That is the advice from Andrew Greensmith, a Melbourne-based plastic and craniofacial surgeon and consultant, who won acclaim for his work to separate conjoined Bangladeshi twins Krishna and Trishna, at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital last year.
Mr Greensmith (40), a former University of Otago graduate, said creativity was an important tool for plastic surgeons and children should be encouraged to embrace art as opposed to playing video games.
Yesterday, Mr Greensmith entertained a sell-out session of budding plastic surgeons as part of an International Science Festival seminar "A nose, an ear, an eye" and revealed some of the secrets behind facial reconstruction.
Holding up a clay face with just two eyes for features, he showed how a deft incision to the forehead could result in a flap of skin being folded over and a nose created for a child born without one.
While the elasticity of the forehead allowed plastic surgeons to "rob Peter to pay Paul", they had to pay Peter back by leaving a small scar in return for the patient's new nose, he said.
Participants were shown latex models of noses and ears, which he successfully managed to get through Customs, before demonstrating how to create lifelike versions out of clay.
"They did a fantastic job and have a 3-D appreciation," he said.
Alex Angelidis (13), of San Francisco, said while an ear was surprisingly easy to make, the nose was definitely harder than it looked.
"It is quite difficult."
The latest in a distinguished list of plastic surgeons with Dunedin connections, including pioneering surgeons Sir Harold Gillies and Archibald McIndoe, Mr Greensmith said he hoped, through the seminar, to encourage a new generation of plastic surgeons.
Mr Greensmith, who made the first incision to separate the twins, said he visited Krishna and Trishna every couple of months and hoped to continue seeing them in the decades to come.
