Interplast is a charitable organisation I belong to whose mission is to ‘repair bodies and rebuild lives’. It is something I am passionate about and an avenue for me to give back to those less fortunate. What I get in return is immeasurable. It is something that makes me a better surgeon and a better person.

Interplast sends teams of plastic surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals throughout the Asia-Pacific region to provide free surgical treatment to those too poor to access such services. Teams are also involved in helping teach local surgeons and nurses so that the benefits of each mission last long after an Interplast team have left.

I travel regularly to the Philippines region. The mission I am involved with deals primarily with congenital facial deformities in children such as cleft lip and palate. I am always humbled that a procedure that takes 1-2 hours can translate to a child being given an opportunity for a normal life – to not be abandoned by their family or be treated as an outcast; to be able to go to school, have friends, get married – things we take for granted.

For more information about Interplast or to see how you can help this worthy cause, click here. For further information regarding the work I have been involved with, please refer to the Cagayan De Oro Interplast trip or my Interplast Phillipines trip.

Dr Kevin Ho