“Why do we assume so much from the way someone looks? Dr David Chong
Imagine being a perfectly normal kid in every respect, except one. You have a chronically deformed face. Every time you go out, people look at you, just for a second, before turning away in shock. You’re deformed, but you’re intelligent and aware. Which makes it even worse.
Facially deformed children lead terribly lonely, traumatic lives. But at Jigsaw, we can change them. We just need your help.
Now, you might feel that the best way to help a deformed child is to bring him or her to Melbourne and have our team of surgeons perform their miracles. But instead of bringing one child to Melbourne, we'd rather send lots of people all over Australia, all over the world. In other words, we want to train more and more surgeons who can return to their communities within Australia and overseas where they will be able to help hundreds of children throughout their career.
So we need money to fund research, education and training in craniofacial surgery, which deals with the diagnosis, management and treatment of major facial deformities. These afflictions usually result from birth abnormalities, trauma, or tumours. Thousands of children from Australia and all over the world have been helped by the extraordinary surgeons in the Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
The Jigsaw Foundation was established in 1990 and we have been committed to changing children’s lives for the better ever since.
All we ask is that you help us to keep going. Please.
History Timeline
1940 - The Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital is established and Sir Benjamin Rank is appointed as the first plastic surgeon.
1978 – Tony Holmes is appointed to the Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital after completing plastic surgery and craniofacial training at Harvard.
1979 – Tony Holmes starts The Melbourne Craniofacial Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
1979 – Reigning Miss Victoria, Bronwyn Trimble is involved in a severe motor vehicle accident in which Tony Holmes uses craniofacial surgery to restore her face. The publicity helps change the way facial trauma is managed in Victoria.
1990 – Tony Holmes becomes Head of the Department and sets up the initial Children’s Craniofacial Surgery Foundation in Victoria. He consolidates a post-graduate craniofacial training program in Melbourne.
1999 – John Meara is a Fellow in the Department. He returns to succeed Tony Holmes as Head of Department in 2003 and soon after becomes Chairman of the Division of Surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Three years later he is head-hunted to become the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Harvard Boston Children’s Hospital. He is still on the Board of the Jigsaw Foundation to this day.
2006 – Heather Cleland becomes Head of Department. Tony Holmes continues as Head of Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery.
“None of us deserved how we look for good or for bad. The Jigsaw Foundation brings hope to those with a facial difference...to face the world with a smile.” Dr. David Chong
The Foundation
The Jigsaw Foundation has been a success, ever since its inception in 1990. Focussing on the continued educational support of its craniofacial surgeons and supporting those affected and their families, the Foundation aims to develop and expand the craniofacial unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. Occasionally, it will support individual children for reconstruction, but the core aim is to help as many afflicted children as possible. The postgraduate Training Fellowships, mainly funded by the Foundation, aim to encourage postgraduate surgeons to train in craniofacial surgery. This takes us one step further in helping as many facially deformed children in the world as possible.
Since forming the Foundation, Tony and his team have trained more than 26 super-specialist reconstructive surgeons, most of whom are now nationally and internationally recognised. They work in Australia, the United States, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, The Philippines, Iran, China, France and Great Britain. Over half of them are heads of their own departments. The current Chiefs of Plastic Surgery at both Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Children’s Hospital are graduates of the program.
In addition, the Foundation has helped the Royal Children’s Hospital Department develop new techniques for various major craniofacial procedures, all of which have been widely accepted throughout Australia and the world. Many research projects have been funded by the Foundation and money has been used to create a suitable academic environment in order to entice the best surgeons to join our Department and remain in Australia.
“The Melbourne Craniofacial Unit is unique in Australasia in that it is the busiest, has the widest range of treatments and genuinely has a multidisciplinary teams that involves not just plastic surgeons but maxillofacial surgeons who have blended their skills for the very best outcomes.” Dr. Andrew Heggie
Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery
The Department has a world class reputation for ground breaking techniques and research. Every year, our surgeons see more than 10,000 outpatients and perform over 2000 operations.
Our clinical work involves not just surgical inpatient and consultative outpatient care, but clinical collaboration within the hospital and with our peers worldwide.
We have ongoing research collaboration in association with the University of Melbourne and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI). We also have joint programs with other children's hospitals in Australia and internationally, including the Harvard Boston Children's Hospital.