A 15-year-old Beijing boy is hoping surgery will be able to shorten his extraordinarily long neck. Fu Wengui was born with a number of spinal conditions, including scoliosis, but the most startling is his out-of-proportion neck. It is the result, his father says, of having too many vertebrae, the collar-like bones surrounding and protecting the spinal cord.

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Fu Genyou claims his son has 10 cervical vertebrae (the bones of the neck) as opposed to the normal number of seven.

"These vertebrae press on the nerves in his neck and make it difficult for him to walk," said the 50-year-old.

Wengui also suffers pain stemming from the defect, and is the subject of stares and comments from onlookers. 

"He always causes a stir whenever he goes out," says the elder Fu.

Wengui was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis and an abnormal chest frame at the age of six. Congenital scoliosis forms very early in fetal development, usually within six week of conception, and is characterized by the spine taking a bow shape to either side (as opposed to kyphosis, where the spine curls too far forward, resulting in a hump). Scoliosis correction is now a fairly straightforward medical procedure, usually involving titanium implants that straighten the spinal column.

The reduction Wengui's neck may prove to have a more complex diagnosis. If it is confirmed he has extra cervical vertebra, it would be an almost unheard-of case. Extra vertebrae are not unknown, but the condition, known as "transitional segments," is very rare and usually involves the formation of an extra vertebra in the sacrum vertebrae at the the base of the spine near the pelvis. Tending to run in families, the condition, which can cause pain and misalignment, is considered genetic. 

Removal of vertebrae is an extremely invasive procedure where the bone is replaced with a metallic "cage."

Says Wengui, "I just hope I can have a normal neck." 

Tagsscoliosis, Vertebra, back surgery