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Nicaragua Mission Trips
In early 2010, Dr. Mary Snyder traveled to Nicaragua on a medical mission with the Eduplast Foundation, a non-profit based in Madison, Wisconsin. On the trip, board-certified Rapid City plastic surgeon Dr. Snyder, along with 3 other American plastic surgeons, a plastic surgery resident, 3 nurses, and 2 anesthesiologists teamed up with a Nicaraguan plastic surgeon and a plastic surgery resident to provide care to patients in Leon and Bluefields.
In 4 days, the team evaluated over 120 patients and performed surgery on 54. Many of these patients were children with cleft lips and palates. In Nicaragua, the national medical service provides treatment for birth defects such as cleft lip and palate, but these services are usually only available in the bigger cities on the West Coast of the country. Many families in rural areas and on the East Coast do not have the ability to travel to the West Coast to obtain treatment for their children.
About Eduplast
Founded in 1991, Eduplast's mission is to:
- Provide reconstructive surgery to at-need populations in developing countries.
- Establish training programs in plastic and reconstructive surgery so that care can continue long after the mission teams have gone home.
Dr. Snyder has made 5 trips to Nicaragua with Eduplast, the first in 2003 (when she was Chief Resident in plastic surgery at the University of Wisconsin). "Repairing a cleft lip on a child that may not otherwise have the opportunity to live a normal life is one of the most important contributions a plastic surgeon can make," she said after returning to the US. "The gratitude of these families is nearly overwhelming." Dr. Snyder plans to continue her work with Eduplast as the program expands into Mongolia.
Getting Started
Would you like to meet Dr. Mary Snyder, a Cheyenne area plastic surgeon? Request an appointment online with her or call her at the office of Monument Plastic Surgery at 308-630-1600. We serve patients from the Western Nebraska communities of Scottsbluff, Alliance, and Ogallala. We also see patients from Cheyenne, Wyoming, Black Hills, Colorado, and towns in Western South Dakota such as Rapid City for cosmetic surgery services.
