Culture Meets Surgery. Images, Models, and Interpretations of the Human Skull

Although surgical techniques of cranial reconstruction have advanced in recent
years, altering a person’s head shape by operating on cranial bones is still a
serious intervention into the body, especially for children. Yet, what
constitutes the physical outcome of the intervention – i.e. the ›normal‹ head
shape – and why it is of significance to the individual patient is rarely
discussed in the medical literature, making the procedure difficult to plan,
perform, evaluate, and teach. Thus, surgeons must rely on their subjective
judgement when it comes to ›correcting‹ cranial deformities. What constitutes
this judgement when medical textbooks fail at this point?

There seems to be an implicit cultural knowledge which guides surgeons and
patients’ families when judging a head as ›normal‹ or ›deformed‹. This knowledge
may be informed as much by personal or professional experience as by popular
beliefs and representations in the media. Drawing to light what is entailed in
such judgements seems an essential basis for making the decision to operate.
The aim of the conference is to establish an interdisciplinary dialogue in order
to examine the cultural and epistemological premises of shaping the human head
and to discuss current practices of plastic surgery in view of their history.