Volunteers in Plastic Surgery (VIPS)
When a baby is born, the words healthy and normal carry strong emotional weight with parents. And thanks to continuing advances in U.S. medical technology, they are words often taken for granted.
In other parts of the world, however, some parents — and children — aren't as fortunate. Poverty and limited access to medical care yields staggering deformity rates. Children born with birth defects such as cleft lip and palate suffer an almost inconceivable fate. Many are abandoned or ostracized. Without the help of generous strangers, they will never know the meaning of the word "normal."
While many countries have facilities to take care of these children's basic needs (food, clothing, shelter), they cannot give children with deformities what they really need — corrective surgery to restore their smiles and emotional well-being.
In developing countries with limited medical resources, deformity equals non-acceptance. And whether those deformities have their origin in birth, disease or accidents, their impact on the young lives affected by them is the same.
Statistics from the World Bank show that three-quarters of the world's population live in developing countries. In these areas, expanding populations and escalating debt are diluting the effectiveness of limited foreign medical-assistance programs.
This reality is especially devastating for areas like the Philippines, where one in every 300 children is born with a cleft lip and palate; the remote islands of Micronesia, where severe burn injuries from open-fire cooking accidents are common; or the Middle East, where young soldiers are victims of horrible, disfiguring war wounds.
Thanks to the generous efforts of plastic surgeons from the United States, these people have not been forgotten. Over the past three decades, more than 150,000 children and adults have received medical treatment from dedicated volunteers, and the greatest gift of all — hope.
To support the ongoing international service efforts of plastic surgeons and their volunteer organizations, the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation established Volunteers in Plastic Surgery (VIPS).
VIPS facilitates fundraising efforts and also functions as an effective forum for discussing common issues and providing solutions to the many challenges inherent to international care missions.
VIPS's underlying philosophy is: To advance plastic surgery through service, training, education and research. To go where there is a need and where you are welcome.
Every year, VIPS groups spend weeks away from their families and practices to lend their highly specialized skills to the world's neediest children — often at their own expense. These dedicated physicians brave often incomprehensible conditions to bring the promise of a new life to those who need it most.
What fuels the dedication of these volunteer medical teams? The opportunity to make a difference in areas where the needs far outweigh available resources. Giving children back a "normal" face or body can mean the difference between being adopted or remaining in an orphanage, between leading a productive life, or living in isolation, between having a happy family or being labeled cursed or unmarriageable.
But VIPS medical teams' commitment extends beyond just treating patients. They also help equip local doctors with the knowledge and resources they need to provide patients with more effective medical care and encourage self-sufficiency.
While VIPS groups have much to be proud of, challenges still remain. Limited funding for equipment, supplies, nursing and operating room expenses mean not all patients can currently get the treatment they need.
You can help change that. To continue their work, VIPS groups rely on donations from caring individuals and organizations. No gift is too small.
As the educational and research arm of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, PSEF's mission is to develop and support the domestic and international education, research and public service activities of plastic surgeons. The PSEF supports plastic surgeons who volunteer abroad to help the impoverished and also holds a number of training workshops and clinical meetings domestically for plastic surgeons. PSEF funds scientific research on plastic surgery through grants from a variety of organizations, including the National Endowment for Plastic Surgery.