The Smile Train India, an NGO, has successfully completed over 16,000 free cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgeries in Odisha through a network of six partner hospitals in just two years.
A cleft week organised here by the partner hospitals, Ashwini Hospital and Sashi Bhushan Memorial Hospital in Cuttack, Kalinga Hospital and Usthi Hospital in Bhubaneswar, JehangirGhandy Hospital, Belpahar and Aum Hospital in Baleswar concluded on Sunday.
The hospitals created awareness that cleft lip and palate can be treated by surgery. Smile Train cleft centres provide free cleft surgeries to cleft lip and palate patients 365 days in a year. Many patients with untreated clefts were identified during the week.
It is estimated that 35,000 children are born with clefts every year in India and there is a backlog of over a million.
The opening ceremony at the Ashwini Hospital was attended by OPEPA Project Director Mahendra Kumar Mallik and Cuttack CDMO Dr Gangadhar Paramguru. Dr Subrat Jena of the hospital, Dr Bibhuti Nayak of SBM Hospital, Dr Baliarsing of Kalinga Hospital and Dr AnupamTripathy of Aum Hospital were present.