Plastic and reconstructive surgery can offer life-changing results, and those results should be as accessible as possible to those in need. Dr. Gandolfi is pleased to be involved with ongoing medical mission work, providing cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for children in developing nations.

“Because I was in America, I had the opportunity to train for 13 years to learn my highly specialized skill set,” comments Dr. Gandolfi. “This opportunity does not exist everywhere in the world. In developing countries especially, the money is not available to provide non-urgent surgical treatments to children. These treatments allow children to drink water without it going into their nose, smile normally, talk without an impediment, and kiss someone.”

About Operation Smile

As part of Operation Smile, Dr. Gandolfi has made multiple medical mission trips to Central America and Asia, assisting in the treatment of children as well as adults who suffer from orofacial birth defects. Operation Smile is a highly reputable organization that is active internationally and provides more than 20,000 surgeries each and every year.

The organization was founded with the knowledge that untreated cleft conditions make it difficult for kids to eat, breathe, hear, or enjoy a normal social life. To address this issue, Operation Smile has organized a team of over 60,000 volunteers, including world-class surgeons dispatched to practice in 30+ nations.

Get Involved

Dr. Gandolfi encourages those who are interested in donating, volunteering, or simply learning more about Operation Smile to visit the organization’s website.