Seal-bite woman to get new nose
2005-11-01 17:38
Johannesburg - A woman whose nose was bitten off by a seal on Sunday, will undergo reconstructive surgery on Thursday.
"I'm feeling alright," Elsie van Tonder said on Tuesday from her bed in Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town.
"The doctors are going to reconstruct my nose on Thursday."
Van Tonder, 49, was also bitten on one of her legs when she tried to roll a seal into the water at Herold's Bay in the Western Cape on Sunday.
"I will never do that again," she said.
She was admitted to the George hospital at 16:00 on Sunday afternoon, and was transferred by ambulance to Groote Schuur hospital on Tuesday morning.
She had no any idea how long the operation would take, but said her new nose would be reconstructed from skin taken from her neck and forehead.
Charlize-like nose
"I am breathing very well now, since the doctors cleared my nostrils."
Van Tonder was hoping the operation would go well. "I am not scared," she said.
Looking forward to seeing what her new nose would look like, she laughed when Sapa said this was now her chance to ask for a nose like famous South African-born actress Charlize Theron.
"I will see what it looks like when I wake up," she said. She expected the bandages would be off within two weeks.
Van Tonder expected to be discharged early next week, and go home to George to recover.
- SAPA