Anatomy and Art

Well, it’s been a working weekend, and most of that work has gone towards my animation on orthagnathic surgery.  Yesterday I got my surgical plates and screws mostly together, though they could still use a few tweaks to get out the faceting, and there is one angle in the chin plate that I would still like to soften.  But mostly, this is what I’m going for.

And then today I finished my re-write on the script.  I’d still like to warn patients about the breathing tube and catheter, but it just doesn’t sink up with the animation visually or in terms of the type of information being given.  I’m hoping that I will have time to create some kind of Know Before You Go page that can be included in the dvd, or even printed out and given to patients with the animation disk.  Anyway, here is the script as it currently stands.  I think it works.

Today I was sent a link to a Portuguese medical animation company called Biosphera that has created an animation about the same procedure I have been studying lately.  This one shows the bilateral sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible.  I’ve linked to it here if you care to take a look.

http://www.biosphera.com.br/e-retrognathism.asp

In mine, I was planning to have less emphasis on the tools, more emphasis on the artery and nerve, and I also intend to include an osseous genioplasty procedure because the two are often done together in the same surgery.  For those of you reading this who don’t speak medical jargon, I’m basically talking about a surgery that lengthens the jaw, bringing the lower teeth forward, and then in a second procedure to bring out the chin.  I’m looking to do this as a take home DVD for patients and their families prior to surgery.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed to realize that there are already other animations out here on this topic.  When I’d started this process I was under the impression that there just weren’t any.  But at the same time, it’s always fun to see how other people have handled the same topics.  Here is another one I found on YouTube that covers a different facial adjustment procedure but includes the osseous  genioplasty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h0wG1rKPSY

All in all, I’m  glad that I didn’t find these other examples earlier.  This way I’ve had more time to think about my own solutions to presenting the information in the most accessible way possible.  For instance, my version is already scripted to include narration, and I’m happy with that choice.  I’m actually hoping to translate that narration into Spanish as well for more widely accessible final DVD.  I’ve been getting some advice against attempting the dual-language feature this week, but I have to say, I’ve been really attached to the idea ever since thinking of it.  Everywhere I’ve ever lived has had a significant Spanish speaking population, and while I’ve never truly been fluent myself, it just feels right to make the effort for this.

Well, I’m sure I’ll be writing more about this later.  There is just so much to think about when making decisions about the level of detail to include for patients, finding the right level between showing something gory and showing something completely whitewashed, emphasizing risk without being too scary, emphasizing the benefits of surgery without implying a guarantee, and then there’s just making it all look good.  You’re all in it with me now, readers.  Let’s make an animation!