How Dr. Andrew Jacono Turned Surgical Skill Into Service
A girl with a cleft lip and palate once rode the school bus alone, shunned by classmates who mocked her face. Reconstructive surgery later changed both her appearance and her place among her peers. A young medical student named Andrew Jacono saw that change happen, and the lesson stayed with him.
Today, Dr. Andrew Jacono is a dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon with a practice on Park Avenue in New York. His career also includes a long record of unpaid work for people who could never afford his services. He holds that expertise in cosmetic surgery comes with a duty to help patients who lack access to care.
Two Paths of Humanitarian Work
His charitable efforts follow two tracks. At home, he repairs the faces of domestic violence survivors. Abroad, he leads surgical missions for children born with facial deformities.
The domestic work runs through the FACE TO FACE project of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, where he serves as senior advisor. Through that program, he has performed facial reconstructions for more than 100 survivors at no cost.
The international missions have reached more than 750 children. Working with Healing the Children, the HUGS (Help Us Give Smiles) Foundation, and THAI Children, he usually makes two trips each year. Patients arrive with cleft lip and palate, microtia, facial tumors, or burn scars.
Why the Work Matters
Facial differences carry heavy social costs in many of the communities he visits. A cleft lip can keep a child out of school entirely. Some conditions also interfere with basic functions such as eating and breathing.
For abuse survivors, a scarred face serves as a constant reminder of what happened. It can hurt job prospects and make recovery harder. Dr. Andrew Jacono treats surgery as a way to remove those physical marks so patients can move on.
That school bus memory still frames his approach. One girl’s transformation showed him that a surgeon’s hands can change how a person is seen and how she lives. Visit this page for more information.
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