By Shaili Patel, (High School Junior with extensive Interface volunteer hours (2023,2024,2025,2026). InterFace Kids is more than a group of volunteer physicians; it is a community built on compassion, collaboration, and a shared commitment to serving others. During my time with InterFace, I witnessed firsthand how that commitment extends far beyond the operating room, especially when circumstances do not go as planned. After completing 23 surgeries, the team was wrapping up its...

By Shaili Patel, (High School Junior with extensive Interface volunteer hours (2023,2024,2025,2026). The warm smile of Grecia filled the room as we asked her and her mother questions. They told us that Grecia’s left toe had grown over one of her other toes, making it extremely difficult for her to walk, run, and play. Grecia’s difficulties had not gone unnoticed by her family; her uncle recommended InterFace Kids to them after his own child had undergone a successful and...

By Shaili Patel, (High School Junior with extensive Interface volunteer hours (2023,2024,2025,2026). In a small hospital in Mexicali, a hopeful yet nervous tension filled the room as we asked questions to Itzel, the mother of two-year-old Angel. Itzel held her baby in her arms reassuringly, her face reflecting a mix of uncertainty and anticipation. She and Angel had traveled to the InterFace Kids hospital after her uncle told her about the nonprofit organization—a volunteer group...

By Shaili Patel, (High School Junior with extensive Interface volunteer hours (2023,2024,2025,2026). When Lesly first held her newborn son, Alexander, she noticed a small cleft on his lip—something no one had informed her of during her pregnancy. Despite her immense joy, the unexpected discovery filled her with worry. That was when a doctor told her about InterFace Kids, a volunteer group of healthcare providers who travel to Mexicali twice a year to perform free reconstructive...

By Shaili Patel, (High School Junior with extensive Interface volunteer hours (2023,2024,2025,2026).In a small hospital in Mexicali, a hopeful, yet nervous tension filled the room as we were asking questions to the mother of two-year-old Angle, Itzel. Itzel held her baby in her arms reassuringly as her face reflected uncertainty and anticipation. Itzel and her baby angel traveled to the InterFace Kids hospital after hearing about the nonprofit organization through her uncle, who...

InterFACE is a group of plastic and other reconstructive surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, pediatricians, and psychosocial workers, as well as other devoted volunteers, who give their time and expertise tooffer reconstructive surgery to children in Mexico. The number of major operations performed ranges from 50 to 75 per trip. Our primary focus is cleft lip and palate repair, but we also perform correction of hand and ear deformation, burn reconstruction, and other congenital and...