British pop star George Michael has decided against undergoing treatment to disguise a scar he bears from a tracheotomy last year (11) because it reminds him he is "lucky to be alive" after battling pneumonia.
The Faith hitmaker was hospitalised in Vienna, Austria at the end of November (11) after he was diagnosed with the killer lung infection.
He spent four weeks under doctors' care, and underwent a tracheotomy, an incision on the neck to aid breathing, before returning home in time for the Christmas holidays.
Michael, who revealed earlier this year (12) the scar was "healing nicely", admits he considered undergoing a treatment to disguise the mark, but he now wants to live with it as a reminder of his health battle.
He tells Britain's Gaydar radio, "I don't think it changes you as a person. I have a tracheotomy scar... and it really bothered me for a while. I was thinking well maybe I should get something done about it. I know you can have scar treatment.
"But then I thought when I was looking in the mirror a couple of weeks ago that it does actually remind me every time I look at it that I'm lucky to be alive so I've decided to keep it."