A boy who had life-changing leg surgery as a toddler has returned to the same hospital a decade on - and wants to become a doctor himself.

Romino, 12, developed bowed legs in his early childhood which stopped him from walking properly.

Doctors in his home in Toamasina, Madagascar, suggested leg massages to fix the issue - but nothing seemed to work.

In 2015, when Romino was aged just three, his mum, Claudia, grew concerned and brought her son onto Mercy Ships charity hospital ship, called Africa Mercy, while it was docked nearby.

Doctors on board performed a life-changing surgery for the little lad, so he could grow up running, walking and playing football with his friends.

This year, Africa Mercy returned to Madagascar - and Romino stepped on board again, in an emotional return.

Romino says he wants to become a doctor himself - inspired by the Mercy Ships surgeons that saved his legs 10 years ago.

He said: "I remember when Mercy Ships taught me how to walk again and when they picked us up at our house."

"[Now] I want to give people the same healing that I received."

Claudia started to notice her son's bowed legs developing when he was two-and-a-half years old.

It became more and more clear as he began to walk - and she grew concerned so took him to a local doctor.

They advised Claudia to massage Romino's legs as a cure, but less than a month later she heard Mercy Ships was coming to her country to provide free surgical care for children.

After the lad went under the knife, he recovered well and grew up with straight legs - able to walk, run and play football like all his friends.

In fact, Romino, who is nicknamed Tilos, says he wins most running races against his friends today.

Claudia said: "People are surprised when they see him, because no one believed that he would look like this."

"They thought he would have the same legs."

"However, he's like this now and they even ask ‘Is it you? Is this Tilos? Is this Tilos?'"

Romino had faint memories of the giant hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, and people who helped him.

His experiences even inspired him to become a doctor himself.

But he never imagined he would step back on board and neither did Claudia.

This marks Mercy Ships' fourth field service in Madagascar, following previous visits in 1996, 2015 and 2016.

Claudia added: "I'm so happy - I'm happy because I never thought I was coming back here, I was going to see the ship again."

Over the course of previous visits to Madagascar, Mercy Ships collaborated with the government and Ministry of Health to provide more than 6,425 life-changing surgical procedures and over 52,395 dental procedures.