Medical Missions for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a dedicated group of approximately 375 volunteer surgeons, anesthesiologists, medical and dental specialists. Our volunteer team members use their personal vacation time to travel to remote geographical locations around the world in order to help heal children and young adults. The focus of our missions is the surgical repair of cleft lip and palate deformities, burn injuries, microtia (absence of the outer ear) and head/neck tumors. Dental specialists, nutritionists and speech pathologists also participate in our surgical missions. Our volunteers hail from the most well respected hospitals and teaching institutions in the United States and abroad. MMFC currently sends 15 to 20 surgical and dental missions each year to China, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ukraine. Each 1 to 2 week mission consists of 5 to 30 surgical and dental volunteers and costs an average of $45,000. We set up operating rooms, recovery areas and dental suites, and carry all necessary supplies, equipment and medications with us. Due to the lack of access to modern medical care, a staggering number of children in third world countries born with congenital facial deformities suffer with them their whole lives. The deformities of the children cause physical pain, but that is far from all. MMFC provides its surgical and dental services at no cost to the patients or families. There is a backlog of 4.6 to 5 million children and adults around the world who continue to suffer every day from untreated cleft conditions and other congenital deformities.