Woman mauled by chimp praised for new face

Woman mauled by chimp praised for new face

A US woman who was mauled by an out-of-control chimpanzee says she's venturing out more after a face transplant and that her new face is getting compliments.

Charla Nash told NBC's Today show that her donor face has begun molding to her bone structure.

"I've had people tell me I'm beautiful," Nash said in the interview. "And they were not telling me I was beautiful before."

Nash said she was cheered by a simple 'hello' from a child while she was shopping recently.

"That didn't happen before," she said. "It was nice. The little girl was saying 'Hi' to me. ... I'm not scaring anybody."

Nash was attacked in 2009 by a neighbour's 200-pound (90kg) pet chimpanzee, which went berserk after its owner asked Nash to help lure it back into her house in Connecticut.

The animal ripped off Nash's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot to death by police. She was blinded in the attack.

Source: AP
Published Nov 23 2011