A model whose upper lip was ripped off by a pit bull has shared an update on her recovery following her final reconstructive surgery, saying she is ‘so blessed with the results.’
Brooklinn Khoury, 23, from Mission Viejo, California, took to Instagram on Saturday to post a photo of her doctor tracing her lip with a blue marker at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She also included a snapshot of her side profile as she smiled.
‘Almost three weeks post-op! Everything is healing so well. Still pretty swollen but so blessed with the results!’ she captioned the images, which have received more than 50,000 likes.
A few days later, she shared more pictures of herself showing off her new smile, revealing on her Instagram Stories that all of her stitches were out.
Brooklinn Khoury, 23, from Mission Viejo, California, has revealed the results of her latest surgery after a pit bull tore off her upper lip two years ago
The model has undergone numerous surgeries since the attack in November 2020. She is pictured early on her recovery (L) and nearly three weeks after her latest procedure (R)
Khoury explained on Instagram that her surgeon had reconstructed her central columns, lip, and cupid’s bow
The professional skateboarder announced on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday that all of her stiches are out
The professional skateboarder has been documenting her recovery on social media, and her lip appeared to be almost completely healed in her latest set of images.
She was visiting her family in Arizona when her cousin’s pit bull attacked her without warning and tore off her lip and part of her nose in November 2020.
Khoury, who had met the eight-year-old dog named Diesel numerous times, was standing in the kitchen when the harrowing incident took place.
‘I was like, “You’re such a good boy.” He literally sprung from a sitting position like onto my face,’ she told People in 2021. ‘I was standing, and he was sitting — he literally just sprung up.
‘And he was literally, hanging — literally like arms, legs hanging off of my lip. And my first instinct was like, “Oh my God, get on the ground with him, hold his head, go wherever he goes.”‘
When the pit bull finally let go, ‘something flew and hit the wall.’ She said there was ‘blood everywhere’ and she saw a pink lump on the floor and realized it was her lip.
Khoury took the chunk of her lip with her to the emergency room, but surgeons weren’t able to reattach it.
She started documenting her recovery on Instagram on November 6, 2020, three days after she was mauled. She posted a photo of herself cuddling a teddy bear in the hospital.
Khoury posted photos after her surgery on February 16, saying it ‘went really well’
‘I’m very swollen right now, but once the swelling goes down it will look amazing. Thank God,’ she wrote in the caption
Two days after the procedure, she posted a video of herself getting her quilting sutures out
She was happy to report that the blood flow was ‘still strong’ in her upper lip during her recovery
‘It’s crazy how your life can change so dramatically in the split of a second. I’m trying to stay as positive as I can about this whole situation, but I will be honest I am scared about my future, or if I’ll ever be able to smile again or eat normally,’ she wrote.
‘This is the beginning of a long journey to recovery. I hate asking for anything but It would mean the world if you would pray for me. Please remember to hug someone you love today.’
In November 2021, she had her first reconstructive surgery, a 20-hour procedure that reportedly cost $400,000. Her surgeon created a skin graft from her forearm to replace the skin on her upper lip.
She told BuzzFeed that she wasn’t getting the surgery to change her appearance, but instead, to protect her exposed gums. She added that she’s happy to ‘rock her no-lip forever’ and knows that she is never ‘going to look the same.’
Khoury opened up about her first surgery in a video shared on her YouTube channel, saying it was a success.
‘Everything went well. The nerve, the tissue, the skin, is all well, alive, and healing, which is really good and really rare,’ she explained. ‘My fingers can move, [there’s no] nerve damage… so thank God.’
She noted that some people advised her not to post any videos or photos of her face because of ‘the way that it looks,’ but she wanted to be open about the process so that others who are in similar situations would feel less alone.
‘I know I look different. I know I look crazy right now because of how swollen my face is but no point in hiding,’ she said. ‘I’m happy to share this. I’m happy to help anyone that I can.’
Khoury (pictured before the attack) was visiting her family in Arizona when her cousin’s pit bull mauled her without warning and tore off her lip and part of her nose on November 3, 2020
Khoury started documenting her recovery three days after the attack (pictured). ‘It’s crazy how your life can change so dramatically in the split of a second,’ she wrote
In November 2021, Khoury had her first reconstructive surgery, a 20-hour procedure in which her surgeon created a skin graft from her forearm to replace the skin on her upper lip
Khoury opened up about her first surgery on her YouTube channel, saying some people advised her not to post any videos or photos of her face because of ‘the way that it looks’
‘I know I look different. I know I look crazy right now because of how swollen my face is but no point in hiding,’ she said. ‘I’m happy to share this. I’m happy to help anyone that I can’
Khoury has undergone multiple surgeries since the attack two years ago and has seen incredible progress with each one
Khoury, who had her parents and her girlfriend, former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak, by her side throughout every surgery, admitted that being in the hospital was difficult for her because it brought back traumatic memories from the attack.
She was isolated from her family and friends during her initial hospitalization because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Hospitals kind of give me problems because of the first attack, because I was alone,’ she said. ‘So when I’m in hospital I just get anxiety, which is unfortunate because I’m going to have a lot of surgeries. So I am trying to have a positive view on them in my head, but it’s taking a lot of patience.’
In February 2022, Khoury filmed a video with her girlfriend, Lukasiak, who recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned about the pit bull attack.
Lukasiak explained that they had only been talking for five days when Khoury was hospitalized, but they have been together ever since.
She insisted that she ‘never saw [Khoury] any differently’ after the attack and never once considered leaving her.
‘What makes me mad about this society is that some people have expressed surprise and praised me for not leaving her because of that and it just makes me angry,’ the reality star said.
‘I understand that’s what we’re taught to think and feel, but it just makes me upset because if you spend five minutes with Brooklinn you’d understand how incredible of a human being she is.
In February 2022, Khoury’s girlfriend, former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak, opened up about the heartbreaking moment she learned she had been attacked by a pit bull
Lukasiak (pictured with Khoury in 2021) insisted that she ‘never saw her any differently’ after the attack and never once considered leaving her
Last month, Khoury wowed fans when she went to Sephora and had an employee draw on a top lip for her
Khoury’s upper lip appears to be almost completely healed in her recent photos
Khoury shared in a new YouTube vlog about her recovery that she is ‘obsessed’ with the way her doctor shaped her upper lip
‘Just because she doesn’t look like traditionally how everyone looks anymore, I think it’s so cool. She looks different,’ she added. Now everyone’s gonna be trying to look like her.’
Khoury has undergone multiple surgeries since the attack two years ago, but she believes her latest one will be her last.
She shared on February 16, 2023, the day after her most recent procedure, that her surgeon was able to reconstruct her central columns, lip, and cupid’s bow.
The model included post-surgery pictures, writing, ‘I’m very swollen right now, but once the swelling goes down it will look amazing. Thank God.’
Two days after the procedure, she posted a video of herself getting her quilting sutures out and was happy to report that the blood flow was ‘still strong.’
Khoury shared in a new YouTube vlog about her recovery that she is ‘obsessed’ with the way her doctor shaped her upper lip.
‘I was kind of worried about that because I had been going through surgeries the last year. I didn’t want to end up with something I wasn’t going to love,’ she explained.
‘I absolutely love my upper lip. I think it matches my bottom lip perfectly. I cannot believe that I am looking like this,’ she added. ‘I think if you were to tell me a year ago I would look how I look today, I wouldn’t believe you. This is insane.’
