A five-day cleft lip, palate reconstruction surgery -- Mission Smile -- camp got under way here on Wednesday.
The Mission Smile camp organised by Muthoot Pappachan Foundation, CSR arm of Muthoot Pappachan Group, in association GITAM Dental College and Hospital, was inaugurated at the hospital premises by college vice-principal Ravishankar.
Children born with a cleft lip or cleft palate, especially those from financially disadvantaged families, face social exclusion and rarely engage with society because of the prejudice and superstitions of people around them, he noted and hoped that the operations would help the children overcome the social stigma. He thanked the foundation for supporting the cause.
A team of 30 specialist doctors consisting of plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeon, dentist, speech therapist, paediatricians, and nurses are participating in the programme.
Mission Smile programme manager Soumen Dey Malakar said that the team successfully conducted 75 cleft lip operations in GITAM during its first phase and this is their second phase. They had screened more than 60 patients and around 40 patients were selected for surgery in GITAM. Head of CSR Muthoot Pappachan Foundation Prasanth Kumar Nellickel, Satyabhushan and others participated in the programme.
The camp is being organised by Muthoot Pappachan Foundation in association with GITAM Dental College and Hospital
