AFTER enduring five gruelling rounds of major reconstructive surgery, Hannan Shihab may be spared having to go under the knife again.
The Iraqi burns victim has been offered a lifetime's worth of free non-surgical reconstructive and enhancement treatment, after staff at a London clinic were touched by reading her story in the Evening News.
Hannan, 21, who lives in Dalkeith with
her 20-month-old daughter, Renas, has undergone several operations over the last three-and-a-half years at St John's Hospital in Livingston to rebuild her ears, nose, lips and cheeks.
In 2003, when she was just 15, Hannan's life was shattered when – according to her family – an American bomb landed near her home in Baghdad and the blast knocked an oil lamp on to her bed.
The blaze caused third-degree burns over 20 per cent of her body. She was forced to flee the country – her life considered to be in danger – after treatment from US medics, moving to Scotland in October 2004.
Now, a semi-permanent make-up company in London, Annette Power, has offered the mother-of-one its full range of procedures for free – including pencilling in her eyebrows and lashes, as well as defining her lips.
Semi-permanent make-up, otherwise known as micropigmentation, enhances a person's looks without the need for surgery.
Company spokesman Pete Maclaine said: "We were all touched by the article on Hannan in the Evening News.
"We could go ahead within the month but the most important thing is that we find out from Hannan's surgeon when it would be safe for us to start.
"We can also offer Hannan treatment with a collagen stimulant called poly-L-lactic acid. This is a non-surgical procedure and is known as cheek augmentation. It encourages the growth of collagen under the skin and we could use this on Hannan's lips.
"It is usually used cosmetically to reduce the signs of aging and in most cases, the damage caused by the Aids virus. Recently, however, we have used this same procedure on a 24-year-old woman, Carla Nunes, who was badly burned when an oil lamp fell on her as a baby in Portugal. We used it around her eyebrows, nose, cheeks and lips. The treatments have been a great success."
The company is willing to carry out the various procedures, which would cost a total of around £4000, at the required two-year intervals. This is because semi-permanent make-up fades over time – the pigment is inserted into the upper layer of the dermis, and as the skin's natural replacement process takes place, the colour gradually fades.
A delighted Hannan said: "That's great news, it's brilliant. I cannot believe it. I'm not being cheeky but I would like it done quickly.
"My surgeon is going to be really happy for me. I'm happy."
