A public education initiative by The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) focussed on counselling cleft-palate patients and caregivers in the family on Sunday.
The Department of Plastic Surgery, which conducted the ‘JIPMER SMILE Train Cleft Counselling Programme, aimed at preventing cleft lip and palate problems from being passed down generations.
Launching the programme, S.C. Parija, Director, JIPMER, highlighted the psychosocial factors influencing the treatment adherence and role of counsellors in addressing these issues.
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In this context, counselling of patients and family members became important in identifying such problems during pregnancy and treat them as early as possible to allow patients to be accepted by family and society, he said.
In 2014, the JIPMER had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SMILE Train, the U.S., to help people with cleft lip and palate. The Department of Plastic Surgery has been running ‘JIPMER SMILE Train Project’ since then that offers free corrective surgeries, hospitalisation and post-operative care.
The congenital problem of deformity in the lip and palate is characterised by difficulty in eating, swallowing and speaking. The condition also carries social stigma.
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The counselling was attended by S. Mahadevan, Dean, JIPMER, and other faculty, residents, nurses, patients and members of the public.