A Heart For Healing: Changing Lives Through Operation Smile

For Dr. Cory S. Goldberg, the true measure of a surgeon’s skill isn’t just found in the operating rooms of Toronto, but in the life-changing impact of volunteerism. As the newest member of the FORM Face + Body team, Dr. Goldberg brings a profound commitment to his role as a volunteer for Operation Smile, a global medical charity dedicated to providing cleft lip and palate surgeries to children in need.

With advanced craniofacial training and a belief in his “social responsibility” as a physician, Dr. Goldberg travels the world to help over 10,000 children annually who are born with facial deformities. “My goal is to fulfill this responsibility by using my abilities in a volunteer capacity to help a broad range of people around the world,” he shares. We sat down with Dr. Goldberg to discuss his journey with Operation Smile and how his mission to provide a “safe and natural enhancement” extends to the world’s most vulnerable patients. —Noa Nichol

Your work with Operation Smile has taken you to communities around the world. Was there a particular child or moment during one of these missions that changed the way you see your role as a surgeon?

In one of my earlier missions in Cambodia I met a young man who was in his late 20s who had a cleft lip that was unrepaired from birth due to lack of resources. He had made his way on his own from a remote part of the country hoping to seek care. Our missions generally prioritize children, and at first we weren’t able to put him on the schedule. After finishing my cases in the operating room on one of our surgical days I found that there was some time available and I was able to perform a cleft lip repair on this gentleman under local anesthesia. It was the first and only time I’ve ever done that, but the change to him was immediate. That procedure performed under such simple circumstances changed his life and turned him from a shut-in with no job or social outlook into a functional person and part of society. The immense gravity of the change was apparent and it was remarkable to observe him examine himself in a mirror after the procedure and reconsider his life and future.

Cleft lip and palate surgery can transform not only a child’s appearance, but their future. How does witnessing that kind of immediate, life-changing impact shape your understanding of what “healing” really means?

As a plastic surgeon I have deep respect for the importance of one’s self image and how this impacts our character and social connectivity. The true meaning of “healing” is restoring someone in both function and form. While the infants and children who undergo procedures on these missions don’t themselves necessarily recognize the impact of the surgical procedures, the parents clearly recognize the restrictions placed on their children because of the congenital deformities and their immediate gratitude on seeing their children for the first time in the recovery area is intensely gratifying and humbling.

You’ve spoken about feeling a responsibility to give back with the skills you’ve gained. At what point in your career did that sense of social responsibility become personal—and why did Operation Smile resonate so deeply with you?

As with most, I began medical school with a deep sense of purpose and desire to help people. Plastic surgery in particular is a specialty that affects people in a deep and personal way which resonated with me and is what drew me to the specialty initially. Upon completing my fellowship in craniofacial pediatric surgery I realized that I had acquired a skill that could achieve this, and went on my first mission with Operation Smile a year into practice. 

Working in resource-limited settings requires adaptability, humility, and teamwork. What have Operation Smile missions taught you about medicine, resilience, and human connection that you carry into your everyday practice in Toronto?

Observing the team come together for a mission is inspirational. It involves work over the course of months to plan and 50 or more people who have never met coming together from around the world and immediately fulfilling their roles and also contributing in whatever way is needed to accomplish the mission objectives. This example has certainly provided me insights and the character necessary to work within the Canadian healthcare system where I try to model v resilience, adaptability, and shared collegiality to try and model the culture of care I’ve seen during operation smile missions.

For families who may have waited years for access to safe surgery, these missions offer hope as much as care. How do you support parents emotionally during such an intense and meaningful moment in their child’s life?

I recall one family that I met on my mission in Aswan, Egypt who reported that they had traveled for a week and spent their life savings in order to reach us. It’s impossible for me to truly comprehend the strength of these people and the lengths they’re willing to go through to provide their child with an opportunity at life. We rarely share a language, but somehow there is an immediate connection with the parents from the moment they pass their baby into my arms to be brought to the operating room. Support for the parents requires an entire team who make sure that the procedure and associated risks and aftercare are properly taught. We also make a strong effort to teach local medical staff so that they can provide ongoing aftercare which is also a very important support for the parents.

After seeing the global need firsthand, what do you wish more people understood about access to surgical care—and how can stories like those from Operation Smile inspire others to give back in their own way?

While the incidence of cleft lip and palate is consistent and more or less the same globally, access to care is not. Cleft lips are most often isolated and not associated with genetic or systemic disease, and so repair is truly life-changing in an absolute sense. It is a reminder about how our facial appearance and expression are so important in our personal and work lives, and is an opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of these children, their families, and communities.