Gymnast undergoes successful surgery

Parents arrive from China

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Posted: Saturday July 25, 1998 09:14 PM

Former NFL football player Dennis Byrd, encourages Chinese gymnast Sang Lan who underwent seven hours of spinal surgery Saturday. Byrd had the same operation AP

UNIONDALE, New York (AP) -- A Chinese gymnast paralyzed after a fall at the Goodwill Games underwent a seven-hour operation Saturday that might help her regain mobility.

Sang Lan, 17, was in critical but stable condition Saturday afternoon after doctors fused two fractured and dislocated vertebrae inher neck.

"The operation was completed and successful," said Nassau County Medical Center spokeswoman Shelley Lotenberg. "The doctors accomplished what they wanted to accomplish."

Doctors began operating on Sang about 8 a.m. No other details were immediately available.

Chinese authorities on Sunday will hold a press conference, where doctors will give details of the operation, said the spokeswoman.

Sang's parents, Sang Shisheng and Chen Xiufeng, arrived Saturday night at Kennedy Airport from their home in Ningbo, 740 miles (1,190 kilometers) south of Beijing. They were escorted out a private door at the airport, eluding waiting journalists.

Sang, the 1997 Chinese national vault champion, fell on her head Tuesday night during a training routine, injuring the neck vertebrae and leaving her unable to move her legs. It was unlikely she would walk again, doctors had said before the surgery.

In addition to the surgery, Sang is being treated with an experimental tissue-regenerating drug. Chinese authorities said they also would perform acupuncture on Sang to stimulate her nerves after the operation.

An outpouring of support for the injured gymnast flooded the Long Island hospital this week.

Letters, cards and stuffed toys sent from people all over the world covered Sang's small room in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Former New York Jets defensive lineman Dennis Byrd, who in 1992 suffered career-ending injuries similar to Sang's but regained the use of his legs, visited the gymnast Fridy. Sang also is being treated with SYGEN, an experimental drug that helped Byrd.

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