When families come to us, surgery is often only one part of what they need. In our experience, support for parents of children with birth defects can also mean finding the right specialists, understanding the next step, traveling for care, securing a place to stay, and knowing that someone will help coordinate the process.
At Little Baby Face Foundation, we provide reconstructive care for children who qualify, at no cost to their families. Our surgeons donate countless hours of their time and expertise, while the Foundation covers expenses associated with treatment and travel. Since our founding in 2002, we have performed 700 surgeries, served children from more than 25 countries, and worked with more than 100 medical professionals.
Comprehensive Care Is More Than the Surgery Itself
Through our work with families, we know how easy it is to focus on the surgery as the destination. But getting a child into an operating room can involve many steps before the procedure ever takes place.
That is why we describe our work as comprehensive care.
Some children who come to us need a single surgery. Others have treatment plans that continue for years. Our role is built to support both.
When a child is accepted for care, our Surgical Coordinator begins planning the family’s visit. Our team can schedule flights, airport pickup, accommodations, additional testing, and surgeries. For families traveling internationally, we can also provide a letter of invitation for the child and one parent or guardian when a passport or visa is needed. The Foundation covers expenses related to accommodation, travel, and surgery while the family is in New York.
Those details matter because access to an experienced surgeon means little if a family cannot afford to reach that surgeon.
One thing we want families to understand is that our goal is not simply to offer a procedure. We work to remove practical barriers that could otherwise stand between a child and medically necessary care.
What Do Families Experience Before Finding the Right Care?
Every family arrives with a different story.
Some have been searching for answers. Others have been told that little can be done. Some live in places where the care their child needs simply is not available.
We have heard directly from parents about how difficult that search can become.
On our website, Vinola, the mother of one of our patients, Bjorn, described feeling “alone and lost in a maze” before finding Little Baby Face Foundation. Bjorn traveled from Jamaica for care related to microtia and atresia. When he first came to us, his evaluation also identified hemifacial microsomia and a mass on his tongue, which changed the immediate course of his care.
His experience illustrates something we have learned repeatedly in our work: each child needs to be considered individually.
We take the time to review applications and determine whether treatment is available through our Foundation and which specialists are best suited to the child’s needs. That review is the beginning of our process—not an expectation that parents arrive already knowing exactly what their child needs.
The Bigger Picture Behind Every Surgery
Since 2002, our work has included 700 surgeries, children from 25+ countries, 16+ conditions treated, and 100+ medical professionals involved in care.
Behind those numbers are individual children and families whose journeys can look very different.
What Does Comprehensive Care Look Like for Real Families?
Before-and-after photographs can show part of a child's journey. We believe the story surrounding those photographs matters just as much.
The three children below came to us from very different places and with different needs. Their experiences show why comprehensive care cannot always be reduced to a single procedure.
Anisa: Finding Care After Years of Searching
Before Anisa came to Little Baby Face, her mother had spent two years searching for help. Anisa was born with microtia in her right ear, and after her mother found LBFF through Instagram, Anisa came to us for surgery to reconstruct her ear and improve her hearing.
Her care continues beyond that first procedure. Later in her treatment journey, Anisa’s bone-anchored hearing aid was turned on in our New York City office.
When we meet children like Anisa, we are reminded that treatment can involve more than what is visible in a before-and-after photograph. Her experience shows how comprehensive care can support a child through different needs and stages of treatment.
Veronica: Coming From Mexico for Treatment
Veronica also came to us at age 12. She traveled from Veracruz, Mexico, after being born with microtia that affected her right ear and hearing. Her first surgery with us brought her to New York, and she later returned for a second surgery through the Foundation
For us, her return is an important part of the story. Comprehensive care does not always fit neatly into one visit. We work with families based on the care their child has been accepted to receive.
Learn more about Veronica’s care journey
Reena: Returning for Care Over Several Years
Reena's experience makes that point especially clear.
She traveled from the Philippines to New York City with her father for her first Little Baby Face Foundation surgery in 2017. Reena was born with a venous malformation affecting her lower lip, chin, gum, and tongue. She has since made several trips back to New York to continue treatment.
Through our work with patients like Reena, we see why “comprehensive care” cannot mean the same thing for every child, with care ranging from single-surgery cases to multi-year treatment plans. Reena's continuing journey is one example of what that can look like in practice.
What Does Comprehensive Care Look Like for Real Families?
Our surgeons donate countless hours of their expertise, but surgery still comes with significant hard costs.
Anesthesia costs money. Operating rooms cost money. Families need transportation and somewhere to stay. There may also be meals, medications, recovery supplies, and other essential expenses.
This is where our donors become part of comprehensive care.
Donations to Little Baby Face Foundation directly fund critical expenses including anesthesia, additional operating room fees, travel, lodging, and other essential services. A $500 gift can cover up to 10 nights of lodging at Ronald McDonald House, while a $1,000 gift can help support round-trip transportation to New York City for a child and parent or guardian.
A $5,000 donation can fund travel, food, lodging, medications, and other essential support associated with a single one-time procedure.
For us, this is an important part of donor transparency. Donated surgical expertise is extraordinary, but it does not make the operating room, anesthesia, airplane ticket, hotel room, or recovery needs disappear.
Our supporters help us close that gap.
What Does Comprehensive Care Look Like for Real Families?
We want families to know exactly where to begin: with our confidential online application.
Our current eligibility guidelines state that the person needing treatment must be age 21 or younger, the requested treatment must be medically necessary, the family must be unable to afford treatment, and treatment must not be available locally. We do not provide rhinoplasty or other cosmetic procedures that are not medically necessary.
Once an application is submitted, our medical team reviews it to determine whether corrective treatment is available through the Foundation and which specialists may be appropriate. Because we receive a high volume of applications, we currently ask families to allow 2–12 weeks for a response.
If the child is accepted, our Surgical Coordinator contacts the family to begin planning the visit.
For parents who have spent months or even years trying to determine where to turn, we want the first step with us to be clear: Apply. Let our medical team review your child's information.
Comprehensive Care Connects Families, Medical Teams, and Supporters
In our work with families, we have seen children come to New York from across the United States and around the world. Some need one procedure. Some return to us over several years. Each arrives with an individual history, an individual need, and a family behind them.
That is why comprehensive care matters to us.
It connects the expertise donated by our medical professionals with the practical support families need to reach that expertise. It brings together surgery, travel, lodging, coordination, and other essential expenses rather than expecting families to solve each barrier on their own.
For families, that starts with an application.
For donors and partners, it starts with helping us fund the real costs that make no-cost care possible.
Apply if you are seeking care for your child. Donate to help us cover essential treatment and travel expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What support does Little Baby Face Foundation provide to families?
For children accepted into our program, we provide reconstructive care at no cost to their families. Our team can coordinate flights, airport pickup, accommodations, additional testing, and surgeries, and the Foundation covers expenses related to accommodation, travel, and surgery while the family is in New York.
Who can apply for care from Little Baby Face Foundation?
Our current eligibility guidelines require the person needing treatment to be 21 or younger, the treatment to be medically necessary, the family to be unable to afford treatment, and appropriate treatment to be unavailable locally. Every application is reviewed by our medical team.
How do donations help provide no-cost care?
Many of our surgeons donate their time and expertise. Donations help us pay the remaining hard costs, including anesthesia, operating room fees, travel, lodging, and other essential services. That support allows us to provide accepted families with care without passing those treatment-related costs on to them.
