Katie Piper has revealed how her face has been constructed from ‘a cow’ due to ‘pioneering’ facial reconstruction after she suffered a life-changing acid attack.
In 2008 when she was just 24, the Loose Women panelist and mum-of-two, now 38, was left partially blind with severe scarring to her face, neck, chest, arms and hands following the assault, which was organised by her ex-boyfriend.
Since then, she’s undergone over 400 surgeries in a bid to reconstruct her face, which have included extensive skin grafts from other parts of her body.
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly and her daughter Rosie, on the What If? podcast, Katie said: ‘My burn went through the muscle and down to the skeleton, so it was a very, very deep burn.
‘Because it’s a corrosive substance, you think with fire you can put it out and maybe minimise the damage, but with me all four layers of the skin were destroyed.’
‘This foundation is made from collagen and elastin taken from a cow. Queue all the moody cow jokes! My face is made out of a cow,’ she laughed.
She added: ‘What I had to do was have all of my old face removed because the tissue was dead and would have gotten infected.’
Katie then explained how her entire face was reconstructed using different parts of her body, including a large graft from her mid-back and bottom, detailing the ‘pioneering procedure’ that restored her face.
The entire surface of her face was reconstructed, with many features being made from other parts of her body.
Katie revealed that her nose is made from her upper-right rib, her eyelids are made from her groin and cheeks, and she has had hair transplants to form her eyebrows.
She said: ‘They had to start from the beginning with a man-made dermal substitute. I always think of the analogy of a house, when you get the foundations before you get the bricks and the scaffolding.’
The presenter also joked how she ‘never realised how hairy her bum was’ until it was drafted onto her face.
Katie added all her treatment was provided by the NHS and commended how ‘amazing’ they were.
In 2010, she founded the Katie Piper Foundation, which aids the recovery of burns victims, as she works to inspire other survivors.
In February 2022, Katie was awarded an OBE for her services to charity and victims of the disfigurement industry.
Speaking at the time of her award, she vowed to never stop championing inclusion.
She said: ‘I was born able bodied without any visible difference until my twenties. So I had the experience of living both lives. When you do become part of that minority, you become acutely aware that you’re never sold to, you’re never targeted by the beauty industry and advertising.
‘It’s not about them wanting to see a burn survivor on telly. It’s about them wanting to see something that says, “You are okay as you are”.
She has also championed mental health, writing for Metro.co.uk: ‘When it comes to your mental health, it is all about being informed and not suffering in silence.
‘Everyone should feel empowered to try different treatments until they find what works for them; it may look like exercise, medicine, or therapy.’
