Hyderabad: In the 18 days that she has spent in Hyderabad, Sophia's life has changed forever.
Most of that time has been spent in hospital, with a team of doctors working around the clock to give Sophia Moiuddin a new face.
Two years ago, a bomb in her hometown left her virtually blind. Her right eye was replaced with a hole. She had nine fractures on her face.
A surgery in Jordan didn't help. So like so many other medical tourists, she headed to Hyderabad.
Dr Debraj Shome, who operated on Sophia, says 30 per cent of his patients are from outside India, most of them are from other Asian countries who find India cheap and convenient. The cultural similarities are also a big draw for those looking for serious medical attention. Plastic surgery offered in Hyderabad, is, however, luring Americans, too. "It's like get botox, see the Taj and leave for the US,'' says Shome.
Sophia's reconstructive surgery cost her a lakh. Doctors say that's less than half what it would have cost her in America or Europe.
Of his grateful patient from Iraq, Shome says, "The injury is on the face, but the impact is on the brain.... the psychological impact is huge. Now I can see her smile. Earlier there were only tears. She is also happier because she can breathe better, eat straight. Earlier her jaws were not aligned."
Sophia's doctors say she needs a few weeks to recover from her operation before she can return home. She signals, from her bed, that she has no problem with those orders.