Prosthetic Ear Maker

If you make an ear for a patient and for whatever reason he doesn't like it, do you have to make a new one?

Asked by AZwunda over 12 years ago

Well, I usually refuse to send a patient home without the both of us being satisfied with the result. However, sometimes depending on the deformity, I cannot construct the ear as "perfectly" as I would like to. Some patients are understanding about this, some are not. If they are not satisfied for other reasons (maybe the color doesn't match perfectly, it doesn't fit as tightly/securely as they would like it, or maybe they want just a slight part of the actual ear adjusted) then yes, I will redo it in most cases when they are unsatisfied.

First of all, what a noble profession...you must derive a lot of satisfaction from what you do. How did you end up in prosthetics? Did you start out as an artist and transition into it?

Asked by feedthebirds over 12 years ago

Thank you! Yes, there really are no words to describe how rewarding this job is. I ended up in this profession by chance, I had never even heard of it before. I studied scientific art in college, and during this time I happened upon a television show where this profession was featured. It takes a certain type of artist to achieve the desired result - a perfectionist. Ultimately, the goal is to make the prosthesis virtually undetectable to others.

What type of patient have you not worked on yet, but would like to? Maybe a part of the face you haven't dealt with yet?

Asked by lyleZ over 12 years ago

I have not constructed a prosthetic nose besides the ones I have made at workshops. I'd love to though! The majority of my work is ears.

Ever pull any pranks with fake ears?

Asked by Greggles over 12 years ago

Ha! Actually yes.........as a matter of fact, some of my patients have the type of sense of humor and security where they will pull it off to freak people out. As for me, I put one on someone's dinner plate once. Can't say that wasn't enjoyable........ :)

Are these ears purely cosmetic, or do they actually aid hearing?

Asked by JT over 12 years ago

Great question! 1 in about 5000 children are born with a microtia, which is a small, deformed ear. Occasionally, they are born with absolutely no ear(s). Most of these patients do not have an ear canal. Usually, a BAHA (bone-anchored hearing aid) is surgically implanted when this is the case. However, in situations when there is indeed an ear canal (most often in the trauma, accident, and burn cases), the ear actually does aid hearing to a certain extent. Imagine a megaphone that helps project sound. Essentially, the prostheses would be considered purely cosmetic for someone born without an ear and ear canal.

What a unique talent! Does health insurance cover prosthetics? It sounds expensive and extremely time consuming.

Asked by janetPHI over 12 years ago

Thank you! Insurance coverage is very tricky. Trauma patients usually don't have a problem with coverage, depending on their insurance. Patients with birth defects usually have the most problem getting coverage, we often have to file repeatedly. Medicaid patients are by far the biggest problem. Sometimes they are refused coverage, and the times that they are "covered", we only receive about a third of what the prosthesis costs. You got that right, it's EXTREMELY time consuming, but that comes with the territory.

What's your professional opinion of what Michael Jackson had done to his face that resulted in him looking the way he did?

Asked by mrburns over 12 years ago

Well it seems pretty obvious that he was highly addicted to plastic surgery. What most people don't know is that he suffered from a condition called vitiligo, a skin disorder characterized by smooth, white patches on various parts of the body, caused by the loss of the natural pigment. When his symptoms appeared, he bleached his skin. I'm sure this was just another result of his addiction and someone seeking "perfection" in their vanity.

How long does it take to make an ear? Are we talking a day, a week, a month...

Asked by yellowmellow over 12 years ago

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.

Do disfigured faces even faze you anymore?

Asked by elephantman over 12 years ago

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.

What patients are the worst to deal with?

Asked by jillybeans over 12 years ago

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.

Is it the patient, a doctor, a hospital, or some other organization that enlists your services?

Asked by crazyfantastic over 12 years ago

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.

What training or classes did you need?

Asked by Maximilian over 12 years ago

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.

What was the freakiest facial deformity you ever dealt with? Details please!

Asked by nathanb777 over 12 years ago

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.

Why does fire have such a damaging effect on the skin? Like, burn victims are often disfigured for life. Is science making progress in treating them?

Asked by mrburns over 12 years ago

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.

Are there certain ethnicities that tend to have congenital birth defects more often than others?

Asked by socio-joe over 12 years ago

Yes. Statistically, people of Hispanic descent have the highest chance of being born with a microtia - a small, deformed ear. Those are actually the majority of patients that I see, being that I work in a hospital in a predominantly Hispanic area.

Can a patient wear earrings with a prosthetic ear?

Asked by jolieNYC over 12 years ago

Yes! The ears are made with medical grade silicone, so it's soft and pliable. Not only can they wear earrings, they can "pierce" their own ears wherever they like. Cool, huh?

Can these prosthetics stay intact even in harsh weather conditions? Can hard rain ruin them? Can strong winds knock them out of place??

