Cleft lip and palate, microtia, facial tumors, and burn scars make up the bulk of the cases Dr. Andrew Jacono addresses during his international surgical missions. Each condition carries its own combination of medical urgency and social consequence, and Dr. Jacono has spent years traveling to treat children who would otherwise go without care.

Cleft lip and palate remain among the most common conditions he sees. Beyond the functional issues these conditions cause with eating and speech, a visible cleft can keep a child from attending school or joining in ordinary community activities. Microtia, a deformity affecting the outer ear, presents similar social barriers alongside its physical ones.

Reaching Underserved Regions

Dr. Andrew Jacono has performed these procedures on more than 750 children across countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, and Vietnam, partnering with organizations such as Healing the Children, the HUGS Foundation, and THAI Children. He typically makes two such trips each year, often bringing additional surgeons and occasionally family members along.

Facial tumors and burn scars round out the range of conditions treated, cases that can require more complex reconstructive planning than cleft or ear deformities alone. Access to that level of specialized surgical care remains limited or nonexistent in many of the communities Dr. Jacono visits, leaving families to travel long distances whenever a surgical team finally arrives.

A Parallel Commitment at Home

This work runs alongside his domestic focus on survivors of domestic violence, for whom he has performed facial reconstructions through the FACE TO FACE project of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, repairing injuries that carry their own lasting physical and emotional toll. Between his New York practice and his overseas missions, Dr. Jacono has built a career defined less by any single condition treated than by his consistent focus on patients who lack access to reconstructive surgery elsewhere. Refer to this article for related information.

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