An Assurance of Specialization in Lifelike Prosthetics
Advanced degrees, certifications, and licensure are generally useful credentials that give some assurance you will receive safe and ethical care from a provider who has demonstrated basic competence in the making and fitting of medical prosthetic devices. In one sense the more credentials the better. But when it comes to creating a lifelike restorative prosthesis credentials by themselves do not actually offer any assurance you will receive a truly effective and successful result. Judging effectiveness in facial, finger, and other lifelike prosthetics is highly subjective. Patients must determine that a provider has committed themselves to the unique technical changes of handling the specialized silicone materials and mastering the artistic processes to create faithful lifelike pieces. This can only be substantiated by seeing and handling sample finished prosthetics and photographs of case results of patients with the same condition.
Anaplastology is like plastic surgery or cosmetic dentistry. It demands painstaking attention to detail, artistic skills, and other intangible strengths of each practitioner. As might be expected in judging an artificial device that attaches to a visible part of the body these prostheses are most highly valued when they mimic the tissue they replace so convincingly that they tend to go unnoticed. This is what makes a prosthesis truly effective.
But there are challenges unique to each discipline within anaplastology, just as you might expect there would be within plastic surgery. Just as you would seek out an oculoplastic (eye) surgeon, facial/cosmetic surgeon, breast reconstructive surgeon or hand surgeon for the unique skill set each surgeon has developed in treating a specific part of the body, so too should you seek out specialists in any prosthetic or anaplastology discipline. For example; the fitting of an enucleated eye socket with a prosthetic eye to achieve maximum accuracy, comfort and motility is completely different than that of fabricating and fitting a durable silicone restoration of the hand. Likewise, the considerations for fabricating breast prostheses are quite different than those involved in creating silicone craniofacial prostheses. All the services just described are considered part of anaplastology .
Certification in anaplastology indicates that an acceptable level of competence in fabricating and providing a sampling of prosthetic devices in a safe manner has been demonstrated through a multiple choice test and a series of finished cases documented through photographs and descriptions. The Board for Certification in Clinical Anaplastology (BCCA) certification program has captured a diverse cross section of individuals involved in prosthetics, ocularistry, medical illustration, and other related fields. Over 40 years our practice trained or supported several anaplastologists through successful CCA certification.
Our mission has been to distinguish facial anaplastology not as an ancillary service, but as a flagship service; a service honed by anaplastologists whose primary focus is facial and lifelike prosthetic restoration.
The FACE seal designates the following
- The center is a stand-alone office or facility that commits over 75% of its business and research activity to the production and provision of extraoral facial prosthetics (orbital, nasal and/or auricular prostheses), with the balance of production dedicated to creating hand, foot, and other aesthetic and functional restorations.
- All patient treatment is performed or overseen by a certified clinical anaplastologist who practices facial prosthetics as their primary specialty.
- Facial anaplastology is comprehensive in scope and includes all phases of prosthetic care including: pre-prosthetic and pre-surgical planning (where indicated and in conjunction with a surgeon), design, fabrication, fitting, delivery and long-term prosthetic management.
- The facility has funded research/education activities to improve facial anaplastology.
- The facility has sponsored and trained an associate through successful certification in clinical anaplastology by the BCCA.
How is Finger/Hand Prosthetics related to Facial Prosthetics?
Somatic prostheses such as finger or partial hand prostheses share very much in common with facial prostheses. Like facial prostheses they are highly visible to the public and are usually fabricated to look very natural. In this regard the successful design, molding and coloring of facial and hand prosthetics rely on the same skill set and sensitivities of the anaplastologist. Facial and finger iconic elements are therefore combined in the FACE seal. The FACE seal also includes the practitioner”™s hand as the final and most important tool in the caring creation and delivery of the prosthesis.