The video shows an 84‑year‑old man slumped in a hospital bed, then three days later alert, six months later sitting upright, and eight months later walking briskly and reciting a Maoist anthem, appearing unrecognizable. He was the first person worldwide to undergo deep cervical lymphatic‑venous anastomosis (dc LVA) for Alzheimer’s, a procedure that connects neck lymphatic vessels to veins to improve fluid and waste drainage.

China rapidly adopted the technique, with hundreds of hospitals offering it after viral Douyin and WeChat videos, leading thousands to pay over 200,000 yuan (US$30,000) for a chance at recovery. Regulators later restricted the procedure to formal research settings, and Qingping Xie, the pioneer, has been detained since September for undisclosed reasons.

Scientists remain split; Young‑Kwon Hong calls the idea biologically plausible but warns hype outpaces evidence, while others note infection, bleeding and nerve injury risks. Early reports, mostly small Chinese series, show rapid improvements, yet methodological concerns and lack of control groups limit interpretation, and large‑scale, controlled trials are still needed. Until robust data emerge, the procedure remains experimental and its long‑term safety unproven. Several academic centers are now designing randomized trials to evaluate dc LVA against standard care to confirm its therapeutic value.