Pediatric Craniofacial Surgeon Has a Global Impact

The experts at Gillette Children’s are known for providing high-quality care and treatment to patients and their families throughout the nation at several clinics throughout Minnesota. But their expertise isn’t limited to patients in the United States: several Gillette providers participate in international care trips every year, sometimes traveling thousands of miles at their own expense to provide treatment to children who might otherwise not be able to access expert care.  

Pediatric craniofacial and plastic surgeon Jo Barta, MD, is one such provider, participating in at least one international trip every year. In 2025, she spent a week performing craniofacial surgeries in Ajijic, Mexico, in coordination with Smile Network International. 

During the week she spent in Mexico this year, “[The team] did 32 surgeries in total,” shares Dr. Barta, who led 16 of those procedures. While cleft lip and palate surgeries are limited to one to two per day at Gillette, she says, 

“When you cross countries to volunteer your time and provide care, and there are 70 kids lined up needing surgery, you just operate.” 

Dr. Barta was accompanied on her Mexico trip by Gillette surgical technologist Tiffany Henaman as well as Mayo Clinic’s cleft surgeon. 

Dr. Barta says that completing so many cleft surgeries in one week is tiring, but that the fulfillment that comes from treating so many children who might otherwise not be able to access care outweighs any stress about the timeline. “It’s a reminder on so many levels,” she says. 

“For us and for the team members we bring, we’re reminded how privileged we are. We complain about healthcare in general in the United States, and how expensive it is to access. But at least we have care.”

Having provided her expertise in past years on trips to Vietnam and Peru, Dr. Barta is quick to praise the families who work so hard to have their children seen by the craniofacial team while they’re in the host country. She shares that one family in Mexico spent several days traveling to Ajijic from a distant province to get care for their child, funded entirely by the financial assistance of their small home community.

Aside from treating as many patients as possible on her trips, Dr. Barta also makes knowledge- and skill-sharing with local healthcare providers a priority. This ensures that patients in other nations receive the kind of quality follow-up care that Gillette Children’s patients enjoy here in Minnesota.

“It’s nice to have a team there if these patients need certain follow-ups—you know who to refer them to, you know a physician that you’ve worked with and you trust.”