A child born with a cleft lip in a rural community in Ecuador or Vietnam faces challenges that extend well beyond the physical. Social stigma in many of these communities can prevent children from attending school, forming friendships, or participating in everyday life. For Dr. Andrew Jacono, a dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon based in New York, addressing those realities is not a side project but a core commitment he has maintained throughout his career.
More Than 750 Surgeries Abroad
Dr. Andrew Jacono has performed surgical care on more than 750 children through international missions, working with Healing the Children, the HUGS Foundation, and THAI Children. Traveling approximately twice a year, he has visited Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries where specialized reconstructive care is simply unavailable to families without financial resources. The procedures he performs cover cleft lip and palate, microtia, facial tumors, and burn scars, addressing conditions that affect not just appearance but also basic functions like eating and breathing.
His humanitarian career began with an observation from medical school: a young girl with a cleft lip and palate, isolated and teased by her peers, underwent surgery that changed her social standing completely. That observation shaped Dr. Jacono’s understanding of what surgical skill can mean for a life. Technical excellence, he concluded, is not only something to offer patients who seek cosmetic refinement. It is something owed to those whose needs are more urgent and whose access is more limited.
Domestic Work With Survivors
Alongside his international missions, Dr. Andrew Jacono has served as a national chairman of the FACE TO FACE Committee for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a program providing pro bono surgery to domestic violence survivors. Many of these women carry physical injuries including fractured orbital bones, nasal fractures, and facial scarring that serve as ongoing reminders of trauma they have survived.
His work in both areas reflects a belief that surgical skill creates a unique form of power, one that carries with it a corresponding responsibility. Dr. Jacono continues to carry out this dual commitment from his Manhattan practice, combining elite cosmetic work with humanitarian service that reaches across the globe. Refer to this article to learn more.
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