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Today's Paper | May 07, 2024

Updated 10 Apr, 2015 11:37am

Removing scars

AP

Women who have suffered horrific acid attacks in Pakistan had their reconstructive surgery free of cost from a British clinic.

Hair transplant surgeon Asim Shahmalak spent £50,000 of his own money performing reconstructive surgery on six women who were disfigured - often for doing nothing more than spurning a man's advances.

Some of the victims were attacked with sulphuric acid which can be bought for as little as US$0.23 a bottle on the back streets of Karachi. Following the attacks, many women are shunned by society and struggle to find work.

Dr Shahmalak took a team from the hair transplant centre he runs near Manchester Airport where he performed hair, eyebrow and eyelash transplants on the women.

These remarkable pictures show how the women's faces have been transformed - months on from the initial surgery and now that the new transplanted hair has grown back.

Later this year he is planning to return to Karachi again to work on five new cases of women who were also attacked with acid.

He said: "There is so much more work to do. I am just glad that I am able to make a difference to these women's lives."

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