Sid Owen has undergone 15 hours of reconstructive surgery after a golf ball smashed into his face, shattering his jaw and knocking out six of his teeth.
Sid Owen
The 48-year-old actor was enjoying a detox holiday in Thailand last month when the ball struck him, leaving him in "total agony".
He told The Sun newspaper: "One minute I'm playing a round and the next I'm in total agony and on my way to hospital.
"But actually I've almost been lucky because they've told me if it had hit me two inches higher up I'd probably be dead from that sort of impact."
Sid was stood on the golf course at Siam Country Club Old Course near Bangkok when a ball ricocheted off a tree and into his face, which broke his jaw and fractured his face.
He recalled: "I remember seeing two teeth fly straight out of my mouth but it turned out to be a fracture in my face and a broken jaw, along with another tooth embedded into my jaw."
The 'EastEnders' star was then taken to hospital for emergency facial surgery, and he underwent 15 hours of agonising treatment.
He continued: "I had to have a bone graft, followed by several rounds of dental surgery because it was too much damage to try to treat it all at once.
"It has just been five weeks of hell, total hell. I came here for a detox to relax, as I have been doing sober for January annually for 20 years, and I was nearly ready to come home when it happened."
Five weeks later, Sid, who has lost almost two stone following the ordeal, is still waiting to return home as he is unable to fly whilst he waits for his brain scan results.
However, his emergency visa is due to run out next week after his original travel visa expired.
He explained: "Five weeks later I'm still here and I need more treatment. The doctors said I wasn't ready to fly, but my visa expired.
"So I will have to go home soon because they will only give me an emergency extension for one more week - which will then mean flying back to have the surgery finished.
"I'm still waiting on some brain scan results but the thought of there being a problem on something like that doesn't even bear thinking about."
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