Re establishing facial esthetics of a burns’ patient using maxillofacial prosthetics

Purpose: The case report highlights the fabrication of an auricular and ocular prostheses of a burns' patient establishing it as a primary treatment modality in similar cases. Method: After thorough case history, an auricular and an ocular prostheses were planned for the patient. Conventional impression making with a few alterations were undertaken. Wax patterns were fabricated with the help of indexing from the contralateral auricle and eye respectively. After a thorough try-in the patterns were processed in RTV silicone and heat cure acrylic respectively. The prostheses were delivered and the patient was recalled periodically. Result: The rehabilitation of the patient using the auricular and ocular prostheses respectively resulted in considerable improvement in the esthetics of the patient. Conclusion: Patients with a history of thermal injury often undergo severe disfigurement of the face. Even with advancements in plastic surgery the contracture of the skin and underlying connective tissue renders it inadequate for optimal esthetics. In such cases maxillofacial prosthetics can play a primary role in facial rehabilitation. Such prostheses result in increase in the patients' confidence and ease in resocialization resulting in improvement in their quality of life.