A city hospital has not just restored the face and beauty of a 26-year-old acid attack victim, but has also reinstated her confidence and hope through its treatment and has bestowed on her a new lease of life.
The woman suffered an acid attack by a stalker in 2013and her face was disfigured beyond recognition. The amount of trauma, pain and harassment she underwent could not be described in words. And then, through a relative, she discovered about the plastic surgery and cosmetic correction treatments at Devadoss Hospital here, and she landed in Madurai six months after the attack.
Now it has been six years and she has regained her lost face. Thanks to the advanced treatment, support and care given to her at Sanche Cosmetic Centre at the hospital, that almost 90% of her face is restored.
Briefing the press about the case, Dr. Hema Sathish, Managing Director of the hospital, said the patient who was attacked with concentrated sulfuric acid, had lost her nose, eyelids and lips. “The skin had become stretched and contracted in many places and she was unable to close her eyes even while she was sleeping. Through a series of plastic surgeries and laser treatments, we reconstructed every part of her face, from cheeks, nose and lips to eyelids and forehead,” she said.
The patient underwent over 20 surgeries and almost half a dozen patches had to be constructed. “We took the full thick skin graft from the hip instead of the thin skin on thighs. For reconstructing the nose, we took graft from her ear cartilages,” said Dr. G. Balaji, consultant plastic surgeon. “Before the treatment, the patient could not even smile or express normally as her skin was all pulled up. So our prime objective was to restore functionality and make her regain the elasticity of the skin, removal of scars on the forehead, eyes, chin and neck.”
“The result was achieved through highly advanced treatment procedures in cosmetic dermatology care apart from the quality and experience of the staff. I feel like I was reborn after the treatment,” said the woman, who is a popular motivational speaker in Nepal.
“I visit acid attack survivors and talk to them, counsel them to take life in the positive stride. I also put up motivational talk videos on Facebook and YouTube and share my tale of struggle and success to encourage people,” she said.
