'I have a head of hair again'

By Caroline Ryan
BBC News health reporter

A young woman who was horrifically burnt in an acid attack almost a year ago finally has a full head of hair again.

Sundeep after her scalp operation

Sundeep Hunjan, from Kenya, was so badly injured that she only had four millimetres of eyelid left, meaning she could not blink.

She had also suffered third degrees burns on her torso.

Sundeep was brought to the UK by her uncle for treatment at the McIndoe Surgical Centre in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

She has already undergone operations to restore her eyelids and other procedures on her neck.

In the latest operation, surgeons inserted a silicon balloon under the part of Sundeep's scalp which still had hair.

The balloon was then injected with saline to slowly expand it every week for several months.

I look much more like I did before Sundeep Hunjan

This meant there would be enough hair-bearing skin to cover the 25% where hair was burnt off.

Last week, surgeons removed the scarred skin on Sundeep's head and pulled the hairline forward. She also had a lip release as her top lip was tightening around her nostrils.

More operations

Sundeep said it marked a significant stage in her treatment.

Sundeep was looking forward to her wedding before the attack

She told the BBC News website: "I'm very happy with my progress. And this operation has really given me a different look.

"I look much more like I did before. I'm really, really happy."

Sundeep said she is still conscious of her looks, but added: "When I've had more operations on my eyes and my nose to make them look more natural, that will be better.

But she said she felt she was over the worst of her treatment.

"It feels like I'm going 'down the hill'.

Sundeep said she was also pleased to have had the balloon removed, which she said was "really painful".

Her surgeon, Baljit Dheansa, said he felt the operation had been a success.

"It did everything we wanted to, and it also fulfilled what Sundeep wanted."

'I felt something hot'

Sundeep was driving home from her job as a logistics officer for Toyota East Africa in Nairobi with her father when the attack took place one day in February this year.

Sundeep, 23, said: "It was a Monday. It was a very hot day and we were driving home with the windows open.

Sundeep was delighted to see her fiancé Amritpal again in September

"We were in traffic, and just as we started moving, I felt something hot pour over me.

"I didn't know what it was. I got out of the car, but I couldn't see anything. Then my father told me it was acid."

Sundeep is due to have further surgery on the burns on her face next year.

Once it is all completed, Sundeep and her fiancé Amritpal Singh Rupra can return to planning their wedding - which should have taken place in April this year.

He has seen the pictures of Sundeep after her latest operation, and said they were "amazing".

Sundeep is hoping to go back to Kenya to see him as soon as she is well enough.

The family are still trying to raise another £25,000 to fund her treatment.

The McIndoe Burns Support Group is collecting money to help Sundeep. The telephone helpline for credit and debit card payments is 0870 0818000.

Sundeep's family are offering a reward of 150,000 Kenyan Shillings, just under £1,100, for anyone with information leading to the conviction of her attackers.

Anyone who can help should contact: Fred Okeyo, Otieno Okeyo & Co Advocates, Old Mutual Building, 4th Floor, Kimathi Street, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone [phone].