Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 5, 2026
05:20
Three-Dimensional Collagen Matrix Scaffold Implantation as a Liver Regeneration Strategy
Published on: June 29, 2021
3.5K
Normal/Modern: Reconstructive Surgery in a Mexican Public Hospital
1a Anthropology, Monash University , Clayton , Australia.
Medical Anthropology
|March 23, 2017
Summary
Mexican reconstructive surgeons aim to modernize craniofacial surgery, aligning patient normality with national modernization goals. This study explores how this aspiration shapes medical practices and professional ethics in Mexico City.
Area of Science:
- Medical Anthropology
- Sociology of Science and Medicine
Background:
- Science and medicine in Mexico are influenced by national modernization efforts.
- Reconstructive surgery in Mexico reflects a blend of achieving normality and embracing modernity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the intersection of "normal" and "modern" within Mexican reconstructive surgery.
- To understand how national modernization concerns shape medical practices and professional ethics in this field.
Main Methods:
- Ethnographic research conducted in a public hospital in southern Mexico City.
- Analysis of everyday clinic practices, parent motivations, and surgeon perspectives.
Main Results:
- The pursuit of normality is central to reconstructive surgery, influencing patient-doctor relationships and parental desires for surgical intervention.
- Reconstructive surgeons, driven by their professional ethic and healthcare realities, became political subjects aiming to modernize craniofacial surgery.
- The goal was to normalize the bodies of patients undergoing craniofacial procedures.
Conclusions:
- The aspiration for normality in reconstructive surgery is intertwined with national modernization agendas in Mexico.
- Mexican reconstructive surgeons actively engaged in modernizing their field to achieve patient normality, reflecting a unique socio-medical dynamic.
