A formative moment in medical school set the course for Dr. Andrew Jacono’s career in ways that go far beyond Park Avenue consulting rooms. As a young student, he watched a girl who had been isolated and teased by classmates because of a cleft lip and palate undergo reconstructive surgery. The transformation was not simply physical. She returned to school with a renewed sense of belonging. That observation planted a seed in Jacono that has grown into decades of pro bono and mission-based surgical work alongside his acclaimed private practice.

The Humanitarian Foundation

Dr. Andrew Jacono is a dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon based in New York. While his name is largely associated with the extended deep-plane facelift and a roster of high-profile patients, a parallel dimension of his career is defined by service. Dr. Andrew Jacono operates on two distinct tracks of humanitarian work: domestic cases involving survivors of domestic violence, and international medical missions treating children born with facial deformities in developing regions.

Domestically, Dr. Jacono has served as national chairman of the FACE TO FACE Committee for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a program that connects domestic violence survivors with pro bono consultation and surgery. The same hands that perform complex cosmetic procedures on celebrities also reconstruct the faces of women who have endured severe physical abuse and lack the financial means to access specialized care.

International Missions and Children’s Care

On the international front, Dr. Andrew Jacono has provided surgical care to more than 750 children across developing regions. He leads missions with organizations including Healing the Children, the HUGS Foundation, and THAI Children, conducting approximately two trips each year. The conditions he addresses range from cleft lip and palate to microtia, facial tumors, and burn scars. In many communities, these visible differences carry serious social stigma, preventing children from attending school or participating in ordinary community life.

His missions have taken him to Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries where specialized surgical care remains well beyond the financial reach of most families. The procedures he performs are functional as well as cosmetic. Children with cleft palates, for instance, often face difficulties eating and breathing. Surgery removes those barriers while also allowing children to integrate more fully into their communities.

Dr. Jacono’s role as Fellowship Director for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery extends his humanitarian influence further still. He trains future surgeons not only in technique but in the ethical obligation that accompanies surgical expertise. His academic positions at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and as Section Head of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at North Shore University Hospital give him additional platforms to pass on this philosophy to the next generation of physicians. Refer to this article for more information.

 

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