I will travel with Global Smile Foundation to Guayaquil, Ecuador as part of a multidisciplinary team providing comprehensive cleft care to children in underserved communities. During the mission, I will perform cleft repair surgery, evaluate new patients, participate in perioperative care, and collaborate closely with local and visiting surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals and volunteers.
As a plastic surgeon specializing in craniofacial surgery, these missions allow me to provide life-changing reconstructive procedures while continuing to develop the skills necessary to care for patients with complex craniofacial conditions worldwide. Beyond performing surgery, I am committed to education, collaboration, and sustainable partnerships that strengthen local healthcare systems.
This mission represents an important step toward my lifelong commitment to expanding access to high-quality cleft and craniofacial surgery in underserved communities. The experience will further my training as a craniofacial surgeon while allowing me to serve patients who otherwise would have little or no access to specialized reconstructive care.
This mission will serve children born with cleft lip and/or palate and other associated conditions who have limited access to specialized surgical care. In many low-resource settings, patients face significant barriers to treatment, including financial hardship, shortages of trained specialists, geographival distance, poor health literacy and limited healthcare infrastructure. As a result, many live for years without access to procedures that can dramatically improve function, health, and quality of life.
Cleft and craniofacial conditions affect far more than appearance. Untreated patients may experience difficulty eating, speaking, hearing, breathing, and social integration, often resulting in lifelong physical, emotional, and economic consequences. Surgical treatment can restore essential function while improving health, educational opportunities, and social participation.
By partnering with Global Smile Foundation, our team will provide comprehensive cleft care while collaborating with local healthcare professionals to support sustainable improvements in cleft and craniofacial care for future patients.
Every donation directly supports the care of patients by helping provide surgical supplies, medications, anesthesia equipment, and other resources necessary to safely perform reconstructive procedures. For perspective, approximately $1,500 can provide life-changing cleft surgery for one patient.
The impact of this mission extends well beyond the operating room. A successful cleft repair can improve feeding, speech development, hearing, and overall health while allowing children to participate more fully in school and their communities. Families also benefit through improved quality of life and reduced long-term healthcare needs.
Professionally, this mission will further strengthen my experience in global craniofacial surgery and reinforce my commitment to serving underserved populations throughout my career. The lessons learned through collaboration with experienced international teams and local providers will directly influence my future practice as a craniofacial and reconstructive surgeon. My goal is to participate in international surgical outreach throughout my career and to continue building partnerships that expand access to safe, high-quality cleft care around the world.
In September 2026, I had the privilege of traveling to Ecuador with Global Smile Foundation to provide comprehensive cleft care to underserved patients and their families. During the trip, our multidisciplinary team provided 154 corrective procedures for 80 Ecuadorian patients born with cleft lip and/or palate.
Importantly, the care provided extended far beyond surgery. Patients received comprehensive cleft services including dental and orthodontic care, oral health education, speech and feeding assessments, and psychosocial support. Working alongside the local medical team also reinforced the importance of continuity of care. Although our visiting team was present for a limited period, the care of these patients continues long after our departure through the dedicated local physicians and healthcare professionals who support them throughout their treatment.
I am incredibly grateful to have been part of this experience and to have contributed my surgical training to the care of these patients. The patients and their families were extraordinarily appreciative, and I left Ecuador inspired by their resilience, the commitment of our multidisciplinary team, and the impact that comprehensive cleft care can have on a child and family.
A healthy smile is just the beginning. This experience was a meaningful reminder that cleft care is not a single operation, but an ongoing partnership that can improve function, communication, confidence, and quality of life. I am honored to have played a small role in that continuum of care and grateful for the grant support that helped make my participation possible.
