Chinese Boy Released From UCLA After Surgery

Shao-han Deng, the 3-year-old boy who came from a remote province of China for an operation to save his life, was released from UCLA Children’s Hospital Wednesday after the first of what could be several surgeries to repair his damaged heart.

“He’s basically doing everything a 3-year-old should . . . eating, playing, laughing,” said hospital spokeswoman Elaine Schmidt. “Everything has gone really well.”

Shao-Shao, as he is affectionately known by his family and hospital staff, underwent surgery earlier this month to correct a related lung condition that had placed pressure on his heart.

Shao-Shao’s condition will be evaluated over the next several months before doctors perform surgery to repair a congenital heart defect that left the boy with only one ventricle.

The boy and his family had been staying at the home of Steven Tzeng a Simi Valley restaurateur, while the boy was recuperating.

The family has relocated to West Los Angeles to be closer to the hospital and will continue staying in the United States until the final operations are complete.

The boy’s plight gained international attention after his desperate father, Yongxin Deng, took to the Internet to find help after Chinese doctors said there was little they could do.