SPREADING the message that deft lip and cleft palate are treatable, the ‘Smile Torch’ that began its all-India journey in Varanasi in February, reached Madurai on Sunday and was received by Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC). Smile Train India, a charity that facilitates free cleft palate surgeries, launched the `Smile Torch’, which travelled to 14 States. The organisation is about to complete its 20th year in 2020 Smile Train Senior Director of Programmes Leela Imam said that MMHRC has performed 12,700 cleft repair surgeries free of cost, since 2003. Many people, due to social stigma, are still not aware that the condition is treatable by undergoing a surgery which would only take 45-90 minutes, she said. Dr N Panchavarnam, Head of Department of Plastic Surgery, MMHRC, said several reasons, including consanguineous marriages and malnourishment during pregnancy, could cause the congenital deformity “The condition can now be diagnosed as early as 12 weeks into pregnancy,” Imam added. The children who had undergone the surgery, along with their parents, gathered at MMHRC during the occasion and shared their experiences. R Sridevi, a resident of Subramaniyapuram, said her daughter is now into vocal music and had participated in many talent shows.
Source: THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Date: 18.11.2019
