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Anne-Marie Riedinger

Throughout her career, Anne-Marie Riedinger has passed on her skills through teaching and also through presenting conference papers and publishing her works.

  My journey as an anaplastologist:

I was born in Strasbourg, Alsace. After obtaining my baccalauréat in the sciences, I pursued my studies in higher education at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg (now the Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin).

In my third year I opted to join the communication department in the field of medical illustration under the direction of Pierre Kuentz, taking core classes in illustration with Claude Lapointe. After validating courses in anatomy shared with students in the Medical School, I was allowed to be present in the operating block in my 4th and 5th years to sketch surgical operations. The sketches were then used as the basis for surgical technical drawings (composition and clarification of the message through images, precise scientific content and validation of the drawings by the surgeon). This training refined my sense of communication, sharpened my critical analysis, and gave me greater insight into composition, drawing techniques, colour and the fundamentals of sculpture. 

At the “Arts Déco”, I was also fascinated by the work of other illustrators and friends studying at the same time as me. I admired the poetic universe of Eve Tharlet, who captivated her audience, and lingered at the table of John Howe who was already illustrating Lord of the Rings and telling exciting stories about his life in the wilds of British Colombia.

I did my research thesis at the French research institute INSERM under Dr Kathy Haffen on the intestinal villus which culminated in drawings and a short animated film and resulted in my graduation with honours and being awarded the Prize of the City of Strasbourg.

I wanted to pursue my training and discover what was being done in the field of medical illustration on an international scale. I obtained a study grant from the Franco-American Foundation enabling me to study in Chicago in the prestigious Bio Communication Arts Department which trained future medical artists. The students were highly motivated and I still have contacts with friends from this period, such as Julie Jordan Brown and Heidi Hoffer Berthiaume.

I very rapidly became hooked by the anaplastology courses and discovered the amazing world of facial prostheses. I studied this art under the supervision of Susan Habakuk. I continued to follow surgical operations with a view to illustrating the techniques used, as well as classes on photography, dissection, psychology and the graphic arts under Al Teoli, whom I greatly admired, and many practical classes. A number of external lecturers also came in to give us presentations on various themes.

When I returned to Europe, I did a 6-month internship with Gillian Duncan, who had just set up her laboratory in Germany in Homburg/Saar. This internationally renowned American medical artist was developing silicone facial prostheses in Germany. As in France, they had previously been made of resin. Gillian had a sharp eye and was naturally gifted in restoring patients their looks. She inspired me with her passion for the art and I still apply her techniques today.

On my return to France, I soon encountered my European colleagues who were to become close friends, in particular Dr Kerstin Bergström who collaborated with the eminent Prof P-I Branemark and Prof Anders Tjellström. Together, they have treated patients in a number of countries around the world and Kerstin has trained many anaplastologists. This encounter led to a collaboration set up in 1986 with Dr Hamann in Paris to build the very first bone-anchored auricular prostheses (anchored to implants) in France for the Necker Hospital for Sick Children.

During the same period, we organised our first meeting of European medical artists in Strasbourg in 1984 and founded the Association Européenne des Illustrateurs Médicaux et Scientifiques (AEIMS – European Association of Medical and Scientific Artists) which has grown in scope since then and of which I am still a member.  It was here that I met Giliola Gamberini who directed the school of medical illustration in Bologna, Italy.

I have regularly taken part in conferences organised by IASPE and IMPT, and often present papers. But above all, I participated in virtually all the conferences of the American Anaplastology Association (AAA), where I gave and conducted workshops and advanced training. The AAA has been transformed into the International Anaplastology Association (IAA), and I had the great honour of being elected President – to wit the first European President of the IAA (2009-2011).

I am currently the President of the Syndicat des Épithésistes Français and I was a member of the Board for Certification in Clinical Anaplastology (BCCA) from 2016 to 2020.

