Lydia Hearst in Egypt with Operation Smile

In March, Lydia Hearst traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to work with Operation Smile. See the firsthand photos and the impact she made.

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In this slideshow: Lydia Hearst

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Operation Smile provides surgery for children with correctable facial deformities, such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Here, Lydia Hearst plays with a child during the screening process at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, on March 5, 2009.

This was Operation Smile's second mission to Cairo, following its inaugural mission to the city in October.

During four previous missions to Egypt, beginning in 2006, Operation Smile medical volunteers provided 359 children with life-changing surgeries. Here, Lydia poses with an Operation Smile patient and her mother before surgery.

Lydia plays with Abd Hassan during the screening process on March 5 in Cairo.

Lydia plays with Abd Hassan prior to surgery at a Cairo hospital in March.

Lydia looks on as child Abd Hassan undergoes surgery on March 8, 2009, in Cairo.

Lydia carries Abd Hassan out of recovery and back to his grandmother on March 9, 2009, in Cairo.

Lydia hugs Operation Smile patient Abd Hassan on March 8, 2009, in Cairo.

Gillian Hearst Simonds (far left), Christian Simonds (second from left), Lydia Hearst (second from right), and the team of Operation Smile medical volunteers during an Operation Smile mission at a Cairo hospital on March 8, 2009.