Friday, February 20, 2015

When A Part Makes You Whole


Suzanne Verma helps patient Billy Crawford try on and adjust his facial prosthetic. The device is mostly silicone but includes realistic eyebrows and a mustache. It was specially designed to replace tissue Crawford lost due to a devastating infection.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY BAYLOR COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY

8 comments:

Grace said...

This was pretty awesome, yet gross. I liked the fact that the people came up with a way to make sure that people with defects, malformed, or missing skin looked, I guess normal. The picture at the top was pretty darn creepy. But when you have prosthetic body parts, I guess it does always look kinda weird. If I had a skin infection, which I don't, so don't worry, :), I would be really interested into getting this done for me because I wouldn't want to be known as the girl with the missing skin. I liked this article because it addressed an issue that is pretty important if not as major. I liked the fact that Dr. Suzanne Verma worked so hard to try to get this done because it really is an amazing accomplishment. Some people have minor skin issues and some people have worse skin issues, but it would work to pretty much any extent of damage. It was cool how they got the man's skin color and texture pretty much 100% correct because it would take a while to recreate skin, especially if you are missing skin and they need a "sample" to make the fake stuff. I would like more links on the blog like this because this is a really interesting topic and I really hope to learn more about this kind of stuff.

Jenna said...

I thought this was a very touching story, literally. Not only was it sad to see a man with a fake face, but it was nice what Verma did for him. I find some of the technique sad. I don't like that they have to implant metal rods in the humans bones and make them heal onto them. I would rather have less of a face then have to heal with rods and metals on me. I do think that if I was injured I would say the opposite.

Owen said...

I knew that people made prosthetic limbs - like arms and legs - but I didn't know that people made prosthetic faces. I think that this is an important issue, that is, not feeling whole and having a way of physically addressing it. Using a 3D printer to print out replicas of the missing tissue or body part is fascinating to me. I feel like I have a better understanding of this topic now that I have read this article.

Celene A. said...

I find this very interesting, yet a bit disturbing. It's pretty cool how people came with a way to help people with skin problems make their skin look more normal. I could definitely see why someone with skin problems would want to get this done. So basically, I think it's a very good thing that this article adressed an issue that is important to many people. Luckily, there is a good way to fix it.

James G. said...

I think that this story was great. Helping somebody regain their self-esteem after an accident like that is hard, but it can really change their life for the better. Being able to create whole faces is very cool and allows use to explore more of the world of prosthetic limbs and body-parts

Lily S. said...

I loved this article. It was very nice to know that people who have something wrong with their skin can get it fixed. Some people don't want to live with skin disorders. This is why I think people making parts of a face with machines is so important. I like that the doctors are very passionate about this because it is are really nice thing to do.

Ella said...

I agree with Jenna. This was a very touching article. It is very cool that someone that has been physically scared can redeem their self confidence by this fake face. It does happen to many people, so Verma was very smart and caring to come up with something like this. I personally don't think it exactly matches someones skin color. This article was on of my favorite articles.

Brandon Y. said...

I agree with Lily on the fact that the people with skin disorders can get it fixed. I think that it is intriguing that a person can get a facial prosthetic and if they wait long enough, their facial structure and skin will reassemble. Also I thought that I would share a few links with you:

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131108-the-future-of-prosthetics-3d-printed-nose-ear-and-eye.html

http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/141127/srep06973/full/srep06973.html

http://www.enttoday.org/article/facial-prosthetics-an-evolving-field/