Dr. Raymond O. Brauer, a founder of the Cronin & Brauer Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic, passed away during the early morning hours of September 27, 2011. Dr. Brauer worked for many years as a contributor to Operation San José, alongside his colleague of 38 years, Dr. Ernest Cronin.

Dr. Brauer was a world-renowned plastic surgeon, specializing in cleft-lip and palate surgeries until his retirement in 1999. He participated in Operation San José mission projects from 1985 to 1997. Dr. Brauer contributed as a co-author of The History of Surgery in Houston: Fifty-Year Anniversary of the Houston Surgical Society, along with internationally renowned Drs. Denton A Cooley and Michael E. DeBakey.