A 23-year-old model, Brooklinn Khoury, who lost her lip in a dog attack in the US has shared pictures of her transformation. Ms Khoury was attacked by her cousin's pit bull in 2020 and had to undergo six cosmetic surgeries to reconstruct her smile.
She recently shared a series of progression pictures on Instagram to show her transformation.
See pictures here:
In 2020, Ms Khoury had been out with her cousin and her pit bull when the dog attacked her.
"I was like, 'You're such a good boy.' He literally sprung from a sitting position onto my face. I was standing, and he was sitting - he literally just sprung up. And he was literally, hanging - literally like arms, legs hanging off of my lip. And my first instinct was like, 'Oh my God, get on the ground with him, hold his head, go wherever he goes," she recalled to People in 2021.
Distressing images from the attack posted on Instagram show her with no top lip and she claims she still finds them difficult to look at. In a post, she wrote, “I don't expect anyone to understand because how could you. I don't know how to explain the way that I feel when I look in the mirror. It's as if I'm a stranger, embodied in someone I've known before. ''
Post the attack, she underwent six surgeries, some of which lasted 20 hours, to give her a new upper lip. The doctor took skin and nerves from her arm to create a fully functional new upper lip.
''If you were to tell me a year ago I'd have the smile I have today, I wouldn't believe you. I lost so much hope waiting a whole year to find the surgeon I have today. It's been such a hard yet beautiful process. I am so thankful for everyone in my life. This is a reminder to trust the process. Timing is absolutely everything,'' she wrote in another post.
She is almost fully healed but is expected to have one more surgery later this month.