Since lockdown, we have organised meetings via Zoom with our European colleagues and friends (Kerstin Bergström in Sweden, Jan De Cubber in Belgium, Yvonne Motzkus in Germany, Peter Evans in the UK), and our North and South American and Japanese colleagues. We have thus been able to follow how Covid has evolved and the restrictions applied in various countries, and offer our mutual help when necessary.

Teachings and Reasearch

2017 / Member of the Jury for the defence of the PhD in Medicine “30 ans de collaboration chirurgicale entre le CHU de Strasbourg et le Centre d’Épithèses Faciales de Strasbourg” presented by Dr Magali Maechling, Medical School, Strasbourg, 3 July 2017.

2015 / Trainer, Récife, Pernambuco, Brazil, workshop and patient treatment.

2011 / Trainer, Advanced Classes in Anaplastology: Bone-Anchored Facial Prosthetics and Surgical Hands-On, 26th IAA Congress, Tampa, Florida, USA.

2010 / Trainer, Workshop and Bone-Anchored Facial Prosthetics, from 18 to 21 October 2010, The Branemark Institute, Bauru, Brazil (advanced classes for anaplastologists, demonstration of techniques, patient treatment).

2001 / Member of the Jury for the defence of the thesis for the PhD in Medicine, “Applications de l’Ostéo-Intégration en ORL : Epithèses et BAHA” presented by Dr Jean-François Hervé at the Medical School in Strasbourg, 28 September 2001.

1998 to 2000 / Research into biomaterials with a view to creating a teaching model with the collaboration of Dr Chantal Prévost, Anaesthetist and Xavier Fohrer, Engineer.

1996 à 2000 / Lecturer in Medical Illustration and Didactics, and supervision of undergraduate student projects at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg.

2009 / Member of the Scientific Committee for the 2nd Symposium “Bone Conduction Hearing-Craniofacial Osseointegration”, Göteborg, Sweden, June 11-13

Publications

Carcinomes épidermoides de la pyramide nasale, Anne-Marie Riedinger, Sylvain Morinière, Patrice Beuter EDK, Paris © 2013, pp 277-287 /

Etude de cas. Réhabilitation complexe par épithèse faciale, Anne-Marie Riedinger, La lettre d'ORL et de Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale, N° 334, Juillet-Août-Septembre, 2013 pp 13-15 /

Les soins de support en carcinologie cervico-faciale, la réhabilitation par épithèse faciale, Anne-Marie Riedinger, Jean-Michel Badet EDK, Paris © 2012, pp 141-144/

Optimal Surgical Procedures Following Tumor Resection for Successful Prosthetic Rehabilitation by means of Osseointegrated Craniofacial Implants, Patrick Hémar, Anne-Marie Riedinger, International Journal of Anaplastology, vol 3, 08/2009 /

Implants extra-oraux. A propos de 50 cas en collaboration avec les Docteurs A Charpiot, O. Chambres, JF Hervé, P Million, et P Hémar et AM Riedinger-Keller dans la Revue d’ORL et Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale, 2005 /

Publications de cas dans Craniofacial Prostheses, Anaplastology and Osseointegration, Quintessence Publishing, Edited by Per-Ingvar Branemark, MD, PHD et Marcello Ferraz De Oliveira, DDS, 1997 /

Épithèses auriculaires fixées sur implants ostéo-intégrés, Une expérience de 9 cas, X. Charles, P. Piller, P. Hemar, D. Herman, P.Kennel, A.M. Riedinger, C. Conraux, 1995, Annales d’Oto-Rhino-Laryngologie et de Chirurgie Cervico-faciale /

Le point sur l’épithèse faciale, Anne-Marie Riedinger 1987, Revue Française de l’Ophtalmologie

Round tables

Organizer and mediator of round tables :

