A man who lost his nose after his dog ripped it off while trying to save him from a seizure has undergone 10 reconstructive operations using bone from his ribs.
Ben Horne, 34, has had epilepsy since he was 15, but after a change in his medication he began having nighttime seizures.
In one episode, the family dog, Henry, gets startled and attacks Ben in the face, tearing off his nose, mouth and part of his jaw.
Ben regained consciousness and managed to call an ambulance, but struggled to accept his new appearance.
He has had around 10 surgeries over the past five years to reconstruct his face using bone from his ribs and skin from his forearm and forehead.
Now he is finally beginning to accept himself and hopes that by sharing his experience he can help others in a similar situation.
Ben, from Yeovil, Somerset, said: “One night he had a seizure and it frightened my dog.
“In the process, he did a lot of damage to my face.
“There was blood all over the house. I called 999. I could barely speak but I was able to say I needed an ambulance.
“When I regained consciousness the nurse said, ‘I’m going to give you a mirror. This is going to give you a major shock.’
“I couldn’t believe the extent of the damage. It was heartbreaking. I’m really trying to come to terms with myself.”
“It’s about learning to love who you are now, not looking back at who you were.”
Following the incident in November 2019, Ben’s upper lip drooped, he was missing most of his chin and only had his septum bone remaining in his nose.
He was rushed to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton where he underwent 10 hours of emergency surgery in an effort to bring him back to normal.
Ben, an aerospace engineer, said: “I remember looking in the mirror and thinking I should have never called an ambulance.
“I didn’t feel like I could survive what had happened.”
Ben decided to undergo reconstructive surgery and underwent his first round of surgery at Southmead Hospital in Bristol in May 2021 due to delays caused by the pandemic.
This included further construction of the nasal septum, but this operation fell apart as he now has to wait until October 2021 for his next surgery.
To create the inner portion of the nose, skin was taken from the left forearm.
Ben said: “I have tattoos on both my forearms so I had to decide which one to get.”
“At least I can say I have a tattoo on my nose.”
During the same operation, bones from his ribs were also taken, and an artery from his forearm was also taken and attached to his neck.
Ben said: “I found it very difficult.
“I always tried to look forward.
“I had tattoos on my face and had to wear makeup every day.”
He underwent another surgery in September 2022 to have a section of skin removed from his forehead and folded back over the tattooed skin.
Ben said: “Having a forehead flap affects your face a lot.
“The skin has to stay connected, so there’s a big lump hanging down over the eye.
Ben’s surgeon decided to refer a private doctor to perform the operation midway through, but a plastic surgery team from Exeter were able to take over instead.
The surgery was completed in March 2023, with further bone taken from his hip and rib cartilage and bolted to his forehead after the previous donor bone became infected.
In May 2023, skin was removed from Ben’s forehead and the team has since been performing surgery to repair his nasal structure.
Ben still needs the plastic tube to help him breathe, so the next step is to figure out how to remove it without blocking his nose.
Ben is finally beginning to accept his new look, but he’s struggling with the attention he receives.
He said: “It’s very painful to see people staring at you for so long.
“They see you as an object.
“It was very embarrassing.
“I liken it to dreaming about being naked in public.
“I want to hide but I can’t hide.
“You can’t change things or what happened.”
Ben, who had owned Henry for 10 years before the accident, said Henry was given a check-up and was now living happily with his new family.
Ben is raising funds to support Exeter Plastic Surgery and Epilepsy Action.
He plans to take part in two Tough Mudders and two 50km races.
Support him here – https://rdhc.enthuse.com/pf/ben-horne.
