Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences (2012) 2, 43–44

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Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences

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EDITORIAL

Facial reconstruction: The art of the science

Facial reconstruction has now become a very important partof research considerations in Forensic Sciences. Part of the rea-son for this has been the fact that though the security and

disaster implications of such researches have been paramount,researches into facial reconstruction have been lucrative in cos-metic surgery. This has fueled a lot of research in these areas,

especially as many new kinds of possibilities have become pos-sible and also because the trend in society has increased toward‘looking good’. Perhaps this has implications in society withregard to mate selections.

Facial reconstructions in research have started focusing pri-marily on technologies and sciences that ensure that certain tech-nical, technological and physiological problems are smoothed

out.1 For many cosmetologists, facial reconstructions involvecertain set images and formulae that give rise to perfect and sym-metrical faces.2 Many of the studies show the use of a variety of

flaps for use in facial reconstruction, like submental flaps,3 facialartery musculomucosal (FAMM) flaps,4,5 radial free flaps,6

scapular flaps, epigastric artery adiposal flaps,7 and rectus abdo-minis myocutaneous flaps,8 among many others.

However, anthropological studies show us that concepts ofbeauty are culture-specific. They cannot be said to be anythingbut subjective. As a result, conceptions of beauty from one re-

gion need not follow set patterns or rules. Further, individualsalso have differences of opinion relating to what they considerto be most pleasing, especially in a mate. Hence, overall set

schemes for facial reconstruction to create please-all faces areunlikely to work. Also, those who wish to change their facialstructure caused by an accident or event often wish for some-

thing specific. This would generate a requirement for tailor-made facial reconstructions.

Artistic constructions of human faces are constructed bymany artists using a variety of techniques for museums, for

personal identification, for reconstruction of past evolutionaryfigures or even for showcasing cultures existing in the presentday. Many such artists are not very well conversant with the

science of facial reconstruction, but they understand the under-lying structure of human bodies quite well. They use this

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knowledge to create startlingly good replicas of present-daycultures and reconstructions of the past. Sometimes their artbecomes better than the work of the scientist, who attempts

to fit in tissues, muscles and skin to create a gestalt that resem-bles the original.

It is with this context in mind that the authors wish to sug-

gest some kind of a synergy with the science of facial recon-struction and the art that actually creates and animates anyhuman face. Eventually, the results of this kind of work wouldbe extremely useful to forensic reconstructions of not only vic-

tims of mass disasters or other such events but also in dailyforensic reconstruction of faces found in a variety of contextsand for many reasons.9 It is with this concept in mind that this

editorial has been written. Metrical and morphological assess-ment of the facial features in different populations of the worldhas also become an essential part of the research in this area.10

The faces can be described and the population groups can beidentified on the basis of a certain set of morphological andmorphometric characters.11

One area which has really developed is the area of computer

synthesis of expressive faces.12 To this has been added ourknowledge of global postural habits13 and anthropologicalmorphometrics.14 Changes in such measurements from the

Neolithic period to the current one have also been studied.15

Recent works on facial recall are also being used since theyare already being used to create images of suspects in standard

police work.16 However, it has also been noticed that facial re-call may be caused by a kind of contagion.17

Some data are now available on tissue thickness of facial

areas for some populations around the world.18–21 Forensic fa-cial reconstruction can be applied when conventional methodsof identification such as biological profile of the person (i.e.estimation of age, sex, race and stature) are unsuccessful. Fa-

cial reconstruction relies on the relationships between the fa-cial features, subcutaneous soft tissues and underlying bonystructure of the skull.22 Hence, there is a need to develop the

tissue thickness data for almost all the populations of theworld to achieve forensic facial reconstruction in individualcases. However, a compendium that might be helpful for all

such reconstructions is still not possible.One such set of methods have helped to reconstitute the

faces of Dante Alighieri and Ferrante Gonzaga, though virtualmodeling methods were used rather than physical modeling in

this case.23,24

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44 Editorial

Much recent work has also gone into facial transformationand transplantation techniques, including the use of a differentperson’s entire face to transform a deformed one, sometimes

replacing it with a dead person’s face. However, some kindsof modeling show that the subjective ideas regarding modelingmay override a more rationally oriented science-based ap-

proach, since fewer looks at the ‘target’ face cause the modelerto become knowledgeable about the job of reconstruction.25

Considering these issues, the authors of this editorial be-

lieve that certain clear directions are emerging from recent re-views of the literature. These are as follows:

(1) There is a need to create a compendium of all the possi-

ble flaps used in such surgeries and reconstruction mea-sures. It would also be necessary to show to what extentthese flaps restore original facial structures.

(2) A second compendium is required, based on ethnicitybased data to show the thickness of the tissues on theface as a baseline for future reconstructions, especially

in the forensic laboratories.(3) A software for virtual reconstruction could then be cre-

ated with this data as a background library and template

on which more ambitious projects may be attempted.(4) A scale needs to be created for detailing the degree of

success of the facial reconstruction. This could also bemodified for forensic application and virtual modeling,

to show the degree of accuracy of forensic facialmodeling.

(5) Also, since this kind of technology is already available, it

would be necessary to develop the scale quickly, so thatit may be adapted for forensic identification of not onlythe victims of various events but also the perpetrators of

terrorism and other crimes.(6) Today’s society is increasingly a Panopticon, a thing that

is in the media and is always under surveillance. In such

a society the need for such technologies is growing inleaps and bounds; so are the dangers attendant to suchtechnologies. The research and scientific establishmentshould be equal to both challenges.

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Abhik GhoshKewal Krishan

Department of Anthropology,Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

Tel.: +91 172 2534230 (Office);+91 172 2687372 (Residence); mobile: +91 9876048205

E-mail address: gargkk@yahoo.com (K. Krishan)