A mum left
horrifically scarred in an acid attack because a jealous friend did not want
her to become an air hostess has revealed her remarkable facial reconstruction.
Kanwal Qayyum, 29,
was horrifically injured after being doused with sulphuric acid while she slept
by a bitter former pal who hated the idea of her bettering herself.
She lost her nose in
the attack in Pakistan and surgeons have spent the past decade painstakingly
rebuilding her features.
They completely
rebuilt her nose using tissue from her thigh.
One of the team
helping the mum-of-one has been hair transplant surgeon Asim Shahmalak, from
Manchester, who travelled to Karachi to create two new eyebrows and a new
eyelashes in the left eyelid for Kanwal from hair taken from the back of her
scalp.
Dr Shahmalak, best
known for his work with celebrity hair transplant patients like Calum Best at
Crown Clinic close to Manchester Airport, was reunited with Kanwal on a trip to
Karachi last week.
Kanwal proudly showed
off her new eyebrows and eyelashes which have grown back following his
reconstruction work two years ago.
The acid used to
attack her can be bought for as little as 15p a bottle in the streets near her
home with no questions asked.
Before the surgery,
she used a black marker to give the impression that she still had eyebrows.
Dr Shahmalak is one
of only a handful of surgeons in the world who can carry out eyelash and
eyebrow transplants.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
In the UK, he
performs these operations on women who have wrecked their brows or lashes
through over-plucking or misusing false eyelashes.
Kanwal, now planning
fresh surgery on her nose, has got married since first being helped by Dr
Shahmalak.
Kanwal said: "I
cannot thank the doctor enough - he has completely transformed my face and I
love my new eyebrows and new eyelashes."
Pictures show the
extraordinary transformation in Kanwal's appearance since the attack ten years
ago as surgeons have rebuilt her face and created a new nose for her.
Father-of-two Dr
Shahmalak, who lives with his GP wife Rubina in Cheadle, Manchester, said:
"Kanwal is one of the bravest women I have ever met.
"The surgeons
have done a remarkable job completely rebuilding her features and I was
delighted to be able to help with her eyebrows and new eyelashes.
"It was
wonderful to hear how she has turned her life around, found happiness and got
married.
"She is now
having her nose remodelled and making amazing progress every time I meet her.
It has been so rewarding to be part of her recovery."
Dr Shahmalak met
Kanwal again while on a new mercy mission to Pakistan last week.
He has identified
seven new people he will help with free hair, eyebrow and eyelash transplants
later this year.
He is taking a team
from Crown Clinic to carry out the surgical reconstruction.
He spent £50,000 of
his own money helping Kanwal and five other women on a previous trip two years
ago - one of whom was attacked with acid after turning down a man's marriage proposal.
Dr Shahmalak, a
skilled former NHS surgeon, works with celebrities including Gogglebox's Chris
Steed, football pundit Didi Hamann and Homes Under The Hammer star Martin
Roberts, who have all recently had procedures at Crown Clinic, one of the world's
leading hair transplant centres.
He said: "I wept
when I heard these women's stories. Being doused with acid because you refused
a man's marriage proposal - people were treated better in the Middle Ages.
"Helping to
rebuild their faces is some of the most rewarding work that I do. Just seeing
their smiles after the surgery makes it all worthwhile."
Dr Shahmalak, who was
born in Karachi but moved to the UK after qualifying as a doctor, was
introduced to the patients by the Pakistan-based charity Depilex Smileagain
Foundation whose founder Masarrat Misbah has worked tirelessly to help victims
of acid attacks.
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