The patients Dr. Andrew Jacono sees in his New York clinic and the children he treats on surgical missions in Southeast Asia may share little in circumstance, but they share a surgeon who approaches both settings with the same technical standard. That consistency across context is, in part, what Dr. Andrew Jacono has worked to instill in the surgeons he trains that expertise developed for one patient population is portable, and its reach is a choice.
Dr. Andrew Jacono is a dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon whose humanitarian work has included reconstructive surgery for more than 100 domestic violence survivors and pediatric care for more than 750 children across international missions. His academic roles put him in direct contact with the surgeons who will define the next generation of facial reconstruction.
Teaching as Humanitarian Leverage
As Fellowship Director for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr. Andrew Jacono oversees the training of fellows who bring advanced skills into the profession each year. His faculty appointments at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his position as Section Head of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at North Shore University Hospital give him similar influence over medical students and residents.
The philosophy he conveys through teaching is one shaped by his own trajectory. His earliest exposure to the transformative potential of surgery came during medical school, when he witnessed a girl with a cleft lip and palate go from isolated on her school bus to socially connected after reconstructive surgery. That observation became the lens through which he has practiced ever since.
Within the United States, Dr.Jacono’s charitable work has centered on the FACE TO FACE program, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’s initiative providing pro bono surgery to domestic violence survivors. He serves as senior advisor and has completed more than 100 such procedures. His nine years leading ABOUT FACE: MAKING CHANGES and his recognition from the Center for the Women of New York and U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy reflect the breadth of that commitment.
International Missions and Mountain Climbs
Dr. Andrew Jacono’s international work through Healing the Children, the HUGS Foundation, and THAI Children has brought surgical care to more than 750 children across Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries. The conditions he addresses cleft lips, palates, ear deformities, tumors, and burn scars carry life-altering social consequences in communities where visible deformity often means exclusion from school and public life.
The logistical costs of these missions require funding beyond donated surgical time. Dr. Jacono has raised that money through extreme climbs: Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Cotopaxi in Ecuador, and Mount Elbrus in Russia. His work was documented in the television series Facing Trauma, which aired starting in 2011 on Discovery Fit & Health and later on the Oprah Winfrey Network, bringing the stakes of reconstructive charity surgery to a broad national audience. See related link for more information.
Learn more about Dr. Andrew Jacono on https://ritzherald.com/dr-andrew-jaconos-path-to-becoming-a-leading-facial-plastic-surgeon/