Former Strictly Come Dancing star Katie Piper has opened up about finding operations “mentally hard” after revealing she is having surgery to “avoid losing her left eye”.
The presenter was brutally attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008.
After the ordeal, which left her with major injuries and blindness in one eye, she has campaigned for the victims of similar attacks, setting up The Katie Piper Foundation.
Taking to Instagram yesterday, the star told her 1.1 million followers that she had received tarsorrhaphy to her left eye with the hope that it could be “preserved”.
Sharing a picture of herself with one eye closed, she wrote: “This is me! (For now). On Tuesday I had a planned operation, a Tarsorrhaphy to my left eye.
READ MORE: Katie Piper shares ‘frustration’ and ‘suffering’ over internet as book launches
“Tarsorrhaphy is the joining of part or all of the upper and lower eyelids so as to partially or completely close the eye.
“Temporary tarsorrhaphies are used to help the cornea heal or to protect the cornea during a short period of exposure or disease.
“I’ve also had scar tissue operated on on my right eye, so that will also be slightly swollen.”
Katie went on to explain why she had chosen to share her surgery journey with the world, saying it was “firstly to educate that living with the kind of injures I have means things will change throughout your life and sometimes things go backwards.”
“There isn’t really an end point and part of this kind of recovery is acceptance of that,” she reasoned.
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“Secondly with a disfigurement surgical decisions have to be based around function not aesthetics. In my case I am trying to preserve the eye, avoid perforation and loosing my eye completely.
“Also just because something is on view permanently it doesn’t give people the right to constantly comment on your appearance- you never know what’s going on in someone’s life.
“Also, if this helps anyone else…. yes I do sometimes find it hard,” she added. “I’m ok with looking different to everyone else but operations can sometimes take me back to memories of how this all started and that’s hard mentally.
She went on to say: “I know most of you will find this update useful and probably have had your own similar journeys of medical or mental health recoveries, but for the few that will send msgs or leave negative comments (I’ve heard them all before, nothing new) then this explanation/ education is for you.
“I’m still the same person. I’ve just had different path in life to most and that’s ok. For most part I live a fulfilling, privileged and very happy life. For that I’m extremely grateful for.
“But as I recover I’m asking that you please don’t troll me,” she warned, before going on to thank her eye surgeon Mr Joshi.
Katie’s ex Daniel was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years after being convicted of rape, GBH and ABH at Wood Green Crown Court in 2009.
His co-conspirator, Stefan, who threw the acid at Katie was given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years and was released in 2018.
However, he was soon recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions and police now believe he may have fled the country.
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