Juanita Jimenez finally felt like herself, thanks to plastic surgery after she survived an acid attack. The woman recently opened up about her journey of being a survivor and how the cosmetic work helped her feel confident again.
Juanita Jimenez was 22 years old when the unfortunate incident unfolded in her life. At the time, she was a senior at Lehman College. One day, when she was commuting to Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital, an unprovoked woman threw sulfuric acid at her.
Jimenez, who used to work at the hospital as a primary care assistant, suffered second and third-degree burns from the attack. The burns disfigured the woman’s face, which left her feeling distraught. In an interview with People, she recalled how every time she looked into the mirror, she felt “really distraught.”
“I don’t think that I ever fully adjusted to my facial scars,” she told the publication. She shared how finding Dr. Carl Truesdale changed everything. She initially messaged the California-based plastic surgeon. The reason Juanita decided to reach out to the surgeon was that he specialised in keloid surgeries.
“Every other doctor and surgeon that I had a conversation with in New York kept saying that with Black skin, you got to be a lot more cautious,” she recalled. She shared how she didn’t have confidence in any other doctor until she came across Dr. Truesdale.
“I wanted to look like the old me,” Juanita shared. She also spoke about how she had never thought of getting cosmetic enhancements done before the attack took place. “I love my natural beauty, from my hair to my nose,” she added.
Acid Attack Survivor Gets Plastic Surgery to Look Like Her ‘Old’ Self Again — See the Priceless Results (Exclusive) https://t.co/DbDyPp6CDS
— People (@people) September 9, 2025
The acid attack survivor also recalled how she wanted to go back to exactly how she looked before the attack or as close to it as possible. Dr. Truesdale, who found Juanita on TikTok, offered to do her surgeries free of charge. The surgeries would have cost her around $80,000.
The woman decided to fly to California to get operated on in January 2024. The total number of surgeries was divided into two parts to avoid blood supply issues. Dr. Truesdale, who has his own YouTube series on his channel, explained the medical procedure in detail in one of his videos.
He shared how he had to give Juanita a “reverse facelift” that took 4 hours. “I wanted my lip to be lowered from the top. That was my main priority, because I felt like that was the first thing you could see when you look at my face and see my scar,” the survivor shared.
Post surgery, the woman shares how happy she is in the current stage of her life. In her interview, she shared how she managed to graduate from college through it all. “Now I could really put this whole thing behind me and be a doctor,” she added.
