Free camp in Jodhpur to cure cleft lip soon

JODHPUR: People in Rajasthan can soon bid adieu to facial deformities such as cleft palate and cleft lips through a free surgery. Operation Smile, the largest non-profit international volunteer services organisation and Rajasthan Royals ��� the 2008 IPL champions ��� in association with the state government, will soon be launching a unique programme to treat such patients.
A nine-day free medical camp will be held at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital here from September 16 to 24. The surgery usually costs around Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000. Announcing its launch, Ajit Verma, executive director of Operation Smile, said India has nearly 1 million people with cleft lips, of which about 40,000 are in Rajasthan.
Superintendent, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, D K Mathur said, ���It is a congenital deformity, and is found in one in every 700 persons.��� It causes difficulty in speech and feeding, but is not classified as a physical handicap.
Mathur said it is a birth defect, and common in rural areas. ���If operated at a young age, the scars will not be visible after sometime,��� he said. People with this deformity suffer social stigma, but the operation will help them regain their dignity. ���It will, in particular, benefit the poor, and those living in rural areas, who cannot afford the surgery costs,��� Mathur said.
A team of 45 medical experts from 11 countries, including the paramedical staff, will participate in this camp, and nearly 125 surgeries are expected to be performed, said Verma. ���There are less than 1,000 cosmetic surgeons in India and therefore we invited surgeons from other countries such as US, Australia and Philippines,��� he added.
���The government has extended full support for the publicity for the campaign,��� he said. It has directed the concerned district magistrates to mobilise the entire medical and health system, even at the ANM level (Auxilliary Nurse and Midwife), to spread information about the campaign to the remote villages.
The Operation Smile project was started in India in 2003, has till date has brought smiles on over 3,000 faces. ���Now we have entered Rajasthan with same objective and commitment,��� said Verma.