Woman whose face was devoured by cancer

The first sign something was wrong came in the form of severe and constant headaches.

But when Tambu Makinzi's forehead began to swell, her fears were compounded.

Doctors in South Africa told the 27-year-old she was suffering a rare bone cancer, chondrosarcoma.

For four years the mother-of-one underwent a series of unsuccessful operations, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

But the tumour returned, more aggressive than ever.

It devoured her whole face, eating away at her nasal and jaw bones, displacing her left eye and robbing her of her sense of smell.

By the time she arrived in London earlier this year, having flown 6,000 miles from Cape Town, specialists warned Tambu she had just months to live.

Tambu came to London where she met Professor Iain Hutchison. He runs the research charity Saving Faces, which is committed to the prevention and treatment of facial diseases.

Professor Hutchison, a maxillofacial surgeon working at Barts Hospital in London, assembled a team of six surgeons to help him perform the pioneering operation to remove Tambu's tumour.

First they removed 2kg of tumour pressing on her brain, eye and nose.

Then, using back muscle and rib, the professor and his team rebuilt Tambu’s face.

It was an operation that lasted over 24 hours.