Patient Stories

Alvin B. Texas's Story

On February 15, 2004, I was in an automobile with my cousin. I was the passenger and had fallen asleep at the time the driver lost control of the vehicle. The accident happened in East Texas where I had been attending two funerals on the day before. I was thrown out of the vehicle through some small trees and one of the limbs snatched my right ear off. I was transported to a local hospital which is not advanced enough to do that type of surgery. Therefore, I ended up being transported on a second journey to Tyler, Texas. They brought a doctor in to do a surgery that would involve re-attachment of my ear.

The surgery went okay, but when the ear is completely gone you cannot get the same physical look just within one procedure. This surgery was simply to attach the ear to my head the best they could. It required a lot of healing time. Then during a second surgery the surgeon would cut behind the ear and elevate it away from my head. This required another healing process to see what the outcome would look like.

Turns out, it just looked like a cauliflower ear that some wrestlers have due to wear and tear from competing in that sport. By this time, I had been wearing a patch over my ear for just under two years. After discovering what the physical outcome was, I ended up going to three different doctors to figure out what I should do. The first and second doctors were to discuss the possibility of reconstructing the ear surgically by removing and using cartilage from one of my ribs. In discussing it with the second doctor he saw that I was wearing a patch over my ear and therefore knew that I was particular about my appearance. This is the point where I was referred to Mr. Greg Gion, MMS, CCA and Ms. Allison Vest. Once visiting Medical Art Prosthetics, I knew this was the route that I wanted to go because of physical appearance. Mr. Gion and Ms. Vest have been very helpful and professional since day one with explaining my options with the prosthetic ear. I was also referred to Dr. Douglas Sinn by Mr. Gion who is one of the best doctors with doing the surgical procedure with the implants for the prosthetic ear. I have been to five doctors from start to finish, but once reaching Medical Art Prosthetics the end result happened quickly. Needless to say, I am very happy and pleased about my physical appearance with the prosthetic ear.

-Alvin Bell

Buzz B.'s Story

South Carolina

I just wanted to let you know that my first week with the ear prosthetic has been wonderful! The fit and look is flawless! My morning routine only takes a few minutes, But the real positive result is in the freedom it gives me, I no longer have to be concerned about where I sit in a restaurant, I no longer worry about first impressions meeting new friends and clients. Working with you was such a pleasure, I felt a real sense of collaboration, you are a true artist, and a most appreciated perfectionist. Please feel free to give anyone my email if they have any questions. Thank you for all you do!      -Buzz B.

Buzz had microtia and had autologous ear reconstruction many years ago. He lived with the large poorly defined construct for many years until he decided to come up from South Carolina to have his ear prosthesis made in 2016. Buzz came back 5 years later to have it retinted and at the same time get a new duplicate prosthesis. Of course, we kept his mold safely archived as we do hundreds of others to make copies as needed. See that the new duplicate provided in 2021 has the coloration and skin texture to make him feel very confident.

Camille's Story

Trinidad

A Custom Prosthetic Toe to Trinidad!

“Hello…Received the package today.

It is perfect!!!!  My sincerest thank you, this goes beyond just a “toe”, it really does make a difference. I have a question regarding the nail, can i polish it?  Also, what kind of adhesive can I use.

With gratitude and wishing you and your families a Merry and Holy Christmas.

Kind Regards,

“Camille”

Here is how this all happened. Medical Art Prosthetics receives the initial inquiry through the MAP website from a woman, “Camille”, in Trinidad who lost her big toe to a traumatic event. She cannot travel to our Tampa location due to a bad fall and must have her foot appearance restored to feel balanced and normal again. So, we sent off a kit hoping we could get enough accurate information to create her a toe prosthesis with a good fit and satisfactory coloration. We always indicate that coloration is always best when we work directly with our clients in one of our locations across the USA.

After  a few mailings back and forth Camille finally got her durable lifelike silicone toe…without ever leaving her home in Trinidad. And we were very happy with the coloration achieved by using the custom color swatches that we send to the patient. Camille also gets a lot of credit for taking excellent color photos of our swatches next to her toes.

The series demonstrates a “Distance Program” to provide our anaplastolgy services worldwide. However, our main goal is to educate patients and physicians about our services and then direct patients to one-on-one treatment with an anaplastologist in one of our USA locations to get the absolute fastest but also the best results. Their is simply no technological substitute for individualized artistically rendered prostheses. We still welcome all opportunities to help in lower extremity rehabilitation.

