Smile Train India, an NGO which supports cleft treatment for underprivileged children, has announced its partnership with Siddhartha Academy of General and Technical Education to support free cleft lip and palate surgeries in the city.
As part of the programme, free cleft treatment will be available to patients all through the year at the new cleft centre established at Drs Sudha & Nageswara Rao Siddhartha Institute of Dental Sciences in the city. The cleft surgeries will be performed by renowned maxillofacial surgeon Dr. G. Srikanth who has been associated with Smile Train since 2012.
Smile Train India programme manager Leela Imam said that since 2000, they have been actively involved in providing cleft treatment to the children who are forced to live with untreated clefts due to poverty and ignorance. Smile Train India has supported more than 7,500 cleft surgeries in Andhra Pradesh through its partner hospitals, he said.
For information about treatment for clefts, those in need can dial toll-free Cleft Helpline 1800 103 8301 and 9886437520.