Katie Piper returns to Loose Women panel and shares health update after undergoing surgery to stitch her left eye shut to heal from ‘painful’ infection

Katie Piper returned to the Loose Women panel on Wednesday after a few weeks away from the show.

The 40-year-old presenter explained that she had surgery on her left eye after suffering from a series of “painful” problems over the past 18 months.

Katie said her eye was stitched shut to help it heal from an eye infection and reduce the risk of “losing my left eye.”

Welcoming her return, fellow panelist Kaye Adams said: “Hello stranger. We haven’t seen you for five or six weeks. And then you said that you were going to have a procedure.”

Katie explained: “Yes, I had a planned procedure called tarsorrhaphy, which is a semi-permanent closure of the eye. So, this is an operation done in an operating room and your eye is completely or partially stitched shut.

“Some people may be familiar with this, you usually see it when someone has some kind of corneal disease. And closing the eye creates an optimal environment for healing.”

She continued, “So over the last year and a half, I’ve had quite a few eye problems. I don’t like to talk about it because there’s always someone worse off!”

Kay intervened and said, “But you know, Katie, you never talk about anything. This is incredible about you, you are so stoic, it’s so incredible.”

Katie added: “It was quite painful, so it’s a relief to finally have it stitched up because it’s a lot more comfortable.”

She explained: “It’s not forever, it’ll probably last about a year and then hopefully I’ll be able to open it.”

Describing the procedure, she said: “It was a bit like being pregnant because you feel a little dizzy and nauseous.”

“And it’s difficult when the other eye is trying to act because it drags a little bit. But it goes away, and then you get used to it.”

Katie continued: “I had surgery a month ago so I’m fine. I still wear six-inch heels!”

Kaye added, “And you’re wearing a little makeup!”

Katie laughed and joked, “Of course. Just one false eyelash, and it’s even cheaper!

Speaking about how she maintains her eye health, she said: “I take all these supplements and the bonus is that my hair has really grown, so I’m delighted with that.

“I always try to respect my health, which I think is more unusual for a young person because we don’t think about anything until it starts to deteriorate.

“And I guess I actually had damage to both eyes at a pretty young age, so I always feel very grateful and happy that I’m here and see all these wonderful people.”

Katie suffered serious injuries and was left blind in one eye after she was attacked with acid in 2008 by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvester.

She dated Daniel briefly before the steroid-fueled martial arts fan, previously convicted of pouring boiling water on a man, became obsessively jealous.

Katie was forced to wear a mask after the attack and required 400 operations to treat her severe burns in a long and painstaking process that included groundbreaking surgery that completely removed the damaged skin from her face and replaced it with substitute skin.

Since that ordeal, she has fought tirelessly to keep the topic of such attacks front and center in the public and government minds following her horrific experience, and has since founded the Katie Piper Foundation.

Katie’s ex Daniel was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years for the abuse Katie suffered when she was just 24 years old.

In September it emerged that Daniel could be released from prison after serving a minimum sentence of 16 years.

Daniel was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years after being found guilty of rape, GBH and ABH at Wood Green Crown Court in 2009.

His accomplice Stefan, who threw acid on Katie, pleaded guilty to GBH and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of six years.

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

Sentencing the pair, Judge Nicholas Brown QC said: “(The victim’s) face was one of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvester, represent the face of pure evil. The facts of this case are frightening and shocking.

“You planned and then carried out an act of pure, calculated and deliberate evil. “You decided to ruin the victim’s life by stabbing her in the face with a full canister of sulfuric acid point-blank.”

Katie opened up about her eye surgery on Instagram last month and shared a gallery of post-op pictures.

In a lengthy caption, she explained the surgery and said the decision to have the surgery was driven by “function, not aesthetics.”

She also revealed the reasons why she spoke so openly about the procedure, while admitting that she still finds the surgeries “mentally difficult” after surviving an acid attack.

Katie wrote: “I wanted to post this here for a few reasons: firstly, to explain that living with injuries like mine means that throughout life things will change and sometimes things go the other way. There really is no end point, and part of that recovery is accepting it.

“Second, surgical decisions in cases of deformity should be based on function rather than aesthetics. In my case, I’m trying to save the eye, avoid perforation and complete loss of the eye.

“Also, just because something is always in the public eye 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 it helps anyone else…. Yes, sometimes it is difficult for me. I’m okay with not looking like everyone else, but surgery can sometimes bring me back to memories of how it all started, and that’s mentally hard.

“I always think I’m incredibly lucky to have this place here on IG. I feel like I have smart, interesting and kind followers.

“So I know most of you will find this update helpful and have probably had similar medical or mental health journeys, but for those few who will post messages or leave negative comments (I’ve heard them all before, nothing new ) ), then this explanation/tutorial is for you.

“I’m still the same person. I just had a different path in life than most, and that’s okay. For the most part, I live a fulfilling, privileged, and very happy life. For this I am very grateful. But as I recover, I ask you not to troll me.

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