DEADLY BUG
Astonishing time-lapse video shows Arsenal star’s ex-wife battle with flesh-eating bacteria
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AN ASTONISHING time-lapse video has revealed how Arsenal legend Andrey Arshavin's former wife's face was ravaged by flesh-eating bacteria.
Model Alisa Kazmina, 41, has shared the incredible results of nine life-saving surgeries after the horror infection destroyed her nose, leaving a gaping hole in the centre of her face.
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Alisa, who married the Russian winger in 2016, watched in horror as her nose deteriorated when her immune system turned against her own body, consuming the flesh on her face.
The once-glamorous model, who is now unrecognizable from her past self, has bravely stepped forward to show the world her journey to recovery.
In a jaw-dropping time-lapse video shared by her medical team, Alisa's nose is transformed from a devastating hole surrounded by decaying flesh back to a near-normal state.
The footage, which spans several months, documents her remarkable recovery after years of battling a terrifying and relentless infection.
Her nightmare began in 2020 when necrosis, a condition where body tissue dies, started to eat away at her nose following a series of cosmetic surgeries.
Within just a year, her nose had turned into a rapidly growing hole, forcing her to retreat from social media and the public eye.
The mum-of-three's ordeal started when she noticed her nose sagging, but she was too depressed after her 2019 divorce from Arshavin to seek medical help.
Instead of heading to the hospital, Alisa sought out cosmetic specialists who initially treated it as a simple infection.
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But instead of healing, the hole grew wider and deeper, pushing her to the brink.
By May 2020, non-cosmetic doctors diagnosed her with an autoimmune disease that caused her immune system to attack her own body.
Shockingly, the necrosis that had devoured her nose was just millimetres away from reaching her brain, putting her life in immediate danger.
I thought I had just small cut while gardening - but I caught flesh-eating bug
Alisa recounted the terrifying moment she realized the severity of her condition: "I had an operation to sanitise the necrosis.
"It was an emergency, the clock was ticking. The destruction was up to the sphenoid sinuses, almost to the brain."
The emergency surgery saved her life, but it left her with a barely recognizable nose, little more than a flap of flesh with a single hole to breathe through.
Alisa’s recovery has been nothing short of miraculous, thanks to the expertise of reconstructive surgery specialist Dr. Denis Agapov.
Leading a series of nine painstaking operations, Dr. Agapov and his team used tissue from Alisa's forehead and cartilage from her ears and ribs to rebuild her face piece by piece.
Dr. Agapov said: "The most challenging part of my work was restoring the soft tissue covering, which was almost completely absent.
"Skin flaps were taken from the nasolabial folds, along with ear cartilage, which was transplanted with the skin.
"Several surgeries were performed: some successful and some not. In one stage, we lost almost everything due to the inflammatory process."
Now, with the majority of the reconstruction complete, Alisa faces three more surgeries to refine and re-sculpt her new nose.
Dr. Agapov added: "Currently, we are refining the 'somewhat rough' structure into a delicate and beautiful feminine nose."
In a heartfelt message, Alisa expressed her gratitude to the surgeon who has given her a second chance at life.
She wrote in a comment on his post: "He gave me the opportunity to live again."
Alisa's courage and resilience have shone through in the face of unimaginable challenges.
Meanwhile, a mum-of-three was hours away from death as a killer bacteria ate away at her face but credits an unusual kitchen item for saving her life.
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Beatrice Johnson, 60, came close to death after falling ill with sickness and an upset stomach on December 20.
Beatrice credits baking soda with saving her life.
What is necrotising fasciitis?
Necrotising fasciitis is a flesh-eating disease that happens if a wound gets infected.
It’s rare, and needs to be treated in hospital straight away.
The first signs of the illness are:
- Intense pain or loss of feeling near to a cut or wound – the pain may seem much worse than you would usually expect from a cut or wound
- Swelling of the skin around the affected area
- Flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, headache and tiredness
Later symptoms may include:
- Vomiting and diarrhoea
- Confusion
- Black, purple or grey blotches and blisters on the skin (these may be less obvious on black or brown skin)
You should go to A&E or call 999 if you have a cut which is more painful than expected, you have a wound and symptoms like a temperature or headache, you suddenly feel confused, or you have black, purple or grey blotches near a cut or wound.
Necrotising fasciitis gets worse quickly and can be fatal.
Treatments usually include antibiotics and surgery to remove the infected area.
Source: NHS
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