Katie Piper reveals she's undergone surgery to 'avoid losing her left eye' and admits she finds operations 'mentally hard' after acid attack ordeal

Katie Piper has revealed she's undergone surgery to reduce the risk of 'losing her left eye' in a candid Instagram post shared on Wednesday.

The presenter, 40, shared a gallery of snaps showing her eye after the procedure, while admitting she still finds operations 'mentally hard' following her acid attack ordeal.

Katie suffered major injuries and blindness in one eye after she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008.

In the wake of her ordeal, she has tirelessly campaigned to keep the topic of such attacks in the forefront of the minds of the public and officials since her horrific experience, and has since set up The Katie Piper Foundation.

In her post, Katie explained she'd received tarsorrhaphy to her left eye, which can 'help the cornea heal or to protect the cornea during a short period of exposure or disease.'

Posting a lengthy caption, Katie added that it's hoped the surgery will 'preserve her eye,' and the decision to have the operation stemmed from 'function over aesthetics.'

Katie wrote: 'This is me! (For now). On Tuesday I had a planned operation, a Tarsorrhaphy to my left eye.

'Tarsorrhaphy is the joining of part or all of the upper and lower eyelids so as to partially or completely close the eye. 

'Temporary tarsorrhaphies are used to help the cornea heal or to protect the cornea during a short period of exposure or disease. I've also had scar tissue operated on on my right eye, so that will also be slightly swollen.

'I wanted to put this here for a few reasons:

'Firstly to educate that living with the kind of injures I have means things will change through out your life and sometimes things go backwards. There isn't really an end point and part of this kind of recovery is acceptance of that. 

'Secondly with a disfigurement surgical decisions have to be based around function not aesthetics. In my case I am trying to preserve the eye, avoid perforation and loosing my eye completely.

'Also just because something is on view permanently it doesn't give people the right to constantly comment on your appearance - you never know what's going on in someone's life.

'Also, if this helps anyone else…. yes I do sometimes find it hard. I'm ok with looking different to everyone else but operations can sometimes take me back to memories of how this all started and that's hard mentally.

'I always think I'm incredibly lucky with this space here on IG. I feel like I have an intelligent, interesting and kind following. 

'So I know most of you will find this update useful and probably have had your own similar journeys of medical or mental health recoveries, but for the few that will send msgs or leave negative comments (I've heard them all before, nothing new) then this explanation/ education is for you.

'I'm still the same person. I've just had different path in life to most and that's ok. For most part I live a fulfilling, privileged and very happy life. For that I'm extremely grateful for. But as I recover I'm asking that you please don't troll me.

'Thank you to my eye surgeon Mr Joshi for taking care of my eyelids all these years. I'm so grateful to him and his team for care, compassion and skill.'

Katie's ex Daniel was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years for the violence inflicted on Katie when she was just 24 years old.

In September, it emerged Daniel could be released from prison after completing his minimum term of 16 years.

Daniel received a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years after being convicted of rape, GBH and ABH at Wood Green Crown Court in 2009.

His co-conspirator, Stefan, who threw the acid at Katie, admitted GBH and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years.

He was released in 2018 but was recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions. Police have since said they believe he has fled the country.

Passing sentence against the pair, Judge Nicholas Browne QC said: '(The victim) had a face of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre, represent the face of pure evil. The facts of this case are chilling and shocking.

'You planned and then executed an act of pure, calculated and deliberate evil.

'You decided to wreck the victim's life by thrusting a full container of sulphuric acid straight into her face from point- blank range.'

Katie was attacked in Golders Green, north London, in 2008.

She had dated Daniel briefly before the steroid-fuelled martial arts fan, who had a previous conviction for pouring boiling water over a man, became obsessively jealous.

Model and TV presenter Katie had to wear a mask after the attack and needed 400 operations to treat her severe burns in a long and painstaking process which included pioneering surgery which completely removed the damaged skin from her face and replaced it with a substitute.