ABOUT ISKRA
Globally, 1 in 500-700 babies are born with a cleft lip and/or palate.
ISKRA’s mission is to improve the lives of children with cleft lip and palate and facial differences on a global scale, through healthcare partnerships, education, research, and resource sharing. We also work to support the education and international advancement of women in surgery.
Children born with conditions like cleft lip and palate, encounter significant challenges from birth, including difficulties with eating, breathing, speech, hearing, and differences in facial appearance. Without advanced care, affected children may suffer from malnutrition, speech disorders, and poor mental health.
Our goal is to help build sustainable multidisciplinary programs that can provide the highest level of medical care for children with facial differences around the world.
ISKRA History
ISKRA was founded in 2021 by Dr. Oksana Jackson, a pediatric plastic surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an associate professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She serves as the Co-director of the Cleft Lip and Palate and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction Programs and holds the Donato D. LaRossa Endowed Chair in Plastic Surgery.
Since 2007, Dr. Jackson has participated in clinical care and educational missions for children with cleft lip and palate and facial differences in South and Central America and Eastern Europe. The missions include collaboration with local physicians of varying specialties to provide medical resources, advanced training, and guidance on complex pediatric plastic surgery cases.
Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, ISKRA has dedicated its efforts to treating more than 100 children in Ukraine, that required complex plastic surgical procedures for cleft lip and palate, other congenital disorders, and burn deformities.
Click here to learn about current and past projects.
