On November 14, 2025, Xu Luoxi, a five-month-old girl from Ningbo, died on the same day after undergoing atrial septal defect (ASD) repair surgery at the Women and Children's Hospital Affiliated to Ningbo University, sparking widespread public concern[1]. This incident was widely referred to by the media and the public as the "Xiao Luoxi Incident"[2][3]. The incident involved multiple aspects, including preoperative communication, surgical procedure records, medical records, preservation of monitoring data, autopsy results, and medical malpractice technical assessment. The official name of the Ningbo Municipal People's Government investigation team for this incident was "Ningbo Child's Postoperative Death Medical Incident"[4]. After investigation by the Ningbo Municipal Health Commission and other departments, the authorities ultimately determined that the incident constituted a Class A Level 1 medical malpractice, with the medical institution bearing primary responsibility[5]. "Little Luoxi" Incident
Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital South Campus Building
Date: November 14, 2025
Location: Ningbo University Affiliated Women and Children's Hospital (Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital)
Coordinates: 29°52′7.23″N 121°31′50.45″E
Alias: Postoperative Death of a Child in Ningbo Medical Incident
Type: Grade A Level 1 Medical Accident
Perpetrator: Attending Physician: Chen Junxian
Participants: Victim: Xu Luoxi ("Little Luoxi", 5 months old)
Outcome: "Little Luoxi" was declared clinically dead at 22:03 on November 14, 2025. Chen Junxian was removed from his position as Director of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery II and his medical license was revoked. Several individuals received dismissals, warnings, suspensions of practice, and administrative penalties.
Background: Little Luoxi was born via cesarean section at the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University in May 2025. Because her gestational age was 34 weeks + 6 days, she was a premature infant and received care in an incubator after birth. After discharge, Xiao Luoxi underwent monthly child health follow-ups at Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital, and the growth and development monitoring results for the first four months were all normal. [6]
Consultation and Preoperative Care
On November 11, 2025, after a routine child health check-up, the hospital recommended additional brain MRI, echocardiography, and hearing tests. The echocardiography showed "suggestive sinus septal defect" and indicated two secundum-type defects (3 mm and 7 mm), i.e., "patent foramen ovale". Her mother, Deng Rongrong, learned from online research that small defects may heal on their own, while larger defects usually require regular follow-ups or surgical intervention.
The family then registered to consult with Dr. Chen Junxian, the chief physician of cardiothoracic surgery. The family relayed that the doctor recommended surgery as soon as possible during the consultation, stating that the situation "met the surgical indications," and that delays might affect the infant's growth and development, and described the surgical risks as low. According to the admission records provided by the family, Xiao Luoxi was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of "mixed atrial septal defect". Upon admission, his mental state, eating, and sleeping were normal, and his condition was assessed as "general". The surgery was scheduled for November 14th. Before the surgery, the medical staff informed him that it was a minimally invasive procedure, expected to take 2.5 to 3 hours, requiring general anesthesia, and costing approximately 40,000 yuan.
Surgery and Postoperative Condition
The surgery began at 7:00 AM on the 14th. According to the family, Xiao Luoxi was wheeled out of the operating room at 4:00 PM. Medical staff stated that the surgery was "successful," but he needed to be transferred to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for further monitoring. After entering the PICU, Xiao Luoxi's condition was assessed as "critical". At 10:03 PM that evening, the infant died despite resuscitation efforts. [6]
Development of the Rights Protection Incident
Learn More
This entry's citation needs to be cleaned up to conform to the format.
Five-month-old infant Xu Luoxi underwent heart surgery for an atrial septal defect. The lead surgeon, Chen Junxian, stated before the operation that it was "minimally invasive" and had a "99% success rate." During the operation, the initial report indicated the child's condition was "critical," but at the end, the surgery was still described as "successful." The actual operation lasted 7 hours (9 hours including time spent in and out of the operating room), inconsistent with the pre-operative estimate of 2.5–3 hours. At 22:03 that evening, the child died in the PICU despite resuscitation efforts.
