Piercing for the silicone ear: How an epithetist helps the disabled

The shock is deep when a person is missing parts of their face or neck after an accident or cancer.

This is not only a stroke of fate for the person concerned, but also for relatives and friends.

As a person affected, you feel disfigured and no longer socially acceptable, which can weigh heavily on your psyche.

“Fortunately, there are now epitheses that make it easier for patients to get back into everyday life.

You not only give the patient back a piece of joie de vivre, but also quality of life, since you can leave the house to go shopping again without having to have giant band-aids on your face, or when you get off the bus and not just by everyone is stared at,” says Laura Boldo, co-owner of the Institute for Epithetics in Amden am Walensee.

She grew up in the canton of St. Gallen, where she did an apprenticeship as a dental technician after completing secondary school and had the desire to continue learning.

They combine art and medicine

When you enter the main room of the institute, the turquoise-bluish Lake Walen shines out, which is bordered on the north side by the steeply rising Churfirsten, reminiscent of a Norwegian fjord.

“Being able to work in a place like this makes the work twice as good.

And it's ideal here for the patients and their families," says the 26-year-old.

Above all, she is fascinated by the diversity in everyday working life.

Epithets combine art and medicine.

Medical knowledge is required for the anamnesis and to accompany the patient during the surgical insertion of the implants, which consist of magnets.

With the help of the inserted implants, the epitheses are magnetically attached to the face.

This method allows for easy removal for cleaning.

The epitheses are small works of art in the truest sense of the word.

"When the patient comes to us, he usually comes early in the morning, around nine o'clock.

Then there is first an impression, similar to that at the dentist, only in this case on the face, on the defective area.

Then we make a plaster model and on this we can then model a wax mold that you can try on.”

Often patients come with relatives who will help them determine the shape, how it used to look like.

If the facial part is missing from birth, they usually bring pictures of celebrities who are their role models.

Only anatomical requirements such as a standing bridge of the nose would have to be taken into account, otherwise the patient can decide for himself how he would like it to be.

After finding the right mold, a counter mold is made and the wax is expelled, leaving a hollow mold that is layered with colored silicone.

This is polymerized in the sterilizer, and the finished epithesis comes out.

Washable and not long lasting

It can be edited by sanding or adjusting details.

In the evening, the patient can go home with the finished epithesis.

Of course, it can happen that patients are dissatisfied, mostly how people deal with their stroke of fate plays a role.

Some could not yet accept that they had experienced something like this at all.

Then it is difficult to cope with an epithesis, which is ultimately a spare part.

"You can then make such a beautiful epithesis, but that won't help the patient either, because they first have to get used to the situation and everyday life," observes Laura Boldo.

Epistheses are washable and don't last long, which is why invalidity insurance entitles patients to a new episthesis every two years.

The silicone is soft, flexible, dyeable and skin-like.

At some point it becomes brittle and absorbs sweat, resulting in small lint.

Therefore, the epitheses have to be renewed, this is the only way to ensure hygiene.

Otherwise, they can be integrated into everyday life, you can wear them for any activity and apply make-up and piercing like normal face parts.

A piercing for the silicone ear is feasible.

In the event of an intolerance, which rarely occurs, you can switch to silicone with other ingredients.

There are also institutes in Magdeburg, Celle and Regensburg.

Laura Boldo's open nature helps.

“We accompany most patients over several years, some since childhood, so you get to know them better over time.

You tell yourself what's going on in life right now.

So it makes you happy to hear when a patient has found a partner or is expecting their first child." But there is also the other side, the negative news. "The cancer is back," says Laura Boldo: "Such discussions take place one with you in everyday life.

But it is precisely this constant exchange that leads to a stronger bond between the patients and us.”