Possibilities and limitations for Facially disfigured Patients, avec la participation d'éminents spécialistes internationaux : Prof. Anders Tjellström, Prof. Sylvie Testelin, Dr Françoise Firmin, Dr Kerstin Bergström, Dr Philip Federspil, Mr Keith Thomas
24è Congrès international Anaplastology Association, 9-11 novembre 2009, Paris, France /

Craniofacial Osseointegrated Implant Case-Based Panel avec la participation d'éminents spécialistes internationaux 22è Congrès American Anaplastology Association,, Washington, DC, USA, Septembre 2007 /

Round table participation:

Rehabilitation with an Anaplastology, 2è Congrès OSSEO, Juin 2009, Göteborg, Suède /

Maximizing Surgical Prosthetic Reconstruction for Optimal Patient Outcome, AHNS/AAA Congrès American Anaplastology Association, Chicago, Illinois, USA, Août 2006

Worskshops

Silicone pigmentation and skin translucency, 2è Congrès OSSEO, Juin 2009, Göteborg, Suède /

Epitheses Production, Applications to the new silicone modelling technique : Sculpting an ear, Congrès American Anaplastology Association, Washington, DC, USA, Septembre 2007 /

Sculpting from the Inside Out : Nasal Prosthesis Design Considerations,
Congrès American Anaplastology Association, San Diego, Californie, USA juin 2003 /

Painting with Silicone, Congrès American Anaplastology Association, Phoenix, Arizona, USA juin 2001

Poster Presentation

2018 / 3D Technology and Facial Prosthetics Anne-Marie Riedinger, Dr. Patrick Hémar, Dr. Stéphanie Lemoine MD, Dr. Magali Maechling, Vincent Britz, CHU de Strasbourg, France Prof. Dr. Dr. Marc Metzger, Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Universitäts Klinikum Freiburg, Germany pour le ADT Congress, Amiens, France

Conferences

2019 / Designing Innovative Facial prostheses in the 3D World, 7th biennial Congress of the advanced digital technology in head and neck reconstruction, June 20-22 2019, Tokyo, Japon

2019 / Reconstruction via Facial Prostheses, Aichi Gakuin University, June 14th 2019, Nagoya, Japon

2019 / Designing Innovative Facial Prostheses in the 3D World and orbital issues, IMPT 29th scientific congress, 4th-6th Sept Swansea Wales, UK

2018 / Rencontre Européenne en Anaplastology, December 6-7th, Parlement Européen, Bruxelles, Belgique

2018 / Quelles sont les autres solutions dans la reconstruction après chirurgie? Le point de l’épithésiste, Journée d’enseignement post-universitaire (EPU Dermatologues), 6 février 2018, Strasbourg, France.

2018 / Reconstructions via an Epithesis, Patient’s Perspectives, International Anaplastology Association Congress, 1-5 Mai 2018, Québec, Canada.

2017 / Challenges and Available Options in Facial Reconstruction, 30th Annual Educational Conference, IAA June 1-4 2016 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas , USA

2016 / Rehabilitaçao Facial, 11è Congresso da Rede Feminina Nacional de Combate ao cancer Recife, Pernambuco, 2016

2015 / Challenges in Making Auricular Prostheses, 10th European Craniofacial Congress, June 24-27 2015, Göteborg Sweden.

2014 / La reconstruction par épithèse auriculaire, 47è Congrès de la Société Française de Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale, Le Corum, Montpellier, 5-7 décembre 2014

2014 / Bone Anchored Ear Prostheses : Bar and Clips versus Magnets, 28th Annual Educational Conference, May 28-30th 2014, Denver, Colorado, USA.

2013 / Using High Consistency Silicones in Facial Prosthetics Forum, October 4-6th 2013, Southend-on Sea, England, UK

2013 / Facial Rehabilitation during First World War, the French-British Collaboration IMPT Congress September 5-7th 2013, Inverness, Scotland, UK

2013 / The Role of the French in Facial Rehabilitation, from Past to Present, 27th International Anaplastology Association Congress, May 9-11th 2013, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

2012 / Carcinomes de la pyramide nasale : réhabilitation faciale, chirurgie et épithèse, P. Hémar et A-M Riedinger, SFCCF Congress, 23-24 novembre 2012, Tours, France

2012 / Achieving a Realistic Nasal Episthesis, 26è Congrès de l'International Anaplastology Association, May 30-June 2nd 2012, Gand, Belgique.

