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Smile Train appoints Roberto L Flores as global medical advisory board member

Dr Flores will be instrumental in growing Smile Train’s global cleft treatment programmes around the world

Smile Train has announced the addition of Roberto L Flores, to its Global Medical Advisory Board. Dr Flores, the Joseph G McCarthy Associate Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Director of Cleft Lip and Palate at NYU Langone Health, brings over 20 years of experience to the Global Medical Advisory Board, with expertise in reconstructive plastic surgery and surgical simulation education.

Smile Train relies on its Global Medical Advisory Board to help ensure the safety and quality of all its comprehensive cleft treatment programmes worldwide – which has become even more critical in the current medical landscape. The Board is led by world-renowned cleft and craniofacial surgeon, Dr Larry Hollier, Jr, MD, FACS, Surgeon-in-Chief of the Texas Children’s Hospital and Chief of Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, and has experts from a range of disciplines including plastic and maxillofacial surgery, paediatric anesthesia, genetics, orthodontics and speech therapy.

The importance of virtual simulation in surgical training – particularly over the last year as the pandemic has made traditional hands-on training impossible in many settings – is a passion area for Dr Flores. As part of his new role, Smile Train is working with Dr Flores on innovative strategies and technology to increase access to high-quality surgical training and improve surgical outcomes in low-resource and remote regions. Already, Smile Train and Dr Flores have worked together, in partnership with BioDigital, to release the Smile Train Virtual Surgery Simulator. The new mobile app offers multilingual, interactive 3D training on surgical procedures with unprecedented offline accessibility. Access to virtual training without the need for a computer or wireless connection enables surgeons anywhere in the world to enhance their cleft surgical skills with nothing more than a smartphone.

“Dr Flores will be instrumental in growing Smile Train’s global cleft treatment programmes around the world,” said Dr Hollier. “His expertise in virtual surgery simulation will be critical to Smile Train’s continued work of building higher-quality, more equitable educational opportunities for all.”

“We are pleased to welcome Dr Flores to Smile Train’s family,” said Susannah Schaefer, Smile Train President and Chief Executive Officer. “As an international leader in cleft lip and palate, Dr Flores has shown just how critical simulation technology is in enhancing the training of surgeons and improving the quality of surgical care, especially as we continue to see the ripple effects of the pandemic in our communities.”

Smile Train’s sustainable model empowers local medical professionals with training, funding and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. For the last 21 years, Smile Train has supported safe, high-quality cleft care for more than 1.5 million children and will continue to do so until every child in need born with a cleft has to access to the care they deserve.

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