Mission Plasticos · Founded 1999
No child should wait for surgery they can't afford.
Dr. Nichter founded Mission Plasticos 25 years ago to bring reconstructive plastic surgery — free of charge — to children and families in medically underserved communities around the world.
25 years of reconstructive care in 17 countries — Argentina, Armenia, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, the United States, and Vietnam.
Why Dr. Nichter founded this
The team goes home, the work continues.
Plastic surgery can change the entire arc of a life. A repaired cleft lip means a child can go to school, make friends, find work. Burn contracture release means a hand works again. These are not cosmetic outcomes — they are the conditions for a life.
But in many low-to-middle income countries, a correctable deformity isn't just a medical problem. Children born with visible differences are often feared and shunned. Communities interpret these conditions as punishment, a curse, bad luck. Families keep their children out of sight. The surgery doesn't just fix the body — it removes the stigma the body carries.
Dr. Nichter founded Mission Plasticos in 1999 on a specific conviction: that sending surgeons to operate isn't enough. You have to train the local physicians who stay behind. You have to build a system that keeps working when the mission team goes home. He has personally led or participated in more than 80 medical missions. In that time, Mission Plasticos has trained over 5,000 doctors worldwide — surgeons who now perform this work in their own communities, year-round, without waiting for a volunteer team.
See the work firsthand.
Mission Plasticos Video
Treat. Train. Transform.
Treat
Volunteer surgical teams provide free reconstructive care to patients with traumatic injuries, congenital deformities, and disfigurement from burns or cancer. Every patient is seen, evaluated, and treated at no cost — regardless of their ability to pay or their immigration status.
Train
Every mission includes hands-on surgical training for local physicians and nurses. Mission Plasticos was the first nonprofit to train host-country doctors in optimal burn management in developing countries. When the team leaves, the knowledge stays — and the surgeons they've trained continue operating.
Transform
The change goes deeper than the wound. When a visible deformity is corrected, the stigma attached to it dissolves. Children who were kept home go to school. Families resume their lives. Surgery removes not just the physical condition, but the social sentence that came with it.
Conditions treated
Complex problems. Permanent solutions.
Acute Burns
Emergency burn treatment in communities with limited access to burn care.
Burn Scar Contractures
Surgical release of scar tissue that restricts movement and disfigures over time.
Cleft Lip & Palate
Among the most common birth defects worldwide — correctable with a single surgery.
Hand Deformities & Injuries
Restoring function and appearance to hands deformed since birth or damaged by trauma.
Ear Deformities
Reconstruction of the ear for patients with congenital or injury-related ear loss.
Breast Reconstruction
Post-mastectomy reconstruction for uninsured and underinsured women through the Reshaping Lives program.
Our global reach
17 countries. The same mission.
Mission Plasticos partners with hospitals and local physicians to treat, train, and transform lives in communities where reconstructive surgery is otherwise unavailable. Missions are chosen based on the severity of local need and the host country's commitment to medical education — ensuring each visit builds capacity that lasts.
Argentina · Armenia · Afghanistan · Bolivia · Brazil · Cambodia · Cuba · Ecuador · Guatemala · India · Kenya · Laos · Mexico · Nepal · Nicaragua · United States · Vietnam
"Cold hallways, hopeful faces, sad tears, gentle touches, and life and death surrounded me. The patients were genuinely thankful for the care they were receiving, and the local team continued to do their very best with all odds against them."
25 years in. The need is still growing.
Mission Plasticos is 100% privately funded. Requests for assistance from global partners and local agencies have increased in volume and urgency. Every dollar goes directly to treating patients and training the surgeons who will carry this work forward.
Mission Plasticos is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Tax ID: 33-0831358.