Smile Train Shija Cleft Project Free surgery conducted for cleft lip and palate patients of Nagaland
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 22 2022: The Smile Train Shija Cleft Project Imphal, Smile Train India and Oking Hospital, Kohima jointly reached out to ten cleft lip and palate patients of Nagaland and gave them a new lease of life by rendering free of cost corrective surgery, free medicine, accommodation and travel allowances.

Smile Train India in collaboration with the Smile Train Shija Cleft Project team sent a 41 seater bus with four of its staff to pick up the awaiting cleft patients from Oking Hospital, Kohima, Nagaland on January 17, said a press release by Shija Hospitals and Research Institute.

Ten patients and their attendants with negative RT-PCR reports were chauffeured to Imphal and got admitted to Shija Hospitals & Research Institute (SHRI) for corrective surgery on the same day.

After successful completion of the corrective surgeries by the Smile Train Partnered Experts at SHRI, all the patients and their attendants were tested for COVID-19 and ferried back to the Oking Hospital on January 20 in the same bus accompanied by Shija Smile Makers.

It may be noted that all Covid appropriate protocols were followed during the entire process.

Smile Train Shija Cleft Project Free surgery conducted for cleft lip and palate patients of Nagaland

For all the Cleft lip and Palate-related initiatives in Nagaland, Oking Hospital is the partnered hospital for Smile Train Cleft Project.

The consultants of Shija provided powdered milk packets to help feed the patients and sponsored the meals of the attendants during their stay at SHRI.

Most of the patients were from remote villages of Nagaland who had to travel more than 350 kilometers by road and took about two days just to reach the partnered hospital in Kohima.

Smile Train partnered with Shija in 2006 and since then the program has been named Smile Train Shija Cleft Project.

Under the project, more than 649 cleft patients from Nagaland have availed free treatment and still counting.

Through this project, more than 4000 free cleft surgeries have been successfully performed till date.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are openings or splits in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth (palate) and are among the most common birth defects.

Cleft Lip should be corrected from the age of 6 months onwards and Cleft Palate from 14 months onwards to achieve the best results, added the press release.

Further SHRI has informed all Cleft patients who want to avail free corrective surgery may call Oking Hospital, Kohima (0370 2290080, 9436000494) or Smile Train Shija Cleft Project, Imphal (9436869799, 9436235270) .