Creating Smiles,
Improving Lives

Between surgeries on Thursday, nurse Stella Solis-Denny and plastic surgeon Dr. Bill Gorman share a smile. Photo by Kris Kennedy

In OR2 on Thursday, Dr. Fred Wilder operates in concentrated light. Photo by Kris Kennedy

In the arms of her father, four-year-old Mayda Chen Pan prepares for her palatoplasty on Wednesday morning. Four days earlier, she and her dad, along with six-year-old Esvin Danilo Gual and her dad, arrived at MPSC after an eight-hour journey from a small village in...

On Wednesday, nurse Angie Englert gives the first sips of clear liquid to three-month-old Angel Carias following his bilateral cleft repair with doctors Wainwright and Sato. For the first week after surgery, young patients are fed with a syringe fitted with a soft...

When the Austin Smiles team returns to the U.S., Guatemalan medical professionals will continue providing care for patients who underwent procedures during the mission. Here, with the aid of two translators, Dr. David Wainwright consults with Guatemalan plastic...

Prohibited from eating and drinking for at least eight hours prior to surgery, patients must find creative ways to spend time. Here, while waiting for his turn in OR1, four-year-old Mario Soc Concoba colors in a coloring book as his mother, Tomasa, looks on. The...

Prior to her palate repair on Wednesday, nine-year-old Norma Tax Ortega patiently colors between the lines. Photo by Dr. Syboney Zapata

Just prior to his columellar lengthening procedure on Wednesday, nine-year-old Cesar Boc Reyes slapped a smiley face on his forehead and then gave an even better smile. Photo by Dr. Syboney Zapata

Austin Smiles volunteers work hard and often to comfort patients both before and after surgery. Here, post-op nurse Pearl Falkenberg (right) entertains five-month-old Melvin Perez following a primary cleft lip repair performed by Dr. Gorman. Photo by Kris Kennedy

Outside the morning triage room, Aura Ochoa embraces nine-month-old Alejandra just prior to a cleft lip repair. Photo by Kris Kennedy

Already a handsome little guy, three-month-old Gerardo Lobos would finish the day with his cleft lip repaired, courtesy of Austin Smiles and Dr. Wilder's surgical team. Photo by Kris Kennedy

Following his son Esteban's palatoplasty in OR3, Marcos Noj gently comforts the 17-month-old boy. Photo by Kris Kennedy