Gloria G's Story

Arizona

I went in knowing nothing about the process of getting a prosthetic but Maddie explained every detail, showed me why an how she did her magic. She welcomed and showed genuine care with my concerns. She even made sure I can wear earrings and listen to music again. This prosthetic ear is the best I could have asked for! 10 out of 10

Harry's Story

Florida

Our long experience with skin coloration and visual acuity as credentialed artists allows us to deliver strikingly accurate results for clients even working with them through the mail! We appreciate the loyalty of patients who would rather travel back to see us every few years or work with us through the mail rather than trying to find a different service closer to their home.

Wow! Looking at my new prosthesis in the mirror and I cannot believe how it blends with my face. The colors are a perfect match and it fits so well I cannot see where it starts and my actual face ends. And even better, you did this without me having to pay to travel to your office in Madison. As simple as sending you pictures from Florida compared to samples you sent.

Unless you are a person that has lost part of their body, it is impossible to know the feeling of being able to be in public with a replacement that fits and blends so perfect. After the surgery that removed my nose due to sinus cancer, I felt that I would spend the rest of my life either hiding from the public or facing constant stares while living my daily life. I go about a normal life in public without any concerns due to you and your skillful and caring service. And as a bonus it was done long distance. I cannot thank you enough.

-Harry S. after receiving a replacement 2-piece midfacial (magnetic with nare stents)

J.L.'s Story

I partially amputated my left thumb while performing some woodwork using a table saw. It was a truly devastating experience and left me with a great sense of shame and embarrassment, not to mention the excruciating pain. I must say, Medical Art Prosthetics was a true blessing in my life when I needed a lift. The work performed by Allison was truly remarkable and left me with a sense of comfort and confidence. Being a pastor and a college instructor, I could again stand before parishioners and students confidently without shame or embarrassment. Her work was so professional that no one has figured out that I was wearing a prosthesis until I informed them of the fact.

I must admit, without the work of Allison and Medical Art Prosthetics, life would have been quite different for me. Allison performed her job with great care and compassion and I truly felt that I had not only started to heal physically and psychologically, but I had gained a true friend in the process!

Great Work Allison and May God Bless You Richly,

Sincerely,
J. L

Jaleh H.'s Story

Ohio

Jaleh from Ohio sustained her injury many years ago in a lawnmower accident. Her original prosthesis and subsequent replacements were manufactured by a central fabrication company and then delivered through her local limb prosthetics company. In 2011, Jaleh was referred to us by another of our client’s from Ohio. Jaleh’s chief complaint of her previous care was the hardness of the silicone and poor fit which caused discomfort and shortened periods of wear.

Creating the aesthetic hand prosthesis requires at least one test socket to be worn by the patient for a period of time to assess fit. We also used a special soft but durable silicone to assure long-lasting comfortable wear. The area of the clear silicone check socket overlying the metacarpal phalangeal joint was assessed very carefully, shaped with the patient’s feedback, and thinned to accommodate the highly mobile area.

Jeremy's Story

Jeremy

In December of 2006 I was involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident. I had several broken bones and spent two weeks in a coma. The most significant damage was the loss of my nose. Broken bones heal, but this was very permanent. A microvascular surgeon did try to reattach it. However, the attempt was not successful. After getting over the shock of a part of my face being missing, I began to start the process of regaining what was lost. We met with two plastic surgeons and both agreed the damage was too great to repair surgically. My wife began to research other avenues; she came across the web site for Medical Art Prosthetics, and printed off the pictures to show me. When she first told me about it I was very skeptical. Then she showed me the pictures and I could not believe my eyes.

It did seem very strange to have someone make me a nose, but I was willing to look into it. I met with the plastic surgeon one last time hoping his opinion had changed, but still he thought a prosthetic would be best. I asked him for a reference and he said he had seen Mr. Gion’s work and was very impressed. I trusted him and knew the next step was getting in contact with Medical Art Prosthetics. After speaking with Mr. Gion’s partner; clinical anaplastologist Allison Vest, we made the appointment to fly down to Dallas. Our first appointment they showed me the types of product they use and explained the whole process. We decided this was going to be the route we would take. In that same trip we met with Dr. Ellis to talk about getting magnetic implants put in to hold the prosthetic on more secure.

Mr.Gion and Dr. Ellis agreed I was a candidate for the implants. The next trip was to make the impression. He also made a wax nose to give me some idea of what it would look like. That sealed the deal. I was amazed at the wax model; I could not imagine how good the final silicone product would look. As soon as we could we scheduled the surgery to have the implants put in. Recovering from the surgery took about two days. Then we had to wait. It takes three months to let the magnets set in the bone. Right at three months we went down again to finish the process. Dr. Ellis agreed the magnets were secure and Mr. Gion began perfecting the prosthetic. This process took about a week. We spent several hours getting the coloring and shape to be me. Mr. Gion made sure I was 100% satisfied before we flew home. Flying home was a totally different experience; my self confidence had been restored. When we got home it was Christmas time, and my family was beyond words. I have since then gone back to my active life style and I enjoy life again. I am very grateful to Mr. Gion, Ms. Vest and Medical Art Prosthetics for giving me back something no one else could.

