It is estimated that a child is born somewhere in the world with a cleft every three minutes, making it the third most common birth defect. Ideally corrective surgery should be carried out within the first 18 months of life.
In many parts of South Africa where the public health system is over-burdened and under-resourced, safe surgery is not always freely available or accessible, and a child may have to wait years for the chance to live a normal life. Without surgery, children with clefts face serious and debilitating long-term health problems and will likely suffer from emotional abuse and isolation.
We are committed to reducing cleft surgical waiting times and are very pleased to be working with the Mpumalanga Department of Health and Rob Ferreira Hospital to provide high-quality cleft care at no cost to those in the province and surrounding areas.
Sarah Scarth, executive director of Operation Smile South Africa
“The longer a child born with a cleft must wait for surgery, the more serious their health, developmental and psychological problems will likely be. The good news is that cleft conditions can be surgically repaired in as little as 45 minutes by a specialist medical team,” explains Sarah Scarth, executive director of Operation Smile South Africa.
“We believe everyone born with a cleft deserves access to safe surgery and comprehensive care. We are committed to reducing cleft surgical waiting times and are very pleased to be working with the Mpumalanga Department of Health and Rob Ferreira Hospital to provide high-quality cleft care at no cost to those in the province and surrounding areas,” says Scarth.
The Operation Smile’s team of volunteers, comprised of specialist plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaethetists, paediatricians, nurses, dentists, speech therapists and psychosocial professional will travel to Mpumalanga from across the country to team up with medical staff at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela.
On Friday 19 May they will conduct patient screening, with surgeries taking place all day on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May. Each young patient and their parent or guardian will receive the highest quality of compassionate care at no cost. This includes transport, accommodation, meals, medical evaluations, surgeries, and post-surgical evaluations such as speech and dental.
In addition to the surgical intervention, the weekend programme will provide an opportunity for education and training of local medical professionals and surgical registrars.
“All this is made possible thanks to our committed volunteers and our generous supporters who are moved every day to partner with us to make a difference in the lives of children they’ve never met,” says Scarth.
