If you ask Dr David Chong who his inspiration is, it’s not the usual cliché or well-known figure that most people would say.

It’s Dr Gary Parker, a surgeon who has spent the last 30 years on board the Africa Mercy, a hospital ship that provides free, world-class healthcare to those most in need.

And it was 19 years ago that Dr Chong’s longing to discover his place in medicine that led him to meet Dr Parker, and the start of his volunteer work on board the Mercy.

“I was a junior doctor still working out what I wanted to specialise in. So, I took time off to dedicate my time to those in need. I spent three months docked up in Madagascar working with this humble man, Dr Parker, who believes he is on this earth to work with the poor and forgotten. He’s dedicated his life to correcting Maxillo Facial Craniofacial tumours, cleft lips and palates and it has been a highlight of my career to work with him,” Dr Chong said.

Since then, the popular doctor has become one of Australia’s best plastic surgeons specialising in correcting facial and skull deformities.

With one in 700 Australian children born with a cleft palate or lip, Dr Chong says there’s a simple reason why he’s so passionate about providing his surgical expertise to all children.

“I have committed my life to this work because looking different can cause difficulty in a child’s life.  I want to alleviate this, and give them a life where they don’t have to experience any teasing or bullying. To be able to change that for child, and for them to never know what life could have been like, is the greatest gift I can give to them. This is why I love the work I do,” he said.

His attention to detail and amazing results has led to teaching requests from many surgeons from around the world.

Dr Chong travelled back to Madagascar, and back on board the Mercy, in January, 19 years to the day he was there as a junior doctor. This time, he travelled back with the Royal Children’s Hospital name behind him.

“It’s a premier hospital with an amazing reputation around the world. I’m so grateful to the patients and staff at the RCH who are so supportive of my international work and for continuing to encourage me to do it,” he said.

Dr Chong plans to do follow-up trips to Africa to check-in on his bigger cases twice a year as well as additional trips as part of his other volunteer work with Operation Smile.

Dr David Chong is a Plastic Surgeon Consultant at the RCH.