An esteemed plastic surgeon from New York, Dr. Frederick Lukash, recently traveled to Los Angeles to visit me. We spoke in depth about ear surgery as well as his wonderful article, “Children’s Art as a Helpful Index of Anxiety and Self-Esteem with Plastic Surgery”.
As a pediatric plastic surgeon, artist and mother, this study is particularly interesting to me. I’ve seen my own patient’s artwork over the years, and have been fascinated by how they perceive themselves before and after surgery.
“Children often cannot adequately express their feelings about physical issues that may be affecting them emotionally. Nonverbal communication with art has been a time-tested tool in understanding and interpreting the feelings of children under stress. For 27 years, the author has used art as a helpful index of anxiety and self-esteem in children undergoing plastic surgery for congenital, traumatic and aesthetic problems. A child psychiatrist and an art therapist evaluated 200 drawings. The evaluations corroborated the need to “listen” to our patients no matter what their size.”
While this article was published in 2002, the findings remain just as relevant today. To read the study and see the children’s artwork, please click HERE.
This drawing is one of my favorites. It was drawn by a 4 year old with bilateral microtia just hours after he saw his new big ear for the first time. If you have a before and/or after Microtia ear surgery drawing from your child, we’d love to see it! Please email it to us at info@lewinmd.com