Dr. Eric Mooney, a plastic surgeon from Cooperstown, New York, has been volunteering with ReSurge International since 1997. Over nearly three decades of service, he has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of ReSurge’s collaborative teaching model. In an interview, Dr. Mooney emphasized how he is drawn to ReSurge’s team-based, interactive teaching approach, where host surgeons, nurses, and entire medical teams learn together rather than in a traditional top-down model.
In addition to giving his time and skills, Dr. Mooney is also a monthly donor, believing that predictable, ongoing donations are essential for the organization’s stability and long-term impact.
“We decided not to just give once or twice a year, but to give continuously. It’s important because, number one, it keeps you committed long term. And number two, especially in this political and economic climate, it’s important to be a frequent and predictable giver. With funding and grants often uncertain, stability matters.” – Dr. Eric Mooney
For him, ReSurge represents one of the most gratifying experiences of his career; an effort that continuously moves forward, adapting and teaching cutting-edge techniques to ensure that quality reconstructive care can eventually reach everyone who needs it.
One of Eric’s memorable moments came in Vietnam, when a renowned anesthesiologist—head of a major pediatric hospital—told him that serving with ReSurge was “the most fulfilling thing” he had ever done, for the opportunity to teach local doctors and to serve the poor. The sentiment resonated deeply. “Here was someone at the top of his field, yet he valued this experience so highly. I agree with him—I love ReSurge, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done, too.”
Could you start by sharing a bit about yourself?
I’m a plastic surgeon located in Cooperstown, New York, which is upstate New York. I have a family—I have three daughters, they’re all grown and employed. I have a Shih Tzu and a wife, so that’s pretty much my story.
How did you get involved with ReSurge?
When I came to Cooperstown in 1997 to work at Bassett Health Care, there was another surgeon, Tom, who had gone on one or two trips with ReSurge in the past. I had been on a few international medical trips during the course of my plastic surgery fellowship, and so when I came to Bassett, Tom knew that and said, “Hey, I’ve been going on trips with ReSurge and I think you would enjoy them.” He gave me the number, and that’s how I got started. I came to Bassett in 1997, and that was also the year of my first ReSurge trip.
Thinking back to your first trip with ReSurge, what do you remember most vividly?
Working really, really hard—so much so that I’m almost surprised I kept going back! On that first trip to Bangladesh, we saw several hundred patients on the first day. It was a two-week trip, and we worked pretty much until 11 o’clock every night.
I just remember walking into the clinic for the first time and seeing all the children waiting to be seen. Many of them were burn survivors, along with some cleft lips and palates. It was an overwhelming sight to just see all of those patients waiting. It struck me that the need is so great. And even though it’s tiring, it’s incredibly important work.
Could you walk me through a typical day when you’re on a ReSurge trip?
I get up early, around 5:30, and I review the cases in my mind. After that, we usually meet the host surgeon and make preoperative rounds with them, then check in on our postoperative patients. By then, it will be around 8 o’clock, and we’ll start operating.
At that time, part of the team will break off to give lectures and answer questions for about an hour and a half. Depending on the day, we usually work right up until dinnertime, sometimes later—like 7 or 8 at night. Then we make postoperative rounds, eat dinner, go to bed, and do it again.
The lectures are a key part of training local surgeons. But it’s not just the surgeons we’re teaching—we’re also working with the entire staff. The nurses on our team are training their nurses, and our anesthesiologists play a vital role by giving lectures on anesthesia and teaching the local anesthesia team. Without safe anesthesia, you can’t do safe surgery. Host surgeons are often teaching residents themselves, so our training extends beyond the immediate surgical team.
Has working with ReSurge changed the way that you think about your profession at all back at home?
Yeah, very much so. I think that, number one, working with ReSurge really gives me perspective on how important the work of teaching is. I think it has made me more patient in teaching because I understand the importance.
The need of the patients is so great, and obviously, as one surgeon, I can’t fulfill that need. So that’s where teaching becomes very important—and not just teaching older techniques, but teaching up-to-date and very advanced techniques, even with limited resources. So it’s not just about the operations I do—it’s about what everybody contributes to help the patients.
