Art and Pediatric Orthopaedics Lam Qua: Scarred and Deformed

Lam Qua, a Chinese artist, was commissioned by Dr Peter Parker, a medical missionary, to paint portraits of patients attending the Canton Hospital with tumors and deformities. Among numerous such portraits painted by Lam Qua, one is of an adolescent boy with severe deformities of the right lower limb associated with extensive scarring. The possible causes of such scarring are discussed. The fact that appropriate measures adopted while treating major wounds of the limbs can prevent deformities from developing is emphasized.