TV presenter Katie Piper has given a health update for the first time since undergoing surgery last month.

In 2008, she suffered major burns, injuries and blindness in one eye after an acid attack, and has often spoken publicly about her journey to recovery.

On Wednesday (December 13), the 40-year-old returned to Loose Women and explained she recently had a tarsorrhaphy procedure to “heal” her left eye which she said has been “quite painful” for the last 18 months.

Giving her a warm welcome back, fellow co-host Kaye Adams said: “Hello stranger. We haven't seen you for five or six weeks. And at that time, you were saying you were getting a procedure.”

Why is Katie Piper’s eye closed?

ITV star Katie replied: “Yeah, so I had a planned procedure called a tarsorrhaphy, which is a semi-permanent closure of the eye. So it's an operation done in theatre and your eye is sort of fully or partially stitched up.

“Some people might be familiar with it, you normally see it when somebody has some kind of disease of the cornea. And closing the eye gives it the optimum environment for it to heal.”

Katie added: “So I've had quite a lot of problems with my eye in the last year-and-a-half. I don't like to go on about it because there's always somebody worse off.”

Kaye interrupted to say: “But do you know what Katie, you never go on about anything. That's the incredible thing about you, you're just so stoic, it's so incredible.”

Katie responded: "It's been quite painful, so it's quite a relief for me to finally have it stitched up because it's a lot more comfortable.

“It's not permanent, it's probably going to be like a year like this and then hopefully I can have it opened."

According to The Mirror, the mum-of-two described the procedure as “a bit like being pregnant because you feel a bit dizzy and nauseous.”

“And it's difficult when the other eye is trying to operate, because it does tug a bit. But that does subside and then you get used to it,” she went on to say.

“I had the operation a month ago now, so I'm actually okay. I'm still wearing a six-inch high heel!”

Loose Women next airs today (Thursday, December 14) on ITV1 from 12.30pm.