STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Smile Train, an international NGO, in partnership with Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar has provided over 5,800 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 organised between 5th and 11th December, 2016 across Jammu and Punjab. In this regard, a special camp was organised at Amandeep Multi-specialty OPD Clinic, here on Wednesday.
During this special event, Kavinder Gupta, Speaker, J and K Assembly was Chief Guest and Deepak Gupta, prominent industrialist, Ankush Gupta, President, BJP Gandhi Nagar Mandal, Kulbir Charak, General Secretary BJP, Jammu, Bharat Sharma, Narinder Sigh, former Director, Information Department J and K also attended the function. Identified patients were mobilized towards Amandeep Multi-Specialty OPD Clinic Jammu for free consultation and 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 organised to create renewed awareness about the problem. Total 57 such patients were checked during this special camp.
At this event, Speaker Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta appreciated the initiative of Amandeep Hospital and Smile Train and emphasized on the need of such more initiatives by private hospitals for upliftment of the downtrodden and destitute.
Speaking at this event organized by the hospital, Dr. Ravi Mahajan, Director, Smile Train & Chief Plastic Surgeon, Amandeep Hospital said that by treating such patients, Team Amandeep is feeling privileged.
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 5800 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.”
