Smile, the cleft is sealed

The Telegraph - Calcutta Tuesday 20, April 2010

METRO

SMILE, THE CLEFT IS SEALED

by Rith Basu

Corrective Surgery Cures 63

Sixty-three patients with cleft lips or palates, aged between six months and 68 years, can afford to smile now, after they came under the scalpel of renowned plastic surgeons at a seven-day campaign held in the city recently  the campaign was facilitated by Smile Network International, an organisation based in Minnesota, US.

I'm thrilled looking at the mirror after the surgery.  I wish I had the opportunity to undergo this operation as a child.  That way, my growing up would have been very different," rued Subhendu Koley, 29, who was operated upon on Thursday.

Most of the others who attended this free camp at the Mission of Mercy  Hospital were, however, children. A team of 15, including doctors, nurses and an administrator from the US and Finland, conducted the operations, Smile Network's first in India.

The youngest patient was Riya, aged six months, "We had heard that clefts should be fixed before the age of one, that is, before the speech can be affected.  I am happy we heard of this camp in time to get her lip operated on," said Riya's mother Kamona.

Patients from all over the state came to get treatment at the camp.

"We saw 90 patients but only 63 of them were operable.  The others had fever or a sore throat.  They will be operated on after the campaign, when their condition improves, at the Mission of Mercy Hospital, whose surgeons have been mending clefts for the past seven years," said Rajbir Sarpal, one of the Smile Network surgeons.

Post-operative care and speech therapy will also be provided by the host hospital.

A cleft lip is a split in the upper lip, while a cleft palate is a split in the roof of the mouth that leaves a hole between the nose and the mouth.  A child with a cleft lip or palate (one in every 700 to 1,000 are affected) tends to be more susceptible to colds, ear infections, hearing loss, problems with eating, speech defects and dental problems. Cleft palates and cleft lips can occur together or separately.

"These children suffer humiliation for their disfigurement.  Many refuse to got to school or have few friends and many may never marry have children," said Alita Watson, the director (new site development), Smile Network, while stressing on the organisation's commitment to the cause.

It has conducted camps in different countries of Latin America and Asia, which are more prone to the condition.

(caption under picture) Surgeons and their patients queue up for one for the album at the Mission of Mercy Hospital after the Smile Network International initiative on corrective surgery. (Rith Basu)