World’s worst disfigurement? Young woman born with NO FACE hopes for surgery

A YOUNG woman who has lived her entire life without a face was told that there was nothing doctors could do to help her. 

This young woman has lived her entire life without a face

Khadija Khatoon has endured 21 years of living with a severe facial deformity that means she doesn't even know if she has eyes or a nose.Ms Khatoon's mouth is reduced to just a small slit on the left side of her face.

The young woman, from Kolkata in Eastern India, was born with a facial deformity that has baffled doctors at her local hospital.
She was born with thick eyelids and has never been able to view the world.
As she began to get older, her deformity grew out of control.
Ms Khatoon, who was born into an impoverished family, has never gone to school and has largely been rejected by her community.

She insists that she is happy with her life

Doctors told her parents that they were unable to treat the mysterious condition and she has never been given a formal diagnosis.
They suspect the woman suffers from a severe form of neurofibromatosis, a rare deformity that causes tumours to grow along nerves.
However, she insists that she is happy with her life.
She said: "I'm made this way and I accept it graciously.

Khadija Khatoon taking an afternoon nap

"I do what I can. If this is how I’m meant to be then I live with it.
"It’s not a matter of coping, I just live as I am."
"My family is my only friend and I love them dearly. My parents are my world.
"If only the Government would see my position and help me I would like that.
"I fill my days sitting and thinking, talking to my mother about life and going for walks near my home.
"I like drinking tea. I am happy in this life."

Ms Khatoon was born into an impoverished family and has never gone to school

Her father Rashid Mulla, 60, and mother Amina Bibi, 50, first realised something was wrong when she hadn’t opened her eyes two months after birth.
Her mum Amina Bibi, 50, said: "She was born with thick heavy eyelids and she looked different to my other children at birth but we didn’t think anything of it until we realised she couldn’t open her eyes properly.
"When we took her to the hospital she was admitted for six months and they did lots of tests but doctors eventually told us there was nothing they could do.
She added: "Because the doctors told us there was nothing they could do we never went back to them. And as Khadija got older she refused any help."
"Doctors told us when she was a baby that if she attempted surgery she could die, so we have lived with that fear.
"Now that Khadija is much older she has decided herself that she doesn’t want to have surgery. She doesn’t want to risk dying."

Ms Khatoon's mouth is reduced to just a small slit on the left side of her face

Dr Anirban Deep Banerjee, a neurosurgeon from Apollo Hospital, Kolkata, said that the Ms Ms Khatoon could have a "fatal tumour" inside her face.
He has urged her parents to take her for a gene test.
He added: "If she's willing we would need to do a lot of tests to determine how successful surgery would be."
Local government officer, Rupak Dutta, 52, from Kolkata, has taken on the case to fundraise for a life-changing surgery. 

He felt compelled to do something after spotting her on the street.

He said: "I’d never seen such a face. I have a 13-year-old daughter and I thought what if she was my daughter?

"I didn’t even notice tears were falling down my cheeks. I have limited sources to help but I thought the power of social networking would surely help so I posted her photo on Facebook.

Mr Dutta is now in talks with local NGOs who will help Khadija meet with specialists to discuss possible surgery.

A Crowdfunder page has also been set up to raise funds: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-khadija

Recently, doctors removed the largest tumour in the world growing on a man's leg in India.