Operation Smile Medical Mission to Take Place in Chinandega, Nicaragua
An Operation Smile Medical Mission team will arrive in Chinandega, Nicaragua, for an international medical mission taking place January 23- February 4, 2007 to assist children born with facial deformities. Founded in 1982, Operation Smile is a worldwide children's medical charity dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults.

An Operation Smile International Mission Team comprised of 35-40 credentialed medical professionals from around the world to include:
- Dr. Armando Siu, plastic surgeon and Operation Smile Nicaragua Medical Director
- Linda Highfield, C.N.O.R., R.N., clinical coordinator from Ohio
- Dr. Leon Klempner, orthodontist from New York
- Andrea Standish, child life specialist from Texas
- Deborah Smith, R.N., operating room nurse from Ohio
- Bruce Smith, electronic medical records from Ohio

Nicaragua became an Operation Smile partner country in 1993. Since that time, Operation Smile has conducted 14 international missions to the capital city of Managua. This marks the first mission to the city of Chinandega. On Saturday, January 27, Operation Smile will hold a medical education conference for in-country nurses, anesthesiologists and surgeons to develop their knowledge and skills for treating cleft lip and cleft palate patients. The medical education conference will also increase awareness of Operation Smile programs and activities and expand its network of volunteers in Nicaragua.

The last Nicaraguan international medical mission took place on January 26, 2006, when a mission team of 45 medical and non-medical volunteers from Brazil, Mexico, Peru and the United States arrived at Hospital Infantil Manuel de Jesus Rivera in Managua to work with Operation Smile Nicaragua volunteers. Parents from throughout Nicaragua brought their children to the hospital hoping that their son or daughter would be chosen for surgery. Plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, pediatricians, a dentist, child life specialist and speech pathologist worked together to bring new smiles to children suffering from facial deformities. The medical team provided 189 children and young adults with free medical evaluations and 117 patients received free reconstructive surgery. Since their first visit to Nicaragua in 1993, nearly 1,600 children and young adults in Nicaragua have been treated during Operation Smile international medical missions.