For the past 35 years, we have combined our artistic talent and scientific knowledge with our technical and technological expertise with the sole purpose of placing them at the service of our patients.

We create life-like, customised facial prostheses (also known as epitheses) that naturally blend into the surrounding tissue and are securely held into place. They are so comfortable to wear that our patients quite simply forget they have a prosthesis as they live their day-to-day lives to the full.

Through our research and innovations, we are constantly enhancing the quality of our prostheses and taking up the technological and technical challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s world.

Every patient is unique and treated as such, taking into account his or her specific needs.

Reconstruction using a prosthesis or epithesis is an alternative to reconstructive surgery.

Taken from the Greek ἐπί, EPI (on) θἐσις, THESIS (action of placing), an epithesis is a prosthesis which is placed on top of the skin. It restores a missing or defective part of the face (facial prosthesis/epithesis) or body (somato prosthesis/epithesis). It can be removed, replaces an organ (nose, ear or finger etc.) and protects the cavity.

The fine blending of our artistic and scientific skills have shaped our unique expertise in the field of facial anaplastology.

We can replace the missing section of a face with a life-like prosthesis that blends into the contours of the face. Our prostheses are crafted using silicones that are as soft and supple as natural skin. The best retention methods will determined for each individual patient.

“When I saw the anaplastologist invest such painstaking application, patience and care into my future prosthesis, I began to realise that she might be able to help me and I started to believe in a positive outcome. Little by little, my self-confidence and hope for the future came back to me.”

Excerpt from Simone’s testimonial

Facial prosthesis/epithesis

Our principal fields of expertise cover all facial prostheses for different parts of the face, such as:

• an ear (auricular prosthesis/epithesis)

• a nose (nasal prosthesis/epithesis)

• an eye with eyelids (orbital prosthesis/epithesis)

• a larger region of the face (hemifacial or midfacial prosthesis/epithesis).

However, we are also called on to make somato prostheses/epitheses (fingers, nipples etc.) for special cases.

Anaplastology – the field of prostheses/epitheses

Taken from the Greek -ἀνά, ANA (again, on) -πλαστικός, PLAST (moulding) -λογία, LOGYE (science), Anaplastology is the international term covering the field of epitheses.

When she was newly graduated in medical illustration, Anne-Marie Riedinger went to the United States to study anaplastology. She was the first European to be granted the prestigious title of Certified Clinical Anaplastologist in the USA and the first European to head the International Anaplastology Association.

Her international reputation and outlook inspired her to borrow the term “anaplastology” for her website.

Rebuilding self-image

Our skin envelops us, protects us and acts as an interface with the outside world. Time gradually sculpts our facial skin with lines that express our emotions. Our skin is a reflection of our self-image, which is such a key part of our identity in the eyes of other people.

We create aesthetic, life-like prostheses for patients requiring facial restoration. They are entirely custom-made from soft silicones and colours that reflect the skin’s complexion. They are practical to wear and easy to clean. We pay particular attention to reproducing the texture, complexion and transparency of the skin to perfection in our prostheses.

Each prosthesis becomes part and parcel of our patients’ lives and inspires them with new confidence so that they can live in dignity, work and enjoy leisure activities such as sports.

“As soon as I received my prosthesis, my life changed completely.

I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a completely different person. I had been waiting for this person for a long time, in the hope of becoming like everyone else and having two ears.

I no longer have to hide my disability, I no longer dread people staring at me and making comments, or feel like I’m not normal.”

Excerpts from Didier’s testimonial

Innovation

We are constantly innovating with state-of-the-art technologies and research and have integrated 3-D printing since 2013.

With the aim of attaining perfection, we explore new avenues with researchers and exchange with colleagues from around the world during international conferences so that we can apply the most advanced innovations when making facial prostheses for our patients. 

Awareness

Our aim is to provide you with the best information, answer all your questions and share the latest innovations available in the field of epitheses.

Our patient testimonials help many people in similar situations to gain access to information that helps them understand prosthetic reconstructive surgery as an alternative, be it a temporary or life-long solution.

We warmly thank all our patients who have agreed to appear on our website by authorising the publication of their images and testimonials.

Patient care

Each patient is unique and we remain attentive to everyone’s individual needs when undertaking prosthetic facial reconstruction. Both our patients and the surgical teams we work with have been loyal to us for decades. For us, that a true testimonial to our achievements.

“Anne-Marie Riedinger is a craftswoman and an artist.

Each prosthesis is unique in its precision. Just like a painter, she adds her personal touch, her signature. She doesn’t just replace a damaged, mutilated or missing part of the body, she brings something extra into the lives of her patients.”

Excerpts from Didier’s testimonial

Our attention is centered on the patient and we collaborate with various actors to ensure optimum reconstruction. We accompany the patient throughout the process of making the epithesis, from fixing the implants to delivering the epitheses, and then ensuring follow-up consultations for renewals.

The Centre d’Épithèses Faciales is a true pioneer in France since it created the first bone-anchored epitheses for the Necker Hospital for sick Children in 1986. We work in close cooperation with various surgical teams to pin-point the optimum placement for the implants. We are therefore present when they are set into place and also draw up surgical guides on request.

Implants are set in place during one or two surgical operations depending on the case. The waiting time before making the facial prosthesis is usually around 6 weeks. This period is necessary to allow the bone to consolidate around the titanium fixtures.

If radiotherapy is envisaged, the implants can be placed before, during or after tumour resection.

“In Strasbourg, insofar as this is possible, we set the bone fixtures in place at the same time as we operate on the removal of the tumour in order to avoid a further operation. The epithesis can be made two months after the end of radiotherapy treatment. If radiotherapy is conducted before the operation, it is best to wait for two years before setting the implants in place. In this case, a temporary epithesis can be affixed using adhesive whilst waiting to have an epithesis attached with magnets.”

Dr Patrick HEMAR, ENT and Cervical-facial Surgeon at the CHU Hospital in Strasbourg

With a unique career path in France in her specialization, Anne-Marie Riedinger graduated with an MA in Medical Illustration which gave her a sound artistic and scientific basis. She then specialized in anaplastology in the field of facial prostheses in Chicago, USA.

On her return home, she shot to prominence by creating the very first silicone epitheses in France (before then, they were made of resin or latex and mounted on frames). Her soft, supple and comfortable prostheses could be applied directly to the skin with adhesive.

In 1985, she founded her facial prosthesis laboratory (Laboratoire d’Épithèses Faciales) in Strasbourg.

In 1986, she made the first bone-anchored prostheses in France for the Necker Hospital for Sick Children in Paris. This was the start of a true revolution: the prosthesis could now be firmly and securely fixed in place without adhesive and without frames by clipping it onto implants via a gold bar, and later via magnets, making it easy to put into place. This new method also opened the gateway to dealing with more complex cases.

She collaborated with various surgical teams in different regions in France. In 1994, she moved her laboratory to Niederhausbergen and then returned to Strasbourg in 2011, converting the laboratory into the current Centre d’Épithèses Faciales.

In 2013, she opened an annexe of the Centre in Paris and integrated 3-D into the creation process. New technologies are constantly pushing back the boundaries of what it is possible to achieve. It is through her on-going research and innovation that she is best able to serve her patients, combining her incredible artistry, anatomical knowledge, and technical and technological expertise to craft the perfect facial prosthesis.