Plastic Surgery Program Changes Lives of Patients and Volunteers
Project Medishare — in collaboration with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Plastic Surgery program — provides vital, life-altering treatment for pediatric and adult patients in Haiti suffering from a variety of congenital and acquired deformities, including:
- Cleft palate;
- Soft tissue wounds;
- Congenital and acquired hand deformities;
- Craniomaxillofacial trauma; and
- Burn wounds/deformities.
Throughout the past 15 years, the Plastic Surgery program has developed a comprehensive team consisting of board certified plastic surgeons, nurses, medical school students and plastic and general surgery residents. In the past 5 years, we have completed a total of 13 surgical missions to Haiti. This does not include the regularly scheduled weekly plastic surgery trips made during the six months immediately following the January 2010 earthquake. (The UM Plastic Surgery program assembled a team of over 25 volunteer plastic surgeons from a variety of backgrounds and locations from around the United States to provide specialized expertise to the people of Haiti following the earthquake. Their expertise was in high demand at the field hospital due to the high numbers of injuries and wounds including burns and severe trauma as a result of the earthquake.)
How You Can Help
Sponsor a Child’s Surgery
Donate now to sponsor the surgery of a child in need.
Or learn more about how residents and medical students can volunteer for this amazing program through regularly scheduled quarterly mission trips organized by University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Plastic Surgery faculty. Those who participate with our Plastic Surgery teams obtain unsurpassed educational opportunities, including familiarity and clinical practice with both basic concepts and technical skills routinely employed in a plastic surgery operative environment.
Why Surgical Missions?
The goal of this program is to provide surgeries to people that need them in the most cost-effective and humane way possible. It is beneficial to perform the surgeries in Haiti for the following reasons:
- It is much more cost-effective to bring a team of doctors to Haiti than to have a child travel to the United States for care when they do not have medical insurance and usually lack the ability to pay for these services;
- It is extremely difficult to secure a visa for a family to travel to the United States and arriving in a foreign country is shocking and can be uncomfortable for the family; and
- Performing surgeries in the United States eliminates the possibility of capacity building exercises for Haitian healthcare professionals. When the surgeries are performed in Haiti, we are able to work with and train Haitian doctors and nurses side-by-side in order to build capacity in the medical field. Haitian medical staff always assist with the procedures done in Haiti and are able to learn a tremendous amount from their foreign counterparts.
Key Partners:
- Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation
- Smile Train
- Florida Medical Association