2011 / La réhabilitation par épithèse à ancrage osseux : une collaboration active entre le chirurgien ORL, l'épithésiste et le patient. 25-26 Novembre 2011, 44è Congrès de la Société Française de Carcinologie Cervico Faciale Besançon, France

2011 / Creative Solutions for Facial Prostheses - 25è Congrès IAA/ Osseo, mars 2011, Sarasota, Florida, USA

2011 / Artistic Considerations and Optimal Management for an OI Facial Prosthesis Congrès Advanced Digital Technology in Head and Neck Reconstruction, 5-8 Mai 2011, Freibourg, Allemagne

2011 : Épithèses Faciales et collaboration chirurgicale 9 décembre2011, Hôpital Mustapha, Service de Chirurgie ORL et Cervico-Faciale, Alger, Algérie

2011 / Psychologische und künstlerische Faktoten für optimale Planung einer Gesichtsepithese Implantatgestützte Rekonstruktionen, 20 Jahre Breliner Zemntrum für künstliche Gesichtsteile 8-9 novembre 2011, Berlin, Allemagne.

2010 / Facial Prosthetics, French Experience and Collaborative Team Approach XI Course of the Brazilian Division of the FIMF October 13 – 16, 2010, Curitiba, Parana, Brésil.

2008 / Reconstruction via Facial Prosthetics, Medical Prosthetics Center for Anatomy and Human identification, MCs Forensic Art, College of Life Sciences, Février 2008, University of Dundee, Ecosse, GB.

2006 / Sheet folding method for sculpting an ear, International Facial and Body Prosthetics Conference, Forum septembre 2006, Southend on Sea, Essex, England.

2005 / Was kann man noch machen wenn man alles ausprobiert hat als Retentionen für Gesichtsepithesen?, Octobre 2005 Congrès IASPE, Münster-Hornheide, Allemagne

2005 Magnetic retention onto glasses for anaplastologies Congrès American Anaplastology Association, septembre 2005, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

2003 / Facial Implant Cases in Irradiated Bone, Congrès American Anaplastology Association, juin 2003, San Diego, Californie, USA

2003 / Epitesi facciali, progettazione e tecnica 15 avril 2003 pour le D.U de Disegno Anatomico, Bologna, Italie.

2000 / 15th Century Color Techniques and Possible Applications, Congrès American Anaplastology Association Washington DC, USA mai 2000

2000 / Panel discussion : Problem Cases - Technology Savvy Solutions, Congrès American Anaplastology Association Washington DC, USA mai 2000.

1999 / 12 years experience with facial implants, Congrès IMPT, Londres, Angleterre, septembre 1999.

1998 / Bone anchored implants : clips versus magnets, Congrès IASPE Linz, Autriche, octobre 1998.

1997 / Les épithèses en chirurgie faciale, Diplôme Universitaire de formation permanente en Chirurgie Faciale, CHU de Nancy, décembre 1997

1997 / Les épithèses faciales ou anaplastologies, Congrès ORL « AFACE », Gérardmer, France, septembre 1997

1997 / Ten Years Experience in France with Implants for Facial Prostheses, Congrès American Anaplastology Association Orlando, Florida, mai 1997.

1993 / Psychologie : Erfahrungen aus der Praxis des Epithetiker, Congrès FEO, Rottach Egern, Allemangne, janvier 1993.

1992 / Alternative Retentionen zu Knochenverankerte Weichsilicon Epithesen, Congrès IASPE Linz, Autriche, novembre 1992.