Since November 15th, the family repeatedly requested operating room and PICU surveillance videos from the hospital, but the hospital refused, citing reasons such as "equipment lacking storage" and "no surveillance cameras installed," leading the family to question the monitoring configuration and missing records. The family also pointed out inconsistencies in the medical records.
The Ningbo Municipal Health Commission established a special investigation team.
The family subsequently continued to request proof of the authenticity of the medical records, but the hospital only responded that "the records are standardized."
The family commissioned the Liu Liang team at the Hubei Chongxin Forensic Appraisal Center to conduct an autopsy. Sampling was completed that day, and the report was submitted.
December 2-3
Editor
The hospital provided the family with some non-operating room surveillance footage (doctor's office, patient briefing room). The video showed inconsistencies in the two pre-operative briefings. The public security authorities sealed the replayable video. The hospital issued a guarantee of the authenticity of the medical records.
The family further requested the investigation team to provide a written explanation for the reason why the "operating room surveillance footage could not be replayed."
December 14
Editor
The Ningbo Municipal Health Commission announced the interim investigation results, identifying multiple problems with the hospital and surgical team, including insufficient risk assessment; surgical negligence (including patch suturing errors); failure to promptly inform about intraoperative emergencies; non-standard postoperative monitoring and treatment; and inadequate implementation of hospital management systems.
Relevant responsible persons were punished: the hospital's Party Secretary was warned, the hospital director received a major demerit, the vice president in charge was dismissed, the chief surgeon was removed from his position as department director and suspended from medical activities; the director of the anesthesiology department and the attending physician of the PICU were suspended from medical practice [7].
After the official announcement, public opinion continued to focus on the authenticity of the autopsy, medical records, and surveillance footage. December 19th
The family obtained the complete autopsy report from the National Health Commission and released some key findings: no coronary sinus atrial septal defect was detected; the surgical patch did not completely cover the defect and was free on one side; the chest wall incision was not sutured and diffuse bleeding occurred; the cause of death was "complications of secundum atrial septal defect repair surgery leading to heart failure and respiratory failure."
The family raised three questions: the preoperative diagnosis did not match the autopsy; there was a technical error in patch suturing; and whether the unsutured incision complied with regulations. The forensic institution confirmed the legality of the autopsy procedure.
The hospital issued a statement saying that the autopsy showed the atrial septal defect to be 1.0cm × 0.9cm, not 0.3cm as claimed by the family, and stated that the mechanism of death needed to be determined in conjunction with a medical malpractice assessment. The statement was quickly removed after its release, sparking further controversy.
On the same day, the National Health Commission stated that the autopsy report would be included in subsequent assessments.
The family applied for a forensic examination of the electronic medical records, focusing on whether there were any additions or modifications, consistency of the timeline, and completeness of the intraoperative records. The investigation team confirmed acceptance.
In early January 2026, the Ningbo Municipal Health Commission and judicial appraisal institutions continued to advance the technical appraisal of the medical malpractice. Due to the high public attention to the case, experts from other provinces participated in the appraisal committee.
The medical malpractice liability dispute case filed by the family against the Affiliated Women and Children's Hospital of Ningbo University was heard in the Haishu District People's Court of Ningbo City.
The investigation team composed of multiple departments issued a situation report: This medical malpractice was classified as a Grade A Level 1 medical malpractice, with the medical institution bearing primary responsibility. Both the medical staff and the patient signed and confirmed the appraisal conclusion; the chief surgeon, Chen Junxian, was dismissed from his position as director of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery II and his medical license was revoked. The anesthesiologist involved, Yan Mouya, was dismissed from her position as director of the anesthesiology department, and Dong Mouya, a pediatric intensive care unit physician, was suspended from practicing for six months. The public security authorities have opened a criminal investigation.[8]
On June 15, Xu Luoxi's mother, Deng Rongrong, and Xu Luoxi's father, Xu Chunbiao, posted a video saying they had been summoned to the police station for "tea" and that if they did not report their safety that day, they "would not be able to come back." The video was subsequently deleted by the authorities. Late that night, Xu Luoxi's maternal grandmother left a message under a video on her Douyin account stating that Deng Rongrong and Xu Chunbiao had lost contact.