Asked by Lindz over 12 years ago

They often don't stay intact in harsh weather conditions because the prostheses are very delicate. Hard rain would ruin it over time. If the prosthesis is very secure, the wind won't affect it. Coincidentally....combine hard rain and strong winds, and what do you get? A hurricane. I had a patient who lives in the Dominican Republic who got caught in a hurricane, swam through it to save a friend's life while holding the ear in his mouth. He didn't lose it, but it was ruined and I had to make him a new one.

What was the biggest mistake you ever made with a patient? Like, did you ever bring the wrong ear to an appointment, or make a left ear when you were suppose to make a right?

Asked by jolieNYC over 12 years ago

No, nothing like that (which would have been mildly hilarious). I'd say the biggest mistake I've ever made was purchasing the wrong sized hardware once -which I didn't figure out till months later. LESSON LEARNED!!

With your experience can you spot plastic surgery 100% of the time? Or is the best work invisible to even the trained eye?

Asked by mrburns over 12 years ago

Plastic surgery, or do you mean the prosthesis itself? If you are referring to burn victims, yes, it's can normally still be spotted depending on the severity and location. As for a prosthesis for any missing part, the goal is to make the ear undetectable depending on the deformity and proximity of the onlooker.

Have you ever made fake body parts for movie sets, special effects, etc? Seems like you'd be a horror film producer's dream.

Asked by sickbaker over 12 years ago

No, I haven't. Prosthetic make-up is a major skill in itself, one that I haven't learned yet. Some prosthetists like myself do make them for movies occasionally. My mentor aided in Fat Bastard's costume from "Austin Powers", and even for Tom Cruise in "Interview with the Vampire", so I got a lot of insight from learning about his experiences. I had 2 choices : 1. spend 40 hours of work for a scene in a movie that will be shot for 5 seconds or 2: spend 40 hours making a prosthesis with a genuine purpose. I chose the latter. :)

If you had to pick one, what's been your most gratifying patient experience?

Asked by jillybeans over 12 years ago

Just one? That's very hard to choose, every last one is gratifying. If I had to choose one, it would be the patient I mentioned in a previous question. He had lost half of his face to cancer, and the result was completely undetectable. Ok ok.....I have to choose one more. An 8 year old patient of mine recently gave me a card telling me I had changed his life. TEAR JERKER!

I saw this dude on "Ripley's Believe It or Not" that could detach his nose from his face. How is that even possible? Wouldn't he bleed to death?

Asked by Broseph718 over 12 years ago

Detach his nose from his face??? This I have to see! It had to be a prosthesis. When he pulled it off, were there surgical implants in his skull? If so, it was just a prosthesis.

How many years off do you think we are from full face transplants that DON'T look like someone turned the thermostat up too high in a wax museum?

Asked by nik_cage over 12 years ago

If I had to guess, I'd say 5-6 years. Considering "half" face transplants have been successful, I can't imagine that full face transplants won't evolve very quickly. This is only my assumption. BUT, a prosthesis can also be made for a full face.

Do you have your own practice or do you work for a group of prosthetic makers? Also, do you travel to hospitals out of state or do your patients have to come to your office?

Asked by atlcuz over 12 years ago

I don't own my own practice at the moment. I mainly work in a hospital with a craniofacial team, which includes all the doctors necessary in treating birth defects that are "above the shoulders". We have a separate team filled with audiologists, 2-3 surgeons and myself just for ear patients. I haven't done much traveling for patients, they come to the hospital for their prosthesis to be made.

When a patient gets a new ear and goes out in public, is it easy for people to tell it's a prosthetic?

Asked by zzzZackzzz over 12 years ago

Well if is made correctly, no! It's not easy to detect it. If one were to stare at it intently from a foot away, it may be slightly detectable due to the edges that blend into the skin in the front. Otherwise, someone standing a comfortable distance from you would have no idea. When it comes to a passing on the street or what have you, then it is most definitely not detectable.

can i have my doctor send out to have a prosthetic ear made

Asked by james stokley over 11 years ago

Not exactly clear on what you mean about your doctor "sending out," but I'll give it a whirl.  I work with maxillofacial surgeons (they operate in and around the mouth and jaw, including the areas of the skull where implants for a prosthesis need to be placed) prosthodontists, as well as plastic surgeons. They either aid in the surgery component of implants and/or operate on the deformed ear or skin tags. The plastic surgeons also provide an alternate route when it comes to a missing ear, which is a reconstructive surgery that uses rib and skin grafts to construct an ear. I'm not sure if this answers your question, but I've also had a few patients simply referred to me by plastic surgeons I wasn't even familiar with who thought their trauma patient would benefit most by getting a prosthetic ear. 

Why does the phantom limb thing happen?

Asked by UUDDABAB over 11 years ago

This is an MD question. :)

Can your body reject a prosthetic in the same way that it can reject a transplant?

