Austin Smiles - The Austin Plastic Surgery Foundation

In 1985 and 1986, three of the first plastic surgeons in Austin, Texas – Dr. Patrick Beckham, Dr. Jim Cullington, and Dr. Jim Fox – came together, sharing their experiences doing medical mission work around the world and wanting to advance their passion for volunteerism in the local Austin community. A local measure was passed providing that all Austin doctors receive compensation for their “on-call” time and the three doctors felt inspired to start their philanthropic initiative with this unexpected, “extra” funding. Working with fellow doctors in the Austin Society of Plastic Surgeons and pooling these funds, the idea to provide free cleft lip/palate surgery was realized in 1987 when Austin Smiles – The Austin Plastic Surgery Foundation officially received its 501(c)3 nonprofit certification. Thus the founding members of Austin Smiles also include Dr. William Barnes, Jr., Dr. Robert Clement, Dr. William Davis, Dr. Robert Ersek, Dr. William Gorman, Dr. Victor LiPalaez, Dr. Francis Morris, Dr. N.D. Moscoe, Dr. Richard Parker, Dr. David Turner, and Dr. Alfred Wilder. Starting out doing local surgeries/supporting Austin’s Central Texas Cleft Lip and Palate Team and going on mission trips to repair cleft lip/palate in Mexico, Austin Smiles has since its inception served over 4,000 patients and conducted over 80 medical trips to many countries including Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Micronesia, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. As founding member Dr. Jim Cullington has said, “Austin Smiles’ guiding principle has always been to offer services where needed regardless of any reward, and to treat all patients to the best of our capability regardless of ability to pay.” Austin Smiles is proud to have served under this principle for going on 30 years.