Stabbed more than 100 times by an ex-boyfriend in an horrific attack that left her nearly decapitated has been given a new face thanks to donated plastic surgery.
Ilianexy Morales, from New York, needed 17 surgeries, including one to reattach her partially-severed arms, following the attack in 2005 but said that she is no longer reminded of the violence every time she looks in the mirror.
This life-changing surgery was made possible by Face to Face, the charitable arm of the American Academy of Facial, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, where surgeons donate their skills.
Transformation: Ilianexy Morales has undergone 17 surgeries since she was stabbed more than 100 times by her ex-boyfriend. These images show her transformation before and after plastic surgery
'It has really really changed my life,' Morales told NY1 of her surgeries. 'Before, I was extremely shameful to be around people. [The surgery] seemed like a dream but it was real.'
Morales was in her 20s when she met the man who would become her attacker. At 38, he was older, but the couple soon began a serious relationship and he offered to support her family.
He encouraged her to give up work as a medical assistant so she could care full-time for her then four-year-old daughter and her bed-ridden mother, ABC News reported.
But he also became more obsessive and jealous, refusing to allow her to leave the house and threatening that he would kill her if she ever tried to leave.
Something to smile about: Ilianexy, pictured after the surgery, was also given new teeth after the attack
Before and after: Morales shows the reduced scaring on her cheeks and neck following the surgery
But in 2005, after three years of the emotionally abusive relationship, she bravely announced that it was over and that she was leaving him for good.
In July 2005, he asked if he could come over to give her one final check and to talk. In her bedroom, he pulled a knife from his sock and proceeded to stab her dozens of times in a frenzied attack.'He started attacking me immediately and didn't even give me time to react,' she told ABC News. 'I was in complete shock. I couldn't get out and couldn't do anything. He was so fast.'
As she slipped in and out of consciousness, he stabbed her shoulder, face, neck, stomach, vaginal area and almost severed her arms. A neighbour heard her screams and called police.
Authorities arrived and arrested the boyfriend, who is now serving a 15-year prison sentence.
She suffered a cardiac arrest as the ambulance took her to hospital and doctors did not expect her to survive. But after a month in a coma and seven initial surgeries, she pulled through.
However, she was left with scars over her face, reminding her of the vicious attack.
'I didn't look like me,' she told ABC. 'I would hide a lot. I felt really ashamed of myself even though it was not my fault.
'I... accepted what had happened. My main problem was seeing myself in the mirror. When I saw all the scars, I felt like I was looking at another person.'
In 2010, Face to Face, which is based in Alexandria, Virginia began working with Morales.
The program gives around 1,500 surgeries each year to women who have been victims of domestic abuse, helping those who have suffered acid attacks, gun shot wounds and broken jaws and noses.
Back on track: Morales, pictured left and with her daughter after the surgery, has some faint scaring (right) but said she can finally look in the mirror without seeing the results of the horrific attack
It launched in 1994, believing that the surgery was the final part of their rehabilitation. Doctors work with local shelters to find women who cannot afford the surgery or the associated fees.
Life changer: Dr Andrew Jacono joined Face to Face after meeting a woman abused by her husband
Women need to have undergone therapy and out of the abusive relationship for some time.
Dr. Andrew Jacono, a New York City facial and reconstructive surgeon, was the doctor who donated his skills to perform seven hours of surgery on Morales' face and neck.
He used 'flap surgery', taking skin from other parts of her body to cover the scars. He said the results were 'beautiful' and 'gave her a lot of confidence'.
Jacono decided to join the program after completing nose surgery on a young woman, who told him she had been in a car accident. But three months later, she contacted him again.
'She was crying hysterically, the nose was crooked and collapsed again,' he said. 'She revealed that her husband had done it in the first place. It affected me very much.'
Morales said that thanks to Jacono, her life has changed immeasurably. As well as her facial and neck surgery, she also got new teeth from a New York dentist, Dr. Laura Torrado.
She is now in a stable relationship and works as a professional makeup artist.
'Finally, because of the surgery, I am able to appreciate people and life again,' she said.
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