Asked by Mango over 11 years ago

Well, yes. But not in the same type of way a transplant would be rejected.  Titanium screws are surgically implanted in the skull for retention purposes. Hardware is attached to the prosthetic ear (either magnets or clips). This is how the ear connects to the head. Unfortunately, it is common for the implants (in the skull) to be rejected.  In that case, it is removed and another implant may be placed elsewhere. Sometimes, surgeons put in an extra implant in anticipation of one of them rejecting, so there will still be enough surviving implants that the ear will attach securely.

My teenage son got a prosthetic hand a year ago, but has been clinically depressed since his accident. Are there any books or techniques you recommend to help amputees regain their self-confidence?

Asked by Katebaylor over 11 years ago

That's a very hard situation to be thrown in to. One day you're going about your business, and the next minute, your life will never be the same.

The key to the recovery from depression of this sort is acceptance.

I can only contribute my own personal story.

I once had a patient who was a truck driver, who came to me after he fell asleep at the wheel, over-turned his truck, and lost his ear. They attempted to reattach it, but it rejected itself. He came to me angry, bitter, resentful, impatient...you name it.  Understandble, no? He felt it wasn't fair, the "why me's" were endless, and he wanted his prosthetic ear yesterday.  I did my best, but between his workers comp and lawyers it was a mess. While I understood his frustration, it was over-the-top and distracting. Finally, one day I disclosed my own story, of my own issues with confidence and a "deformity" I dealt with in my teenage years (a crooked, broken nose that should have been corrected years earlier had I known how often it had been broken).  His attitude changed immediately. He realized I could empathize, and that eventually, things were going to be ok.

Fast forward a few months, when we have finally gotten towards the finish line. I was asked by a reporter to be in a pretty hefty article about myself and my work for a major newspaper in the area. They also wanted this particular patient to be a part of it. At first, he almost refused. He didn't want his "neighbors/peers" to know the truth about his ear.  Eventually, he reluctantly accepted.

Fast forward several years. My patient needed a touch-up on color, so we met for an appointment. When he left, he told me he'd constructed a shrine with 2 parts. One with photos of his deceased mother and some relics, the other with our newspaper article. :)

I am interested in getting a prosthetic adhesive ear made for my right ear (born with microtia). Do you service South Jersey? Or can you recommend someone in the Philadelphia/DE/South Jersey area?

Asked by RP82 over 10 years ago

I service anywhere in or around Jersey. Please contact me for details. Robinhajdu24@gmail.com

How much would it cost my son to have a prosthetic ear? He was born with one ear but it can hear. He just want to have a prosthetic to avoid bullies,

Asked by Joan almost 11 years ago

This depends on whether your insurance will cover it. If not, it would cost approx $3-5000 out-of-pocket. Depending on the medical necessity for the ear, it may not be covered if he can hear out of that ear. They would deem it "cosmetic"... (Yes, this makes me angry) If this happens, it is up to the prosthetist how much it will cost. 

I loss a part of my left ear; do you do partial prosthetic?

Asked by Lindon over 10 years ago

Yes, I can do a partial prosthesis. Contact me if you'd like. robinhajdu24@gmail.com

How much does it cost? For a right ear , I'm a 39 year old male

Asked by Jason over 9 years ago

Our price for a prosthetic ear is $6500. However, most insurance companies cover it under DME (durable medical equipment). Depending on your co -insurance, deductible, and various other factors, with insurance your prosthesis would most likely be covered at 80%.

Where are you located?

Asked by Bill VanCleave over 9 years ago

Naples, Florida. I currently work for a clinic called the Center for Custom Prosthetics. www.bestprosthetics.com

I am from India. I have already undergone the titanium implant surgery. I have a doubt. Without Visiting your office whether it is possible to make a prosthetic ear for me?

Asked by Antony almost 10 years ago

No, visits are required.

Good day I am born without a right ear can you please provide me with info on where you are and price my email maree.elrize@gmail.com

Asked by Elrize Maree about 8 years ago

Hi I'm 52 years old and I was born with microcia on my left ear.When I was 7 years old I had rib graft reconstruction on the affected ear?Would I need to have the ear removed to be considered for a ear prosthetic?

Asked by Floyd53 over 8 years ago

how does your ear work

Asked by kenaisa about 8 years ago

Hi there my partner is 30 years of age and has a terribly made artificial ear how much do you charge please

Asked by Tammib over 7 years ago

My brother just lost his external ear from an accident,now I want an ear prosthesis for him can you help him??.he is still admitted in Worcester hospital where he is treated for his injuries.my email is:hnndamase@gmail.com

Asked by HOMBAKAZI about 8 years ago

How to contact you?

Asked by Pravin over 6 years ago

Hey, do these prosthetic ears work like an ordinary auricle? As in, do they aid hearing?

Asked by Flubb over 8 years ago

how to make a mould for right ear from available rigt ear

Asked by mridul over 6 years ago