and continuous stretching can stimulate the joint growth of bones, periosteum, blood vessels, and soft tissues." Zhang Yonghong said that he is focusing on the most difficult problems in this technology.
The first is nonunion. "Tissue regeneration by traction" is the underlying principle, and the "accordion technique" is the application of this principle in the treatment of nonunions. "Repeatedly squeeze and pull the broken ends of the bones to promote healing, just like playing an accordion, pressing and pulling to 'wake up' the bones that cannot grow." Zhang Yonghong explained. The principle is simple, but clinical data shows that most patients are ineffective after using this method. No one can explain why it succeeds and why it fails.
To this end, Zhang Yonghong has done a lot of basic research and clarified the core conditions. "Hematoma must be formed locally and blood flow must be improved. If the conditions are not met, focused shock waves are used to create hematomas, and then the standard operation is followed." He established a complete treatment system to achieve 100% success. This achievement won the second prize of the Shanxi Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award in 2021, and the relevant mechanism research was approved as a National Natural Science Foundation of China project.
Diabetic foot is a common clinical complication and difficult to treat. In severe cases, traditional methods can only require amputation. Zhang Yonghong's team used transverse bone transfer of the tibia to pull the calf bones, stimulate the regeneration of collateral blood vessels in the entire lower limbs, and improve peripheral circulation. "The skin and muscles grown in this way are the patient's own and are completely consistent with the original tissue." Zhang Yonghong said that the skin flap transplanted in the weight-bearing area of the foot is easy to burst, but this kind of repair does not have such problems.
Another clinical problem is chronic osteomyelitis. In the past, the entire infected bone had to be removed. Zhang Yonghong's team uses instruments to accurately locate the infected area, remove only infected necrotic bone tissue, and retain healthy tissue. Bone defects are significantly reduced, and treatment time is greatly shortened.
These technologies ultimately fall on specific people.
A spina bifida patient from Wenxi, Shanxi, had deformed feet and could only walk on the instep of his feet. The soft tissue on the soles of his feet had long-term ulceration. A young man in his early twenties, he never looks up at others and has a withdrawn personality. "It felt like he had despaired of his entire life." Zhang Yonghong used minimally invasive traction technology to correct his condition. Soon, both feet returned to normal shape. During the ward rounds, the young man showed a bright smile.
"He told me that people in the village said that he would never walk again. After being discharged from the hospital, he would walk into the village for everyone to see." One after another such patients made Zhang Yonghong sigh. Once the surgery is done, it can not only cure the disease, but also change a person's personality and even life trajectory.
Today, Zhang Yonghong’s portrait is permanently displayed on the honor wall of the Ilizarov Center, alongside the world’s top experts. But what he is more concerned about is to understand more "why and how to grow well", so that more people can stand up, walk and laugh again. (over)
