Fall 2014
Mark Paxton ’76—Shaping smiles
Sweat trickled down his face as Mark Paxton ’76 threaded the surgical needle through the roof of his patient’s open mouth. In 95-degree heat and no air conditioning, the doctors in the Guatemalan operating room used white cloths to wipe away the moisture.
The oral surgeon put down his tools and stepped back. After 23 years of performing cleft lip and palate surgeries on medical mission trips to Zacapa, Guatemala, he has grown used to the intense and muggy conditions.
His 10-day trip with a group of about 100 Washington State University students and volunteers last March focused on construction, providing general medical and … » More …