Teen has 10-hour surgery to implant leg bone into his face after being diagnosed with rare tumor
A teenager diagnosed with a rare tumor that required bone from his leg to be implanted into his jaw is being recognised with a national award for his cancer charity fundraising efforts.
Raphael Chiwandire, 15, from London, UK, first noticed swelling on the right side of his gums and jaw in November 2025 that he said felt 'painful' to touch.
After a dentist appointment in December, a CT scan in January and two biopsies, Raphael said he was 'relieved' to find out at Great Ormond Street Hospital in May, aged 14, that his tumor was benign.
He was diagnosed with ameloblastoma, a rare, non-cancerous tumor that accounts for around one percent of all jaw tumors and cysts.
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On August 6, Raphael had a fibula free flap surgery, a procedure where surgeons removed bone from his leg and two surrounding blood vessels to reconstruct his jaw due to the gap the tumor left.
Surgeons were forced to remove all but two of Raphael’s bottom teeth, so he is still on a soft food diet, but he is hoping to have replacement teeth fitted in the coming months.
He decided to take on a reading challenge in September to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust – after completing two fundraisers in 2023 and 2024 for the same charity – and he has raised more than £2,000 (over $2,600) in total to date.
Raphael has now been named as a recipient of the British Citizen Youth Award which honors young people in the UK that have made a positive impact on their communities.
Raphael told PA Real Life: "Knowing that my story is being recognised in this way is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
"Boys like me, coming from my background and upbringing, don’t always get opportunities like this. So for me, this is an opportunity to show every young boy out there that it’s possible.
"No matter where you come from, what challenges you face or what your circumstances are, you can still achieve something meaningful and make a positive difference.”
Raphael’s mother, Nyasha, 36, a children’s mental health practitioner, said the first time she realised something was wrong with her son’s jaw was 'by chance' in December 2025.
"It was the last day of school and Raphael was running a bit late,” she said.
"He went into the bathroom, then ran out quickly and I asked if he had brushed his teeth and if I could have a look.
"That’s when I noticed the swelling on his gum, and instantly I knew something wasn’t right."
Within three days, Nyasha said she took Raphael to the dentist, who did an X-ray and confirmed Raphael’s gum swelling had 'nothing to do with the teeth' and he was referred to the oral and maxillofacial department at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow.
At an initial appointment on January 6 this year, a CT scan confirmed a tumor in Raphael’s jaw, before he had a biopsy on January 18 to test if it was cancerous.
Nyasha said: "As a parent, when you hear the word ‘biopsy’, you’re anticipating the worst case scenario, so that wait felt like a lifetime."
By February 26, Nyasha said they were 'disheartened' to be told the test was 'inconclusive'. Raphael said: "It was already a long process waiting for them to do it, so to get inconclusive results was just annoying. I wanted to get it over with."
Nyasha asked to transfer her son’s care to Great Ormond Street Hospital and they had an initial appointment on May 15, before a follow-up biopsy on May 21.
Just over two weeks later on June 5, Raphael’s ameloblastoma diagnosis was confirmed.
Raphael said: "I was just happy it wasn’t anything cancerous."
Nyasha added: "Great Ormond Street Hospital was so thorough and they explained everything to us carefully.
"They said the tumor eats away at the jaw bone, so it was very thin and the only way to stop that tumor in its tracks was to do a 10-hour reconstructive surgery. But it’s never easy for any parent to hear those words."
Raphael said he was 'shocked' when he first heard what surgeons planned to do by taking a bone from his leg and implanting it in his jaw where they removed the tumor.
Nyasha said waiting for an update on her son’s surgery on August 6 was a 'very scary experience' but she remembered where she was when she received a call confirming everything had gone according to plan.
"I was just sitting in Costa and I literally fell down on my knees just thanking God," Nyasha said. "It was just the best phone call I’ve ever received in my life."
Raphael stayed in hospital for two weeks, where he said he initially 'couldn’t eat anything' or even speak for several days because he had 12 of his 16 bottom teeth removed, except for two on the left-hand side and both of his wisdom teeth.
Raphael needed follow-up surgery after doctors realised his jaw had dislocated immediately following surgery, and he also had physiotherapy to help him walk again. Nyasha said doctors were shocked' with how well her son recovered.
Raphael said he is hoping to have replacement teeth fitted in the next 'couple of months' because he is still on a diet of soft foods.
Just one month after surgery, Raphael decided to take on a reading fundraising challenge for Teenage Cancer Trust to help raise awareness for cancers – both malignant and benign like his.
It came about after he did a charity running challenge in 2023 and push-up challenge in 2024 for Teenage Cancer Trust, and he has raised a total of more than £2,000 for the charity to date.
When Raphael found out earlier this month that he was the recipient of the British Citizen Youth Award, he said it 'meant the world' to him.
Niamh Shackleton