Humanitarian Work Shapes Dr. Andrew Jacono as Much as Surgery Does
A school bus ride from childhood set the course for Dr. Andrew Jacono’s career. Seated next to a girl with a cleft lip and palate, he watched as classmates avoided and mocked her. When she returned after surgery, her peers saw her completely differently. For Jacono, that observation became a career-defining principle: faces shape how the world receives us,and changing them can change everything.
A Commitment That Outlasted Medical School
Dr. Andrew Jacono has performed more than 750 surgeries on children with cleft lips, palates, and other facial deformities through Healing the Children, the humanitarian organization that sends medical volunteers to underserved communities worldwide. That work is not incidental to his practice it is central to who he is as a surgeon.
His humanitarian service extends domestically as well. Through the FACE TO FACE program, Dr. Andrew Jacono has provided reconstructive surgery to more than 100 survivors of domestic violence, helping restore faces and, with them, a measure of confidence and forward momentum. That program was documented in Facing Trauma, a television series that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Recognition Across Two Dimensions
The surgical community has taken notice of both his clinical excellence and his service orientation. The Most Compassionate Doctor Award, given annually to fewer than 3% of physicians, went to Dr. Andrew Jacono consecutively from 2012 through 2022. Newsweek ranked him third among facelift surgeons in America for 2025. Harper’s Bazaar counted him among the 24 best plastic surgeons in the country.
Academically, Dr. Andrew Jacono holds a position as Associate Clinical Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and serves as Fellowship Director for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. More than 70 peer-reviewed publications and presentations at over 100 international conferences round out a career that operates simultaneously at the frontier of surgical innovation and the bedside of patients who need care the most. Refer to this article for related information.
Watch for more about Dr. Andrew Jacono on https://www.youtube.com/c/drandrewjacono