(WHAS11) - One local plastic surgeon is erasing the scars that often impede the healing process for domestic violence victims for free.
WHAS11's Adrianna Hopkins talked to a domestic violence victim who says the surgery wiped her past off of her face.
For many victims of domestic violence, the abuser has an arsenal of weapons: verbal, emotional and mental attacks.
Those attacks leave behind concealable scars but often times, the abuse is physical, thus visible and not even years of therapy can erase those scars.
A woman we'll call "Pam" shared her story with us. She was married to her abuser for 32 years.
"You always look for a soft surface to fall against. You know, you're just so trained. Even walking outside and doing things in the yard, I was used to looking around me all the time to see if he might be walking up on me," says one victim.
She left him six years ago, sought therapy and slowly moved on. But her reflection in the mirror was holding her back. The burden of her past was still visible on her face; misshapen cartilage.
She sought help from facial plastic surgeon Dr. Donn Chatham.
"Our thought is, by improving the signs of the violence on the outside, it helps the patient feel better on the inside," said Dr. Chatham.
He participates in a program called FACE TO FACE. It's designed for domestic violence victims who would benefit from reconstructive surgery. And it's free. This is not a matter of vanity, but of healing.
"I've had some patients that have said every time I looked in the mirror I would see this scar or I would see my crooked nose. Now when I look into the mirror, I don't have to see that and be reminded constantly of what happened in the past," said Dr. Chatham.
"The surgery made me feel like I'd wiped him off my face," said "Pam."
"Pam" says though the surgery doesn't change her past, it changed her appearance and changed her future.
If you are in an abusive relationship, there is help. Contact the Center For Women and Families at 877-803-7577.
