"Holy crap, that’s what I used to look like!" – David Karlinsky, cancer survivor
Richard’s dad was diagnosed with cancer in 1992. After years of recurrence and surgeries, he was left without an eye, cheek, or right nostril. He was forced to cover his face in bandages and tape, which made him not even feel like a human being anymore. Tired of the stares and sarcastic questions from strangers, David fell into a deep depression. About a decade ago, he was finally able to receive a prosthesis to replace his bandages and make his face look whole again and in many ways, give him back his identity, dignity, confidence, and life.
We’re talking with David and his anaplastologists, Julie Brown and Megan Thomas. Julie and Megan molded, sculpted, and painted David’s prosthesis in a world where many patients and healthcare providers do not even know of the option.
Megan Thomas is a certified clinical anaplastologist living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Anaplastology has allowed Megan to combine her interests in art, medicine, and patient care. As an anaplastologist, art is a part of every day of work as she designs and fabricates custom-made lifelike silicone prostheses for patients who are missing anatomy due to disease progression, traumatic injury, or birth difference. Sculpting, mold-making, and color matching are just a few of the artistic skills that go into each prosthesis.
Julie Brown is a certified clinical anaplastologist who has created hundreds of custom ear, nose eye, hand, and foot prostheses. She is the founder of Medical Art Resources- a specialty anaplastology practice devoted to creating lifelike prostheses. She earned a master's degree from the University of Illinois Chicago in Biomedical Visualization that prepared her for this career path.
Medical Art Resources works with patients who are missing part of the face or body due to cancer surgery, traumatic injury, or birth difference, to create life-like silicone prosthetics. Their services include ear, eye and eyelids, and nose prostheses, as well as prosthetic fingers and hands, toes, and nipples. To do so, they sculpt a prototype for the prosthesis and create individualized color formulae. The process requires attention to every detail of human anatomy and the artistic skills to replicate what is absent.
Connect with Julie and Megan:
@everydetailmatters
www.medicalartresources.com
@MedicalArtResources