The journey to bring smiles to children of Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee

On the evening of November 23, Operation Smile celebrated its 35th anniversary in Vietnam.

Ms. Kathy presented at the scientific conference of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Photo: Provided by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy

The "telling" numbers released on this anniversary show the great efforts of Operation Smile founders, Vietnamese and international doctors, with 78,000 Vietnamese children regaining their smiles.

Tuoi Tre had an interview with Ms. Kathy Magee, president of Operation Smile, about her journey with the "smiling" children. In the story, at the age of over 80 and having traveled a long way to Vietnam, but every time she recalls the memories of the past journey, her eyes turn red.

She said: I returned to Vietnam after 2 years, but over the years my husband (Dr. Bill Magee, a surgeon and co-founder of Operation Smile - PV) and I have been to Vietnam many times.

We first came to Vietnam in 1989, when Operation Smile was the first American charity to come to Vietnam after the war. It was a trip filled with many emotional memories.

We had used up all the medical supplies we had brought with us, and all the operating rooms the hospital had, and the number of children requiring surgery far exceeded our initial estimates. After the surgery, we and the Vietnamese doctors were moved to remember a colleague who had passed away, and were moved to be together to care for the sick.

I am happy to see that my journey has been followed by many people.

Mrs. Kathy Magee

Surgery journey for children with cleft lip and palate

* What impressed you most in your 35-year journey of smile surgery in Vietnam and 42 years worldwide?

- I remember a lot. In 1982, my husband, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to perform surgery in the Philippines. That year, the surgery capacity was only 250 children, but the number of families with children needing surgery was very large. Everyone wanted their children to have surgery, and families rushed to register.

We had never encountered such a situation before, so after returning home, we started to set up Operation Smile. My eldest son was only 13 at the time, and because we were trying to recruit more children for surgery, he eventually had to help deliver the instruments to the doctors.

After returning home, the things I saw from that trip made me very active in volunteer activities. The story of the trip was also included in my essay at school, motivating and inspiring me to establish and run a student group participating in Operation Smile.

For example, when children and their parents come for surgery, students assist with procedures, play with the children to help them feel less anxious, and guide them on dental care...

Among them are also Vietnamese students and in 2024, 40 Vietnamese students were volunteers of the program to come to the US to participate in joint activities. This is something I feel very proud and happy about, because our journey has been continued.

* In recent years, Vietnam has had more doctors and technicians, and thanks to that, many children with cleft lip and palate have received surgery. Will Operation Smile continue this journey or will it have a new direction?

- We have added other support directions, but the main work is still surgery for children with cleft lip and palate. There are still many children with this deformity in Vietnam who have not received surgery. Every year, there are still over 3,000 newborns with this deformity and in 2023, Operation Smile alone supported surgery for over 2,400 children.

In addition, our doctors also participate in training provincial doctors and doctors in remote areas. Currently, Smile Surgery has many doctors in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but in mountainous and remote areas, there are none. If there are children with lip and palate deformities, the children and their families have to travel very far, which is tiring and affects their strength during the surgery.

Recently, Operation Smile went to a locality called Lam Binh, where children have to travel a mountain road to get to a medical facility. If there were a surgeon in that locality, the children would not have to travel far.

When children come for surgery, they also bring their needs, for example, some need microsurgery for treatment. Therefore, we have invited many leading international microsurgeons to Vietnam for training and over the past 10 years, we have sent many Vietnamese doctors abroad to study further, and donated many surgical microscopes to medical facilities.

Besides volunteer doctors, it is also thanks to sponsors of surgical instruments, supplies... Without them, this result would not have been possible.

How is the journey ahead?

* What are your expectations for the next journey?

- Lip and palate deformities are more common in Asia than in Africa and America. The rate of this deformity in other regions is 1/700, but in Asia it can be 1/500, so the number of children needing surgery is also higher.

As for the cause, there is no clear cause yet, but we are still working with a number of universities to research this issue.

In addition, we continue to train more doctors, so that surgeries can be more beautiful and safer. I am very happy that there are more and more good doctors who are eager to learn in the program. For example, on this trip, many children and adult patients were treated with microsurgery, a difficult technique with very good treatment results.

My husband and I have been to Vietnam many times. We will continue to come here.

78,000 children receive free medical examination and treatment

Ms. Kathy (right cover) with her colleagues from Operation Smile on the occasion of the organization's 35th anniversary in Vietnam - Photo: LAN ANH

Operation Smile has been present in Vietnam since 1989. Since then, it has examined and treated more than 78,000 children with disabilities for free, giving them a new life with much hope and goodness.

Through the program, doctors from home and abroad have contributed over 900,000 hours of work to perform surgeries on children. The organization has also trained over 2,500 Vietnamese doctors to enhance their capacity and improve the health system.

Worldwide, Operation Smile was founded in 1982, after Kathy Magee and her husband's trip to the Philippines.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, Vice Principal of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, what Ms. Kathy and her husband and Operation Smile have done for Vietnamese children are "speaking numbers". Many smiles have been brought back, many lives have been revived and changed.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hanh-trinh-mang-lai-nu-cuoi-cho-tre-tho-cua-vo-chong-bac-si-bill-va-kathy-magee-20241125081839437.htm