A father’s race to heal his daughter in Chengdu

The Awal family’s nightmare began on a seemingly ordinary afternoon in July last year. Abdul Awal, a resident of Narayanganj, adjacent to the capital Dhaka, watched in absolute terror as his four-year-old daughter, Afiyah Awal, suddenly vomited fresh, bright red blood.
“Since last July when she passed vomit fresh blood, I was afraid that whether it is possible to keep her safe,” Abdul Awal, an engineer by profession in a private company, recalled, reflecting on the months of uncertainty that followed that first crisis.
He immediately rushed his daughter to a private hospital in Narayanganj and then to another in Dhaka. It was there that doctors delivered a diagnosis: Afiyah’s portal vein was dangerously narrow, and she required complex surgery that was not currently available in Bangladesh.
Following medical advice, Awal took his daughter to Yashoda Hospital in Hyderabad, India last December. Specialists there identified the condition as Cavernous Transformation of the Portal Vein (CTPV) – a rare vascular malformation that often leads to life-threatening portal hypertension and gastrointestinal bleeding.
However, Awal found himself hesitant to proceed in India. “The doctors there said they only treated one or two such cases a year,” he explained, noting that the estimated cost was between five and seven lakh rupees. “I was not finding any confidence there”.
Determined to find the best possible care, Awal turned to the internet, searching for global leaders in treating this rare condition. His research led him to discover that only a handful of hospitals in China and Thailand specialised in CTPV.
The turning point came when his sister posted an inquiry on Facebook, which eventually led them to the West China Hospital of Sichuan University, located in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. With the assistance of two Bangladeshi students studying in Chengdu, Awal learned that the hospital’s pediatric team performs nearly 100 of these high-difficulty surgeries every year.
On 26 February 2026, Abdul Awal, his wife, and little Afiyah arrived in Chengdu. By 3 March, she was admitted under the care of Professor Jin Shuguang and a highly specialised multidisciplinary team (MDT). The medical challenge was immense: Afiyah suffered from severe splenomegaly (an enlarged spleen), esophagogastric varices, and a portal vein trunk that was both malformed and narrowed. She was at constant risk of a massive, potentially fatal haemorrhage.
The Operation: A ten-hour miracle
The surgical team, which included experts from liver transplantation, vascular surgery, anaesthesiology, and radiology, decided to perform a “Meso-Rex bypass”. This procedure is considered the “gold standard” for treating pediatric CTPV, as it restores normal portal venous flow to the liver by creating a bypass between the superior mesenteric vein and the left portal vein, thereby relieving the dangerous pressure in the system.
However, the case was particularly daunting. Afiyah was only four years old, her left portal vein measured a mere 4 mm in diameter, and there were very few suitable graft vessels available for the reconstruction. On 10 March, the operation began, a marathon effort that would last 10 hours and 17 minutes.
During the procedure, the vascular surgery team selected a segment of the right internal jugular vein to serve as the graft. The most critical phase involved vascular anastomosis—the delicate connection of the vessels—which the team performed under a microscope using advanced microsurgical techniques, according to doctors’ team.
Despite the high risk of bleeding during the induction of anaesthesia, the team’s careful planning kept intraoperative blood loss to just 150 ml. Ultrasound confirmed good blood flow in the new graft immediately following the reconstruction.
Professor Jin Shuguang later commented on the achievement: “The Meso-Rex procedure is technically demanding and requires extremely high precision. Despite challenges such as language and cultural differences, the team successfully completed this cross-border life-saving mission”.
In a conversation with the Sichuan International Communication Center, a major provincial-level institution for international communication operated by Sichuan Daily Press Group, Abdul Awal spoke candidly about the emotional and logistical weight of the decision to travel to China.
He admitted that the surgery was complicated and carried no 100 per cent guarantee. Awal was particularly moved by the dedication of the medical staff, recalling how they worked tirelessly to perform a CT scan on his agitated daughter while ensuring she remained at a safe level of anaesthesia.
“They are great. They did a great job for us,” he told the Center, praising their vast experience in taking complex problems to a “perfect point” of resolution.
Speaking with this correspondent, he expressed his profound gratitude to the Chinese government for opening its hospitals to Bangladeshi patients, though he noted that linguistic barriers and dietary differences remained challenges for international families, like Bangladeshis.
He also mentioned the time-consuming process of obtaining invitations for public hospitals, suggesting that streamlining this could help more patients in the future in China.
The financial burden was also significant; the total cost of the journey and treatment amounted to approximately Tk 20 lakh. “The cost might have been high, but I received good treatment for my daughter,” Awal told The New Nation. “For that, I thank them. Based on my experience, China is highly advanced in medical treatment.”
The surgery was a resounding success. Postoperative imaging confirmed that the reconstructed vessels were functioning perfectly, effectively eliminating the risk of future bleeding. Afiyah recovered with remarkable speed and was discharged just 12 days after the operation.
The story that began with a terrifying crisis in Narayanganj has ended with a new lease of life for a brave young girl.
Afiyah is now back in Bangladesh and doing exceptionally well. Recent tests at a hospital in Dhaka have confirmed her stable health. While she must continue anticoagulation therapy for six months, the constant fear of a fatal haemorrhage has finally been lifted.
“I am grateful to those surgeons and the medical team because I have suffered so long and finally they gave us a solution,” Awal said, looking toward a bright future for his daughter. “I’m confident my daughter will do well in life”