An article published today in the NY Times titled, Cleft Palate Practice, Pre-Surgery, talks about a project being headed up by Dr. Court Cutting, NYU’s renowned cleft lip/palate surgeon (and Emily’s surgeon too!).
Dr. Cutting manages a state-of-the art computer animation lab where he has developed, with the help of 3-D animators, a CD-ROM simulation of the surgical techniques for repairing cleft lip and cleft palate. , This learning tutorial is being used to help train surgical residents studying at NYU and elsewhere. It is also being used to help teach the cleft lip and palate repair techniques to regional doctors in third world countries. The CD-ROM was funded by the Smile Train, which deserves its own link. You’ll need a username and password to view the article, but registration on NYTimes.com is free.
Personally, I would love to see one of the simulations to see just how it’s done. LOL.