rh24
10 Years Experience
Naples, FL
Female, 34
I am also referred to as an Anaplastologist or Maxillofacial Prosthetist. I make prosthetic facial anatomy for people who need it due to congenital birth defects, trauma (burns, accidents, etc), and cancer. Essentially, I'm an artist who works in medicine. Ask me anything!
That varies for every situation. If I had an appointment with the same patient throughout the whole week and everything went flawlessly, it could be done that quickly. Most often though, this does not happen. One patient may be able to come twice a week, some every other week. The difficulty of the case also plays a huge factor. I would say the average patient takes 1-2 months depending on the appointment schedule and the difficulty of the case.
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Physically, it does not faze me in the slightest. I've seen things that would give most people nightmares. However, I still struggle with the emotional aspect, being able to separate the work from the compassion. It's nearly impossible not to feel for them.
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That's easy. Trauma patients. More often than not, they are angry and bitter about what has happened to them. These people have to suddenly face the fact that they are now facially derformed. In many cases, their attitude changes significantly throughout the process of making the ear. They feel their sense of normalcy restored. My favorite type of trauma patients are the ones who are simply happy to have survived whatever they have gone through. Also, kids with the congenital birth defect are almost always more positive about their situation because not having an ear is all they know, as opposed to suddenly losing an ear.
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All of the above. There have been patients that have found me online that have come to me. I have been referred by plastic surgeons and some oral surgeons. Hospitals that do not provide my services will also be referred to me. Some charities also come to me for pro-bono work. Ultimately, most of my patients come from the hospital that I take my appointments at. The doctors there are the ones who perform the necessary surgeries that my patients need before I step in to make the prosthesis.
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Dry Cleaner
What happens to clothing at dry cleaners that goes unclaimed?
Dry Cleaner
Why don't more dry cleaners stay open late?
Cruise Ship Officer
Is the "women and children first" rule still in effect?
I concentrated more on anatomy for my last year of undergrad, considering my major was scientific art. For my college thesis exhibition, I learned the whole process by reading a book about facial prosthetics. After graduation, I took a few workshops with my mentor where I learned much more updated techniques....and the rest is history.
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Prepare yourself! During a workshop, I aided in the making of an elderly cancer patient's prosthesis. His tumors had become so severe that half of his face had to be removed. The most alarming part was the gaping hole in his cheek where you could literally watch his tongue as he swallowed.
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Well the tissues in all layers of the skin are dead, and skin nerves are highly damaged in 3rd degree burns. Damage to skin nerves can mean the skin becomes over time quite painless. The burned skin lacks sensation to touch once completely healed. The skin is also not nearly as flexible as normal. As far as I know, skin grafts and plastic surgery have done wonders for burn victims and new techniques have evolved for much better cosmetic results.
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