E-Paper
‘Cleft lip, palate: Over 6K children born in UP annually’
Contrary to popular belief, it is not a curse and can be corrected with one stage surgery, experts said
Over 6,000 children are born with a cleft lip and palate in Uttar Pradesh every year, which is the highest incidence of the issue among all states in the country, said experts while releasing a report ‘Quality of Life and Impact Report’ on Wednesday.
“Many parents think it to be a curse though the fact is that it can be corrected with one stage surgery,” said Prof Vijay Kumar, HoD, plastic surgery, King George’s Medical University.
“The survey report revealed 70% of parents stated that they lacked financial resources to access cleft treatment,” said Mamata Carroll senior vice-president of the Smile Train that since 2000, has supported more than 7 lakh cleft surgeries across India, including 2 lakh in Uttar Pradesh.
Carroll, said that Uttar Pradesh, as the most populated state in India sees the highest incidence of cleft lip and/or palate. More than 6000+ cleft-affected children are born in Uttar Pradesh every year.
Cleft is a gap in the upper lip and/or the roof of the mouth (palate) and is a facial birth difference that affects one in 700 babies.
