Berhampur: When doctors at government-run MKCG Medical College and Hospital conducted corrective cleft lip surgery on six-month-old Patu three days ago, his grandmother Laxmi Sethi was a bit worried. But on Sunday she appeared happy at her grandson's condition.

This is the story of almost all family members of the 19 children and a 40-year-old orphan Padma, who underwent cleft lip and palate surgery on February 8.

"All the 20 patients were successfully operated upon for free. The initiative was part of Mission Smile (earlier known as Operation Smile India) with the help of doctors from the department of anaesthesia and representatives from National Health Mission (NHM)." said assistant professor, plastic surgery MKCG Hospital, Biswajit Mishra.

"We screened 40 patients, but conducted corrective surgery on 20. The left out cases were not fit for surgery and they were suffering from chest infection and low haemoglobin," he said.

"The congenital condition that splits the lip and palate affects one among 750 newborns. Yet, the lack of awareness about surgical procedures and treatment lead to many children suffering due to the deformity. Timely intervention can help improve quality of life," said Mishra.

Clefts of the lip and palate are associated with many problems including cosmetic and dental abnormalities, speech, hearing and facial growth difficulties. These can lead to psycho-social problems for the person.

 

"A private hospital charges approximately Rs 30,000 for cleft lip and palate surgery. But we did it for free," he said. "For cleft lip surgery, child patients are put on general anaesthesia and is a big challenge for the doctors. As part of the procedure, tissues are trimmed and the lip sewed together. The stitches are minimal to keep the scar as small as possible. Most of the stitches are absorbed into the tissue. Once the scar heals, the stitches are not required to be removed," said plastic surgeon Rajendra Prasad Das.

Mission Smile provides comprehensive cleft care and free surgeries to all patients in India. "Since 2002, we have screened more than 35,000 cleft lip affected children and have performed more than 25,000 safe corrective surgeries," said Mission Smile's state coordinator Odisha Shresh Pradhan.