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Local Surgeon Saves Smiles in Guatemala
Plastic Surgeon From Austin Donates His Time and Care to Combat Facial Deformities in Guatemala With Faith In Practice
Austin, Texas – 20, July 2009 -- Thomas Narsete, M.D., of Personique Surgery Center recently returned from a surgical missionary trip in Antigua, Guatemala where he operated on Guatemalan children in dire need of facial and reconstructive surgeries. Dr. Narsete, an Austin plastic surgeon of 27 years, teamed up with Faith In Practice and a handful of doctors to take on the week-long challenge.
See video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3knxWadHYs
In just four days Dr. Narsete impacted fourteen lives, performing surgeries on children with severe deformities. “Large volumes of these patients are deformed due to genetics and deficient medical care,” said Narsete. On the recent mission trip, the team screened patients and scheduled 85 surgeries for needy patients. Most of these children were born with severe birth defects, including facial clefts and ear deformities.
Without Faith In Practice and their team of volunteers, these children’s abnormalities would remain untreated and some would not survive. “These are neglected children who need our help and resources,” said Narsete. Krista Scranton, Director of Communication and Events from Faith In Practice, stated, “The surgeries our volunteer teams provide include General, Orthopedic, Gynecological, ENT (Ear Nose and Throat), Urological and Plastic. Every surgery performed has the power to transform not only the individual’s life but the lives of all of the family members involved, enriching communities all over Guatemala. The cleft lip and pallate repairs allow for babies to be better nourished through breastfeeding. In older children, the capability to correctly chew foods is gained and a stigma is often removed. The other surgeries also change lives and may enable one to walk upright, to regain dignity or ease a pain or discomfort endured for many years.” All mission team members volunteer their time and services, procure many of the necessary supplies, pay their own way and commit to fundraising through the Share The Mission program. See video http://tinyurl.com/kko9lf
A life-changing experience for those in need, Faith In Practice hopes that the volunteers’ lives are enriched as well. “I enjoy participating in these trips and seeing the tremendous impact it has on these poor children’s lives,” said Narsete. Narsete plans to return to Guatemala with Faith In Practice in March of 2010 to perform more life-changing surgeries.
Personique Surgery Center, in Austin, Texas is an industry leader in plastic surgery. Their team of board certified plastic surgeons specialize in cosmetic procedures. For 15 years, Personique has served patients in Austin and surrounding communities, performing over 400 cosmetic surgeries each year. Personique is an AAAASF (American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities) accredited surgical facility.
Faith In Practice is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization that seeks to improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical, and dental mission trips. Faith In Practice has received national recognition for its 4-star Charity Navigator rating for the fifth year in a row.
Contact:
Mark Salisbury, M.D.
Personique Surgery Center
(512) 459-6800
www.personique.com
twitter.com/personique
Facebook.com
Krista Scranton, Director of Communications & Events
Faith In Practice
(713) 484-5555
www.faithinpractice.org
