Since 1989, Operation Smile has conducted medical programs in 35 cities across Vietnam. In 2014, Operation Smile launched a national registry initiative in Vietnam while conducting large-scale surgical programs to commemorate the 25th anniversary of our first medical mission there. The effort included dental missions, simultaneous cleft missions, a cranio-facial mission, a micro-surgery mission, a high school student conference, education conferences, on-going training for speech language pathology and nursing, and research for International Family Study and barriers to care.
Operation Smile’s global volunteer network includes more than 185 medical professionals from Vietnam, as well as hundreds of non-medical volunteers. Since 1989, Operation Smile has provided free reconstructive surgery to more than 21,300 patients and dental care to more than 10,900 patients with cleft lip and cleft palate in Vietnam.