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Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has once again placed Kenya on the world map with a nine-hour-long surgery that was the first of its kind.
The successful surgery was performed by a team of surgeons and specialists from the KNH and the University of Nairobi to reconstruct and restore the face of a boy who was left with a disfigured face and a bullet stuck on his face.
KNH revealed that the patient had been living with the bullet since the attack in 2023 and had undergone extensive treatment and rehabilitation for the injuries sustained during the bandit attack.
Doctors carefully monitored his progress while planning for the complex reconstructive surgery that is the first of its kind in the world.
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Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)
READ: Kenyan makes global history after KNH restores sensation in amputated arm
Kenyatta National Hospital has successfully conducted a nine-hour, first-of-its-kind reconstruction surgery to restore the face of a young boy disfigured during a bandit attack in 2023.
The highly complex craniofacial procedure involved intricate facial reconstruction and was hailed as a global surgical milestone.
The ground-breaking surgery positions Kenya as the hub for specialised healthcare, advanced medical innovation and surgical interventions, adding to a growing list of successful ground-breaking surgeries that have been performed in the country.
"This milestone demonstrates not only our surgeons' skill and demonstration but also Kenya's rising leadership in specialized healthcare. It is a message of hope to patients across Africa and beyond," added the statement.
The surgery was conducted by a team of specialists, led by Prof. Symon Guthua, Lead Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, alongside Dr. Margaret Mwasha, Lead Consultant Prosthodontist, and Dr. Andrew Okiriamu, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.
The delicate procedure required funds and this was raised by Dr. Branice Munyasha, a resident student in Maxillofacial Surgery, who ran two marathons to raise funds for surgery and highlighted the team’s dedication to serving the patient.
World’s first Transhumeral TSR surgery
In April this year, KNH made history by performing the world’s first Transhumeral Targeted Sensory Reinnervation (TSR) surgery.
The procedure which lasted seven hours involved restoring sensation to the stump of an amputated left arm and was successfully done on a 22-year-old Moses Mwendwa, on April 29, 2025.
“For the first time since losing my hand, I can feel it again. That’s not just medicine—it’s magic,” Mwenda said after the successful procedure.
KNH affirmed its status as a premier referral hospital in the region in 2023 when medics at achieved another milestone in foetal medicine by successfully transfusing a baby while still in the mother's uterus.
Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)
The highly delicate procedure, known as the Intrauterine Fetal Transfusion, was undertaken by a team of four doctors who included specialists Dr. Rosa Chemwey, Dr. Flavia Ogutu, and Dr. Ikol Adung'o, as well as Dr. Kunjira Murayi (Interventional Radiologist).
READ: KNH conducts blood transfusion for baby while still in the mother's uterus
They were assisted by nurses Benson Nyankuru, Redempata Mumo, and a Reproductive Health Clinical Officer - Tony Wainaina.
2018 saw surgeons at KNH successfully reattach a 17-year-old boy's hand that had been severed by a chaff-cutter in yet another milestone in the hospital’s decorated history.