A TEAM of Enfield surgeons carried out a life-changing hip operation for a woman left disabled in the Ethiopian Civil War.

Demen Bekele, 23, was orphaned in 1991 aged just four when gunmen shot and killed her mother and father during the conflict.

Demen was also injured in the attack, when a bullet fractured her hip and damaged her sciatic nerve in her leg, leaving her with arthritis, chronic pain and reduced mobility.

Despite her debilitating disability, Demen focused on her education and in 2009, got a job as a lab assistant at Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, where her condition came to the attention of the medical director, Professor Gordon Williams.

He got in touch with Howard Ware, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at The Kings Oak Hospital in The Ridgeway, Enfield, about the possibility of performing a hip replacement operation on Demen.

Mr Ware said: “Initially Professor Williams came to me looking for a cost for Demen’s hip replacement, the price of which would have been several thousand pounds.

“However, after hearing about her inspiring story and discovering the achievements she had already made with her career despite her setbacks, I offered to perform her operation for free.”

The operation was carried out on Thursday, January 20, and Demen will stay in the UK to recover before returning to Ethiopia next month.

Fraser Dawson, interim executive director at the private hospital, said they were delighted to have got involved with the operation.

He said: “This will provide Demen with a whole new lease of life. Kings Oak Hospital was more than happy to offer the procedure for free after hearing her inspiring story.

“From just my brief meeting with Demen, I can see how inspiring she is and we wish her all the best for the future and hope that she stays in touch to update us on her progress.”