Toronto plastic surgeons train doctors in Guwahati hospital

GUWAHATI: A team of plastic surgeons and therapists from Toronto headed by Ronald Zuker is on a visit to the Operation Smile Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre at the Mohendra Mohan Choudhury (MMC) Hospital for the first time. The team is conducting a training programme for the in-house surgeons of the hospitals.
Zuker, a well-known plastic surgeon is accompanied by Greg Borschel, also a plastic surgeon, Susan Organek, speech therapist and Gail Zuker, occupational therapist.
Ajit Verma, Head of Operation Smile Care, India said, "In operation smile, we do corrective surgeries on children born with deformities like cleft lip and cleft palate. But, the surgery is done depending on the intensity of the cleft and palate deformity as utmost care has to be taken to prevent further deformities in the person's face."
"The team is very happy with the services that we are providing for children born with these deformities. However, the surgery is conducted at a very small age so the child may require multiple surgeries as the child grows if the first surgery is not conducted properly," he said.
Verma added that the team of plastic surgeons will teach the in-house plastic surgeons about the reconstructive aspects of the face so that a cleft lip or palate corrective surgery doesn't affect one's face.
A senior official of the centre said, "This is the first time that such a programme is being held here. Ronald Zuker would leave on Friday and visit again in October. We will send two pediatricians from our hospital to Toronto to take a specialized training in pediatric care before October."
"We are also planning to conduct a specialized training programme for the plastic surgeons of different hospitals and I hope that like the patients, the doctors too benefit from this training programme," he added.