Jipmer is conducting the ‘Jipmer Smile Train Cleft Awareness Week’ from August 10 to 16.
Cleft lip is gap in the upper lip which may extend up to nostril and causes deformity of face. It may involve one side or both sides of the face. The cleft palate could be incomplete, complete on one side or bilateral in nature.
Cleft lip and palate can occur either separately or together. Cleft lip and palate are usually associated with nasal deformities, teeth deformities, face deformities, speech problems, ear problems and feeding problems.
Treatment of cleft lip and palate, done by plastic surgeons with involvement of multiple teams including dentists, anaesthetists and speech therapists, involves various procedures done at different ages which include palate repair, lip repair, nose corrections dental corrections, speech therapy and nutritional advice.
The Smile Train Project has been on in Jipmer since July 2014.
Smile Train is an organisation headquartered in New York, involved in training and creating awareness of physicians, surgeons, dentist, speech therapist, paramedics, nursing care givers and parents of affected children.
The initiative will be driven by a team led by S.C. Parija, director, Jipmer , and comprising R. K. Chittoria, Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, S. Dinesh Kumar, Friji MT, and D. P. Mohapatra, cleft surgeons, and Pankaj Kundra, Head of the Department of Anesthesia.
Following the inaugural on Monday, the week-long cleft awareness programme will have sessions involving education of parents and care givers to manage affected children, avoid complications and to know the need and type of treatment required, education of parents to prevent occurrence in future by taking precautions before and during pregnancy.
Education of medical and paramedical staff, nursing staff and other healthcare givers, consultation for surgery of cleft lip and palate and providing post-surgical management and follow-up care, training and demonstration of surgery to young doctors, creating awareness among general public for cleft lip and palate are part of the programme.
Interested public and members can visit the department and clear their doubts about cleft lip and palate. They can also come in OPD on every Tuesday and Thursday, Room No. 307 or they can contact via Telemedicine Clinic on Tuesday and Thursday from 2.30 to 4.30 pm on the number 0413-2297387.
Cleft lip and palate are usually associated with nasal, teeth and face deformities, speech, ear and feeding problems
