The 9-year-old boy from Zimbabwe who was attacked and mauled by a hyena has received a new prosthetic nose following facial reconstruction surgery.

Rodwell Khomazana had his new nose grafted by South African specialists at the Capital Prosthodontics and Henk Cronje of Dura Art Dental Laboratory in Pretoria.

Rodwell was badly disfigured when he was attacked and mauled by a hyena during an all-night prayer meeting in Zaka in May. After the horrific attack, he was transported to the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, where the staff were able to save his life.

When his condition stabilised, Rodwell was airlifted to South Africa for extensive reconstruction surgery. Over the weekend, the nine-year-old underwent surgery to implant the new nose.

Rodwell was sponsored by The Smile Foundation and medical practitioners, who included Dr Avish Jay Jagathpal and his team. Speaking on the surgery, Dr Jagathpal told The Star,

“From the day I had met Rodwell, I knew that making him a prosthetic nose will be a challenge. The biggest hurdles to overcome were the multiple grafts from different parts of his body that introduced many different colours to the palette, and his age meant that the size of his face will change drastically over the years to come.”

He went on to say that it had taken three weeks to record the positions of the missing nose, the topography of the grafted skin, and the positions of each of the implants.

“The maxillofacial surgeon had fortunately placed implants into the upper jaw that we had used to construct a cobalt-chromium bar with magnets on it.

“This bar would remain in place over the years, but the silicone nose would easily be changed with time as his grafted skin shrinks and his face grows.”

In a few years’ time, Rodwell will undergo reconstructive surgery for a new nose.  In the meantime, Rodwell’s mother, Shamiso Mabiko has been educated on how to clean the inside magnetic bar – the nose clips on and off like a magnet.