60-Yrs-Old Hunter From Colorado Whose Nose And Top Lip Were Torn Off In An Horrific Bear Attack Survived And Had Face Rebuilt By Surgeon

A hunter who was mutilated by a grizzly bear in a gruesome battle which resembled scenes from film the revenant has had his face rebuild over the last year thanks to pioneering surgeons.

The man name Lee Brooke, 60, in Colorado was approaching an elk he had shot last year while hunting in the mountains of Wyoming when a 420lbs female bear attacked him from behind, ripping off half of his face and knocking him unconscious.

He woke up to feel her sniffing at his cheek. "I could feel the whisker," he told fox news. Blinded by blood soaking his eyes, Lee managed to grab a steak knife from his pocket and stab the bear in the head, just inches from her deadly jaws. She retreated which gave Lee the chance to escape.

He badly mutilated and bleeding heavily, he screamed into the woods for help, He also said that he did not know if he would survive the attack, but was determined to live to see his wife Martha again.

He had been separated from his hunting party, but hearing his cries, his bother in-law George Neal found him.

He also retrieved his several nose and upper lip before helping him down the mountain where they could find phone reception and called for help. He was rushed to hospital where he was put in a medically induced coma for one month at Swedish Burn and Reconstructive Unit in Colorado.

Hours of surgery kept him alive and preserved part of his nose. Blood from lee's arm now feeds his nose and doctors may one day use what's left of his nose to reconstruct a new one on his face.

He spent three months having long, complicated surgeries, including one which lasted for 24 hours. Much of lee's current face was produced through delicate procedures using skin grafts from his right leg. Bones in lee's face were partially constructed with leg bone and he has many metal plates and screws in his head.

It took a dedicated team of pioneering doctors in Colorado three months of long, complicated surgeries, including one which lasted for 24 hours, to save lee.

Lee then spent 2 months in rehab exercising, learning how to eat again and overcoming physiological trauma.

According to surgeon Lily Daniali told Fox, "We didn't just fix his body, we really wanted to make sure that he recovered mentally," Brooke can no longer control tears. A good portion of his face is gone. He depends on a tracheal tube to tell his story.

"I should've bled to death right there," he told friends who've helped pay for his medical bills.