Use of a Lighted Reading Magnifier for Cavity Photographing

Abstract

Sir: Photographs are an essential part of the plastic surgeon's life, as they capture and display the objective changes that have been created and allow for a platform of discussion under more objective circumstances.1–5 Photographing hollow areas including the oral cavity necessitates special equipment. A ring flash is a circle-shaped electronic flash unit that fits around a lens and provides shadowless, uniform frontal lighting, which is especially useful in close-up (macro) photography and in photographing cavities. Currently, digital photography is popular, being reasonably inexpensive and much improved in quality. Digital photography offers multiple advantages in terms of quality, and easy image storage and retrieval. In contrast, with the widespread use of digital cameras today, it has been quite tricky to photograph hollow areas of the body, including orifices such as the oral cavity. This is because many digital cameras are not equipped with classic ring flashes, and the required digital photography equipment for this purpose can be quite expensive. For better quality photographs of the hollow areas including oral mucosa and palate, we put together an arrangement to give the ring flash effect while photographing with a digital camera. The simple placement of a lighted reading magnifier before the patient while taking the picture creates better lighting without shadows and a detailed close-up image. We believe that surgeons, especially those dealing with the oral cavity and other orifices, will benefit from this simple and very affordable arrangement while collecting photographic data (Figs. 1 and 2).Fig. 1.: A lighted reading magnifier placed between the patient and the camera for taking an intraoral picture.Fig. 2.: A detailed, clear photograph of the intraoral cavity taken with a lighted reading magnifier.Billur Sezgin, M.D. Selahattin Ozmen, M.D. Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery and Hand Surgery Gazi University Faculty of Medicine Ankara, Turkey DISCLOSURE Neither of the authors has any disclosures of commercial associations or financial relationships.