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SHOULD A PLASTIC SURGEON BE AN ARTIST TOO?
Daniel Man was born in Afulla, a small city in the northern part of Israel. the son of holocaust survivors, Boris and Ludwika Man worked extremely hard to afford their two sons the best education available. Ludwika Man was a self-taught artist who painted beautiful porcelain dishes, which she left behind for generations to come. Boris Man was a general vascular surgeon and adventurer.
Growing up Daniel's mother conducted woodwork courses at the house, where Daniel and his friends experimented with olive woodcarvings. It is through his mother that Daniel had the opportunity to develop his own individual identity as an artist.
Introduced to Medicine and the operating room before his 13th Birthday, Daniel used to go with his father to see post op patients. This experience planted the seeds to Daniel’s successful career as a plastic surgeon.
CAREER IN SURGERY AND ART
During his studies at Sackler Medical School of Tel Aviv University, great emphasis was put on learning the human sciences such as chemistry, physiology, biology and human anatomy.
Daniel believes that in order to be an especially good diagnostician, one needs to muster the sciences. As a plastic surgeon one also needs to be a good listener, be able to show empathy and convey reasonable goals and make sure that the expectations of the patient, are realistically met. As a doctor Daniel was frequently asked by new patients, who came in for their first consult, to draw what he will do to their nose, face or breasts.
At that time video imaging was not available, so Daniel realized that drawing, which wasn't one of his great talents was the only readily available solution. It could improve his communication with his patients as being able to draw a concept or a feature can be useful when surgical plans are discussed. So, just as he did with every other challenge he faced, Daniel decided to learn how to draw. Daniel started teaching himself drawing and painting by reading books and learning from individual artists believing that by combining these skill sets he will improve as a surgeon.
How did his art experience affect his surgical career?
In surgery Daniel knows how to tell the difference between nerves and vessels just by observing very small and fine details.
In both surgery and art one needs to know how to evaluate the anatomy of the patient, this becomes especially important when using magnification loupes and scopes. There are many areas in which surgery and art are complementary; light, shadow and color play important roles in both surgery and art. Artists also learn the human anatomy. When they paint, draw or sculpt an artist has a second chance to “get it right”. In surgery, these options are very limited. That’s why the pre-operative explanation along with drawings and computer imaging is so important.
Daniel believes that when a plastic surgeon looks at a face, he or she should be able to decide first ‘what to do’ before the ‘how to do’ much like when an artist looks at a canvas and sees the finished picture in his mind's eye before getting into the technicalities such as paint and brush type. Every patient is different and a surgeon needs to know what are the ideal proportions and harmony that will not only be considered beautiful by the patient but will also reflect beauty as a universal ideal. The technically but not artistically inclined doctor may know how to decide the correct anatomical level of neck, nipple or belly button. He may however not be clear on what to do in each specific situation. The knowing what sometimes is more important than the knowing of how.
For instance; Cannons of body beauty and shape relationship of 1.7 to 1.0 should be respected as in flanks and buttocks
Being artistic was certainly important for Modigliani and Picasso but they did not have to be absolutely correct anatomically. The opposite is true about a plastic surgeon. There are certain similarities between surgical and artistic skills, which may help the plastic surgeon achieve more pleasing surgical results.
The plastic surgeon and the artist both need to have excellent fine motor skills, as the intricate anatomy of the face and the body makes precision an absolute must.
The artist has freedom as the art can be continuously revised until it is artistically pleasing to the eye. For the plastic surgeon this trial and error artistic experimentation does not exist, this is the moment where the plastic surgeon transforms himself from pure artist to skilled surgeon who's hands are surgically purposeful and artistically conscious as the end result is so much more than a breathless art piece. Having great motor skill enhances the ability of the surgeon and the artist but of course they do not guarantee the results. As an artist Daniel believes that his art is beauty and that his patients are living works of art, this type of attitude would benefit every Plastic Surgery Resident by learning how to draw, during their residency.
Daniel's art paintings are currently on exhibition in the Art Fusion Galleries in Miami and selected Galleries throughout south Florida including his medical practice, which demonstrates how prolific of an artist he is. Daniel has had the honor of having his famous painting "the hand shake" depicting the Oslo peace accords famously hopeful scene of the handshake between Itzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat with President Clinton. This painting hung in the White house throughout Clinton's administration, which was later saved in the Clinton's collection.
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