Colombia Passport

Medical team treats 65 children in Colombia

By Dr. Manoj T. Abraham
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

Editor’s note: A team of 20 doctors, nurses and staff recently traveled to Santa Marta, Colombia, for a weeklong surgical mission to treat dozens of patients with birth defects, scars and other afflictions. This is a first-person account.

I became a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon to help people feel better about the way they look.

There is tremendous gratification in what I do. At one moment, I may be called to fix a terrible cancer or traumatic deformity, while at the next, I may help restore a patient’s confidence with a cosmetic procedure.

I went on my first humanitarian medical mission while I was at University of California, Los Angeles, and was hooked almost instantly — having grown up in many different countries, I know firsthand the tremendous need that exists all over the world, and here was my chance to give back. >>Read more…