It’s with the aim of ‘preserving the eye’
Katie Piper has shared an update with her followers after revealing that she has had her eye sewn shut for an entire year.
Last month, Piper explained she had undergone surgery on her left eye, in the latest stage of her recovery from a horrific acid attack in 2008.
The attack, which was organised by her ex-boyfriend, left her with severe face injuries and blinded her in one eye.
The 40-year-old has undergone a procedure called a Tarsorrhaphy, which involves completely closing the eye by joining the upper and lower eyelids. By closing the eye for an extended period of time, this protects the cornea and helps it to heal.
In a post on Instagram she explained the procedure to her followers, before sharing why she wanted to keep people informed about her recovery.
She wrote: “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.
“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 losing 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.”
Last Wednesday, Piper made her return to Loose Women, appearing on the show for the first time in six weeks.
She said: “I had a planned procedure done called tarsorrhaphy, which is a semi-permanent closure of the eye. It’s an operation done in theatre and your eye is fully or partially stitched up.
“Some people might be familiar with it, you normally see it when somebody has disease of the cornea. Closing the eye gives it the optimum environment to heal so I’ve had quite a lot of problems with my eye over the last year and a half. I don’t like to go on about it because there’s always somebody worse off!
“It’s been quite painful so it’s quite a relief for me to finally have it stitched up, because it’s a lot more comfortable.
“It’s not permanent, it’s going to be for just about a year like this then hopefully I can have it opened.”
Since being the victim of the attack in 2008, Piper has raised awareness about facial disfigurements and her story. The year after the attack, she released a documentary, Katie: My Beautiful Face, to tell her story and increase public awareness for burn victims.
She has also launched the Katie Piper Foundation, which helps support burns victims.
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