STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Smile Train, an international NGO, in partnership with Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar has provided over 5800 free cleft lip and palate surgeries to the underprivileged children born with this birth defect.
To celebrate this achievement and to create more awareness about cleft lip and palate, a Cleft Week is being organized from 5th to 11th December, 2016. In this regard, a special camp is being organised at Jammu on 7th December 2016 in which Speaker, J&K State Assembly, Kavinder Gupta will be the Chief Guest.
During this camp, cleft lip and palate children will be checked by Dr. Ravi Mahajan, Project Director, Smile Train & Chief Plastic Surgeon, Amandeep Hospital. Free consultation will be provided and patients will be registered for corrective surgery as well as the medical treatment of anemic children to facilitate surgery on time.
Though these surgeries are available throughout the year, the cleft week is being organized to create renewed awareness about the problem, Dr Mahajan said.
Speaking about this event, Dr. Ravi Mahajan, Project Director, Smile Train & Chief Plastic Surgeon, Amandeep Hospital said that by treating such patients, Team Amandeep is feeling privileged.
Dr Mahajan said “We meet many families every day who are not aware about cleft and consider it as God’s curse. This year, our team will undertake more awareness programs so that people can be told that cleft is an easily correctible medical deformity.
We are humbled by the opportunity to change children’s lives and bring a smile to not only the children, but the whole family!”
Speaking about the partnership with Smile Train, Dr. Majahan said, “Smile Train has empowered us to apply our skills to help children and give back to the society. Correction of clefts is one of the most satisfying surgical experiences for a plastic surgeon.
Without Smile Train’s support we couldn’t have helped 5700 children get a second chance at life, in just 12 years! A simple surgery stands in the way of them living a normal life, and I am privileged to be part of the Smile Train program.”
