African boy mauled by chimps to undergo facial surgery in N.Y.

Mike Balsamo / AP

Eight-year-old Dunia Sibomana, left, poses for a photo with Dr. Alexander Dagum, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 in Stony Brook, N.Y. Sibomana was left disfigured after he was attacked two years ago while playing with his brother and cousin near a nature preserve in the Congo by a group of chimpanzees.

By Michael Balsamo, Associated Press

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016 | 12:04 a.m.

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — A Congolese boy who was left severely disfigured after being attacked by wild chimpanzees in his native country will undergo rare facial reconstruction surgery at a hospital on New York's Long Island.

Eight-year-old Dunia (duh-NAY'-uh) Sibomana (sib-oh-mah-nah) was attacked by a group of chimpanzees two years ago while playing with his brother and cousin near a nature preserve in the Congo. Dunia's 4-year-old brother and cousin were killed. Dunia's lips were ripped from his face and one cheek was torn apart.

Doctors at Stony Brook Children's Hospital expect an eight-hour procedure on Monday will help lay the groundwork for Dunia's recovery. They will graft skin from his arm to help create lips and then implant muscle.

It is one of three procedures Dunia will undergo in the next eight months.