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4yo Le Le, from Linquan county in China’s Eastern Anhui Province, was first taken to doctors by her grandparents after they noticed the red ring encircling her arm. However experts could not identify the condition, diagnosing it as an infection or allergies.
Le Le’s mum and dad returned home for New Year festival, finally decided to take her to the Children’s Hospital at the capital of neighbouring Zhejiang Province, when the condition worsened.
No one noticed it had been digging into her skin until it had become so attached to her flesh that it could only be removed by surgery.
They told staff they had not realized that the rubber band had become embedded in her right arm until after her flesh and skin had grown around it.
Dr Ye told Chinese news site that he had only come across such a case during the 20-years of being a doctor. He also warned parents not to let their children, especially those under three years old, play with elastic bands.
Le Le is one of the left-behind children whose parents work elsewhere and have left their children behind for elderly grandparents to look after because of the pressure of making a living, and are at a higher risk of being neglected.
According to official Chinese figures, there were 9 million left-behind minors. Around 61 million children are left behind in China's rural villages and towns while their parents work in the big cities.
