Cai Wenjun/Shanghai Daily news

A year-old boy who suffered burns over 70 percent of his body in June began a free course of plastic surgery and rehabilitation at a local hospital yesterday after a local television station broadcast his plight.

The No. 455 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army started a first round of skin procedures on young Zhou Li's left leg, which has stiffened due to extensive scarring. Doctors said the entire treatment will last several years and cost more than 100,000 yuan (US$14,622), which will be borne by the hospital.