And number two, we go to places where unexpected things happen, and you have to be flexible. Once, we had a poisonous snake come into our operating room in Vietnam. It came right into our room. The nurse started screaming. I looked up and there was this snake coming in the window, and of course, it then went under the operating room table! So it’s definitely made me more flexible.
Regarding teaching, when we’re teaching local surgeons and we run into an intraoperative problem, you have to be an example of, “Well, let’s analyze the problem and work our way around it.” And the same thing occurs at home when you’re teaching a resident—you have to know what’s important and be flexible. I think when you teach, you’re not just teaching academia, but you’re teaching technique, and you are teaching by example.
What advice do you think that would you give to a young physician who’s thinking about this kind of work?
I think that my advice would be to focus on the patients and the care that you’re giving them, and enjoy giving that care, and enjoy teaching and working as a team. That’s another great thing about ReSurge—the surgeons are part of the team, the nurses, the techs, the anesthesiologists are all a part of the team. Everybody’s learning and everybody’s engaged. It’s not a top-down teaching experience. It’s an interactive teaching experience. And I think that’s a good way to look at it—we’re going to go over there to work together. We’re going to learn together. And so I think that’s a good way to look at it and enjoy the fact that this is really a special experience.
Are there any experiences that stay with you?
Oh, tons of them. I’ll give you a couple. On that first trip to Bangladesh, there was a priest who lived among the people and moved about to help the community. When we were there, he brought in some terribly burned kids from the country. I’ve actually stayed in touch with him, and he continues year after year to bring in burned children. A lot of the families are afraid to or can’t bring them in. And so he gets to know the families and helps in small ways.
That really impressed me—that you have community members who have dedicated their lives to helping people. And that speaks to what we do as well. And I think that’s also one of the reasons why I kept coming back. I was very impressed with the concern and level of dedication that the doctors, as well as the people in the community, showed.
Another experience was when we were on a trip in Vietnam. The people that ReSurge sends are world-class at what they do, and in this particular case, we were with a very notable anesthesiologist who is the head of anesthesia at a major pediatric hospital. We were finishing up this one trip, and he looked at me and said to me very seriously, “Eric, I really think that going with ReSurge is probably the best thing I’ve ever done. And the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done.”
And that really struck me, because here is a person who’s at the national level, top in what he does professionally at home. And yet he really valued what the ReSurge experience gave him—the opportunity to teach and to serve the poor and to teach the other doctors. And that really impressed me because back home, he had it all, but this was one of the things he valued most.
I agree with that anesthesiologist. I love ReSurge, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done, too.
You not only give your time and skills, but you also give financially. Why is the financial aspect important to you?
Well, I think it’s part of an ongoing commitment. We decided not to just give once or twice a year, but to give on a continuing basis. It’s important because, number one, it keeps you committed long term. And number two, it’s important, particularly in this political and economic environment, to be a frequent and predictable giver. Particularly when funding is now unpredictable and grants are unpredictable, it’s important to have some stability. So that’s one of the reasons that I make an ongoing financial commitment.
If I were to tell someone about your experience with ReSurge, is there anything that you would want to make sure I don’t leave out?
I think that my experience with ReSurge is certainly one of the most gratifying things that I have done. And it has given me big insight into the future and how we need to continue to go forward and teach, so that ideally, everybody will eventually have access to top-grade medical care. I think that’s the importance of ReSurge.
It’s not just a one-time effort that is made, and then becomes a part of the past. It’s an effort that is continually moving forward and continually adapting and teaching cutting-edge techniques to people who will leverage them to care for communities that need access to care.
We are immensely grateful for the ReSurge Surgery Sustainer Circle, a community of compassionate supporters like Eric Mooney and Robert Lin, who give consistently. We invite you to double your impact today by becoming a part of our Surgery Sustainer Circle. The sustained gifts from this dedicated community of supporters have become a significant lifeline for patients accessing life-changing reconstructive surgical care. If you start a monthly gift today, a generous ReSurge supporter will match your entire first year of giving, exponentially growing your impact. Help us transform lives every month!
