Ramachandra Varsity, Smile Train launch free cleft lip surgery

Chennai, July 17 (UNI) Sri Ramachandra University and the US-based Smile Train today jointly launched free surgery to correct facial bone deformities in children with cleft lip.

Addressing a press conference here today soon after the launch, University Chancellor V R Venkatachalam and Vice Chancellor S Rangaswami said this major and complex orthognathic surgery and distraction procedure will normally cost between Rs 40,000 and Rs 80,000.

But it would be performed free of cost in the Department of Plastic Surgery at University's medical centre.

They had a dedicated cleft lip team comprising plastic surgeon, paediatrician, speech therapist, orthodontist, prosthodontist, pedodontist, ENT surgeon, nutritionist, geneticist, social worker and nurse coordinator.

With these facilities, it was the aim of the university to locate any new born children with cleft lip and take up the surgery and rehabilitation to give a lasting smile on their face.

Mr Venkatachalam said they completed 5,000 free cleft surgeries in association with Smile Train so far and really brought smile and cheer to not only these 5000 faces, but many more including their parents,siblings and kith and kin.

Prof Jyotsna Murthy, Chief Coordinator, Cleft and Craniofacial Centre of the University said cleft lip occurred one in 700 live births.

In all cleft lip and palate patients, 25-40 per cent would have facial growth problems where the upper jaw did not grow as much as the lower jaw leading to concave facial profile.

Mr Satish Kalra, Regional Director - South Asia, The Smile Train Project, said craniofacial surgery was used for another deformity involving facial bones and the skull leading to deformation of the head and the face.

Sometimes the deformed skull also exerted pressure on the growing brain. These anomalies occurred 1 in 10,000 live births.

Though it was rare, this required very complex and major surgery costing about Rs 1.5 to two lakh.

The World Craniofacial Foundation Team from Dallas, US will be visiting Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre here in September next to enter into an agreement to provide support for complex craniofacial corrective procedures, he added.

UNI