The email writes:
Dear Dr Palin
'…….And I am delighted with the progress.......your Center has taken off like no other anywhere else'.

Satish Kalra
Regional Director - South Asia
The Smile Train Inc.


In four and half months 502 cleft surgeries are successfully completed on 26th Oct 2006 giving smiles to many families. Smile Train Shija Cleft Project, launched on 11th of June 2006, aims to perform 750 cleft operations in 18 months. But with the speed the project is moving, we feel that the project will be completed by Jan 2007 (in 7 months) and will be renewed for a second project with more facilities like Orthodontic, Speech therapy and Genetic Studies.



Cleft Lip and Palate
Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren't allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. The exact cause is not known. The best time for primary surgery is within one year.

1infant is born in every 600 to 800 live birth and in India, over 35,000 children are born with cleft lips or palates every year. Most of them cannot afford treatment though the deformity is totally treatable.

SmileTrainInc, New York.
The Smile Train is an NGO launched in 1998 with the goal to eradicate the global problem of cleft lips and palates. It has a comprehensive approach - free training for doctors, free surgery for children and research to find a cure. It is supported by thousands of individuals and private foundations and does not receive any governmental funding.

Smile Train started in India in late 2000 having 82 'partner' hospitals and 150 surgeons. It has so far sponsored more than 65,000 cleft surgeries in India.

Shija Hospitals
100 bedded hospital providing secondary and tertiary health care centre in Manipur, recognised as partnered hospital from June 2006. The project aims to perform 750 surgeries for Cleft lip, palate and associated problems in 18 months whichever earlier between the age of 3 months to 40 years

The Project - Our findings:
We have a very good start with the help of media and till today we have examine 630 cleft patients and performed 502 cleft surgeries.

• Male 273 and Female229;
• 11 married and 291 unmarried
• Geographical Distribution-Maximum patients are from Imphal West. It may be related with the population and communication convenience. Our recent observation indicates that most of the patients coming to avail the treatment are from the interior region, where there is lack of transportation and communication problems. Most of them require support for even transportation.

• The deformity runs in the family in 12.7% which is 2.7% higher than the usual finding (10%). There is a need for genetic study.
• 357(71.1%) were done under general and 145(28.9%) under local anaesthesia
• Only 6 % turn up for primary surgery during the desired period of surgery (3 months to 1 year). But recently more clefts are reported immediately after delivery.
• 6% of the patients are associated with other congenital deformities

'Future belongs to those who believe in the beauties of their dreams'. We are faced with limitations in the fields of Speech Therapy, Orthodontics, Bone grafting, Genetic studies. We are planning for wider coverage including neighboring states and countries and hopeful of recognizing our hospital by Smile Train Inc as a Tertiary Care Centre for cleft treatment.

It is a boon in this part of the world to have Smile Train Shija Project in Manipur. But we have to go a long way to achieve the desired goal. 'The war is not over until it is over'. A Meet the press programme was organized with the Surgeon on 26th Oct. 06 at 3:30PM in the hospital.
Dated: 26th October 2006/ Imphal