Creating Smiles,
Improving Lives
Austin Smiles Blog
Dr. Harshbarger’s Forte – Le Fort Facial Reconstruction
About 2 months ago Mission Director Leilani Briseno and Dr. Harshbarger traveled to El Salvador to screen potential patients for facial reconstruction. Impressions were made of patients’ teeth to anticipate jaw realignment surgery. A Salvadoran orthodontist referred...
Welcome to our world this week! Wish you were here…
Saturday, June 14 – Austin and Houston to San Salvador Reuniting with old friends and meeting new ones at the airport for the Austin Smiles trip is fun, and a little easier when airport arrival is noon instead of 6am. We had a bit of a delay in Houston, so after...
Miranda
Our Austin Smiles poster child for Veracruz 2014 trip O
Safe Transport
A group as large as ours (48 volunteers!) can present transportation nightmares, especially since the hospital was a considerable distance from the hotel. But each morning we were able to board clean new buses in 2 shifts, ignore traffic and enjoy the scenery on the...
Scenes from the surgical suite
For those who don't normally work in an operating room, what happens there can appear like a well-choreographed dance; a group of focused and well-trained professionals performing their jobs in synergy (Synergy: joint action of participants, that when working...
A Father’s Love
Ariceli is an 11 month old born with a bilateral cleft lip resulting in a noticeable defect on an otherwise pretty face. She travelled to Veracruz with her father, a single parent, who constantly carried her and fretted whenever she was removed from his arms. Ariceli...
What the Heck is an Obturator?
Dentist Tom Sentz and assistant Priyanka Agrawal had a busy few days attending to many of the patients with cleft palates. They were asked to see patients who had failed palate repairs, those who still had a hole in their palate resulting in problems eating. Tom and...
The last case
Monday was a lon-n-n-ng day. Because it was Monday and the first day of a mission in a new hospital, because the unexpected always pops up in these endeavors, whatever. At the end of the day, 14 children were seen in the OR for complicated, time-consuming procedures...
The Dr.Carlos Canseco Gonzales Foundation
The Dr.Carlos Canseco Gonzales Foundation has for several years played a key role in the success of Austin Smiles trips to Mexico. Members of this small group (numbering only about eight) manage to perform mighty deeds. They provide meals and shelter for all the...
A Family Tradition
Long-time mission volunteer Joe Gomez has been providing his wisdom and guidance on "39 or 40" Austin Smiles trips. Joe translates, is an expert in logistics, and intuitively attends to the many details needed to make the mission run smoothly. We were all thrilled...
Where We Work
We are incredibly fortunate to be working in a beautiful new hospital, Hospital General Dra.Isabel Carreon Garcia. Located in the Boca del Rio area of Veracruz, this modern, top-notch facility has just been open since January of this year. Hospital staff have...
Inspiration of the Day
We can't speak for the early bus but the 7 o’clock bus left right on time Monday morning. We had been warned that it would leave EXACTLY on time, with no mercy for stragglers.Dr.Cullington came through the dining room and issued a 9 minute warning for those still...
1 in 700 children are born with a cleft lip or palate
$250 covers the cost of one life-changing surgery
150 volunteers annually will change a child’s life forever
Medical Mission Trips
Austin Smiles goes on 2-3 medical mission trips annually
Our Local Services
Our local program support for children born with Cleft Lip and Palate in Texas
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