Mary J.'s Story

Japan

Woman Receives Custom Prosthetics to Cover Severe Scars

After a traumatic burn left deep scarring a woman traveled from Japan to the USA for customized prosthetics from Medical Art Prosthetics, LLC. The process to create a silicone scar covering was not technically challenging for us, but apparently our patient could not find a prosthetics provider that could offer a prosthetic result in her country. It is not uncommon that unique prosthetic cases are declined by providers. Private practitioners or even large institutions might not have the proper silicones and materials, or they might anticipate encountering technical or artistic challenges they cannot meet. They might be unwilling to assume the risk of creating a dissatisfied patient. Patient expectations are very hard to anticipate and manage in a sensitive way. Many prosthetics facilities focused on revenue generation goals might have the material capability but still decline, instead assigning technicians to projects with greater profit margin. Medical Art Prosthetics welcomes patients who have been frustrated in all these circumstances.

The ultimate solution was a thin lightweight silicone chest covering that was designed to suspend around the patient’s neck. A final strategy was to wear an attractive necklace to cover and conceal the cotton neck string that suspended the prosthesis. The mold was heavy and time intensive to create but produced a durable piece.

The patient left with a simple apron-like cover that was tinted to match the character of the adjacent skin of her neck, breasts, and shoulders. This allowed her to wear more casual dresses and button down blouses as opposed to feeling she always had to wear turtleneck style clothing.

Neita G.'s Story

Missouri

After discovering that Dr. Burget in Chicago did not accept Medicare, I accepted his recommendation to see Dr. Fred Menick in Tucson. In June, I had the first surgery: replacing the floor of the nostril–usually not necessary when the basal cell is on the nostril itself. Anyway, then, I got an amazing pedicle along with the new nostril. That was in July and when I retuned to get the pedicle removed, there had been an infection that delayed its removal for several weeks. I have not had four surgeries and will return in March for the finishing-up one: restoring my smile line on that side, thinning the nostril and shaping up the alar.

Both he and Dr. Burget were impressed with my prosthesis, and both told me the outcome would not be that good. That is true, but it is quite a relief not to have to think about adhesives, etc. Both asked for your contact information.

I am attaching some photos–of the pedicle and of how I look now.

Thanks for taking care of me for nine years.

Neita G.

Penny's Story

Read more of Penny’s Story on cosmopolitan.com

The last piece of the puzzle to putting humpy dumpty back together again were my fingers. Pam had found a medical artist on the internet named Greg Gion, MMS, CCA. Jeff took me there on a hot summer day, we were set to meet our friends at the pool of our summer club afterwards.

Greg greeted us in his satellite office some 25 miles away. I was wisp thin still but beginning to look more human than skeletal, I was wearing white jeans a black tshirt and a giant black straw hat over my long wig. He seemed mildly surprised by the sight of me. I might have looked more glamorous than I felt. Who knows, I was inwardly curious what kind of people Greg meets in his profession of reconstructing fingers and ears. Greg is lovely, a true artist with big green sensitive eyes and longish brown hair.

As is Greg’s style he deftly studied each finger with trancelike intensity. I was sitting there twitching in discomfort. My new prosthetic hurt to sit in and the jeans were tight against the cast. My right foot was on fire and I had to kick off that shoe minutes turned into hours as we bid Greg goodbye and drove off into the hot sun to meet my friends. Jeff had the top down on his small sports car, I normally love the feel of a convertible and love the feel of the wind in my hair and the sun on my face. I also was eager to see my best friends and lay down on a lawn chair. What should have been a 30 minute ride now turned into a bumper to bumper snail pace of a hot ride, the sun actually severing through my jeans and burning the rubber sleeve on my leg. I actually started to scream and swear and cry, this was actually normal given my circumstances and long overdue but unsettled poor Jeff who had not seen me in such a state and is deeply affected by my moods. 1 hour and 10 minutes later we shakily walked into the pool area and over to my girlfriends. They took one look at me and proceeded to soothe me with their loving empathy and understanding.

Eventually, I got my fingers, the last piece of the puzzle, and they were truly a masterpiece, done with loving precision by the perfectionist, Greg. Since then I have referred Greg to a family that I mentored. Greg is a soft spoken, fair and honest person who is truly in his field to help people in very unfortunate circumstances . His price is less than 1/3 of the few others in that profession but his workmanship is a tour de force. We really respect and appreciate Greg. It’s rare to find someone of his skill and integrity. It™s a shame there are not more of him in the medical field.