Positive update from Kim Glass ... the former Olympic volleyball star got 40 stitches removed from her eye -- less than a week after it was gashed by an object thrown by a man in a brazen attack in Los Angeles.
The 37-year-old shared the news in a video on her Instagram page Wednesday evening -- showing Beverly Hills doctor Kam Rezzadeh removing the sutures from her face in a delicate procedure.
"It was definitely down to your bone," the doc told her as he worked on her face. "But you're healing."
"One thing I've noticed with my patients is that when they're optimistic, it plays a huge part in the healing process."
Following the removal of the stitches, Glass went to Dr. Nicole Garrett in L.A. to use a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to get some of the swelling down -- and the former outside hitter said it worked marvelously.
"I just got out of the hyperbaric chamber ... this is the most I've ever been able to open eye."
"This is crazy," she added. "Like my eye is literally so much more open than before and this is my first session. I'm blown away!"
As we previously reported, Glass said a homeless man threw a metal object at her after she had finished eating with a friend in Downtown L.A. last Friday. She said she suffered multiple facial fractures and cuts in the incident.
Benson Parks, a good Samaritan, captured the aftermath of the attack on video while he held down the suspect ... showing puddles of blood on the sidewalk.
Semeon Tesfamarian -- who, according to prosecutors, has a history of using weapons to attack people at random -- was arrested for the attack ... and later charged with a felony.
Prosecutors say he's facing up to 11 years in prison if convicted.