UF plastic surgery resident focuses on global health as volunteer with Operation Smile

University of Florida plastic surgery resident Dr. Haley Oberhofer for more than a decade has committed her time to help others put a smile on their face.

Working as a volunteer, Oberhofer splits her time with Operation Smile, a global nonprofit that specializes in providing free cleft lip surgery and care to those in need.

Over the past 40 years, the organization has provided medical expertise, research, and care through its staff, medical and some 18,000 student volunteers around the world, working alongside local governments, nonprofits, and health systems, and supported by donors to help bring awareness and perform surgeries around the world.

“I was incredibly inspired by the work of the organization and knew I wanted to get involved,” Oberhofer said.

She said the organization has had a significant influence on her from the moment she attended her first Operation Smile club meeting in high school. She plans to specialize in craniofacial surgery, focusing on global health while continuing to work with the organization throughout her career.

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“Operation Smile has been instrumental not only in my career decision-making but also in shaping me into the person I am today,” Oberhofer said. “I am incredibly grateful for the friends and mentors I’ve met through the organization."

Since 2011, Oberhofer has worked with Operation Smile’s Student Programs in an effort to spread awareness of under-resourced global health systems and to encourage other students to get involved in service through various speaking engagements, including TEDxYouth at Miami), involvement in student clubs and leadership positions on the organization’s Executive Leadership Council.

Oberhofer said one of the most rewarding experiences she has had with Operation Smile has been attending a surgical program in Kisumu, Kenya in 2012.

“It was during that medical mission that I stepped foot into the operating room for the first time. There are no words to describe seeing a child view their smile for the first time,” Oberhofer said. “The mental and physical transformations are equally apparent. In repairing a cleft lip or palate, you not only restore the functional elements but also provide a sense of normalcy for that patient.”

Throughout the years advocating for and working with Operation Smile, Oberhofer said she is amazed at the organization’s ability to continually empower its patients, global youth, and the local community.

Oberhofer was the keynote speaker at the 2022 Operation Smile’s International Student Leadership Conference held this summer at the University of Miami. She said the event displayed these initiatives by bringing together high school students from all over the world and helping them develop and strengthen their leadership skills and character while providing training on helping those in developing countries and exposing them to different cultures.

This past year, she added, was especially meaningful because it was the first time these young leaders are coming together in person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Empowering our youth to get involved and make a difference by attending conferences like ISLC is paramount," she said.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF resident splits time with Operation Smile for free cleft lip surgery