AAMC plastic surgeon gives back through volunteer work overseas

Imagine you’re able to use your gifts to offer life-altering surgeries to children in developing countries. Anne Arundel Medical Center plastic surgeon Devinder Singh, MD, has done this through his work with the international charitable group Changing Children’s Lives.

Doctors volunteering with Changing Children’s Lives have performed free reconstructive surgeries on more than 1,000 children in countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Uganda.

Dr. Singh, AAMC’s chief of plastic surgery and medical director of AAMG Plastic Surgery, says a typical mission includes upward of 25 people and takes a year or more of coordination to pull together.

“But the return on investment is just amazing,” Dr. Singh says. “We can help as many as 50 kids with cleft lip or palate in just one week.”

Surgical procedures include cleft lip and palate repairs, as well as treatment of congenital and traumatic facial deformities, burn scars and congenital hand deformities.

“We also teach the hosting country’s plastic surgeons, so our work can continue after we leave,” he adds.

Dr. Singh thanks AAMC for its unwavering support.

This is a hospital with a heart,” he says. “I appreciate that AAMC allows me to donate my time to help others.”

Dr. Singh says his goal is to give back, whether it’s repairing a child’s cleft lip or advancing the field of medicine.

He’s the former chair of the Maryland Board of Physicians and was recently elected into the exclusive American Association of Plastic Surgeons. He’s published 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Plus, he’s received invitations to deliver more than 100 academic lectures throughout the world.

Dr. Singh looks forward to his next trip with Changing Children’s Lives, scheduled for Thailand early next year.

”My mission is to serve people who can benefit most from what I’ve learned during my many years as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon,” he says. “I love what I do for a living!”

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