Before Dr. Andrew Jacono became one of the most sought-after facial plastic surgeons in the world, he was a medical student watching a quiet transformation unfold. A girl on his school bus, isolated and mocked for her cleft lip and palate, had reconstructive surgery that changed her relationship with her peers and herself. The young Jacono took note. That experience, as he has described, became the foundation for a humanitarian commitment that now spans continents.
Dr. Andrew Jacono is dual board-certified in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and his New York practice draws clients from across the globe. Yet the clinical success and the charitable work are not separate pursuits. They reflect the same underlying belief: that surgical skill carries with it a responsibility to those who cannot pay for it.
Serving Domestic Violence Survivors
Within the United States, Dr. Jacono has directed significant pro bono effort toward women who have suffered facial injuries from domestic violence. He has served as national chairman of the FACE TO FACE Committee under the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, which connects violence survivors with free surgical care. Over the years, he has provided reconstructive procedures to more than 100 female victims, restoring facial function and appearance to people who otherwise would have had no access to that level of specialized care.
His work with domestic violence survivors was documented in the television series Facing Trauma, which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network and Discovery Fit and Health. The program followed Dr. Jacono and his team through full cases, from initial consultation to recovery, showing viewers the surgical and emotional dimensions of rebuilding lives after violence.
Children Treated Across the Globe
Internationally, Dr. Andrew Jacono leads surgical missions through Healing the Children, the HUGS Foundation, and THAI Children. His trips focus primarily on children living with cleft lip and palate, microtia, facial tumors, and burn scars. He has now operated on more than 750 children across destinations including Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The impact of these missions is difficult to overstate. In many of the communities his teams visit, a child born with a visible facial difference faces exclusion from school and public life. Surgery shifts that trajectory. As Fellowship Director for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr. Jacono works to ensure that this philosophy of service is passed on to surgeons still in training. See related link for additional information.
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