STATE BJP doctors cell president Dr Hitesh Bajpai has requested Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to instruct authorities concerned to launch a campaign for free surgery for cleft lip and cleft palate patients specially children across the State.
Dr Bajpai who is currently supervising surgery of 20 patients—all from Teekamgarh district at Shivam Hospital—said in a letter that cleft lip and cleft palate were birth defects, which began during foetal development. Normally, the mouth and nose of a baby developed between the first 6 to 12 weeks of growth. In some cases, lips and roof of the mouth of a foetus do not grow together.
He said a baby with a cleft lip or cleft palate has problems in eating. This could be a big problem for a newborn. Normally, the palate prevents food and liquids from going up the nose. In kids suffering from a cleft palate fluid enters the middle ear, which could cause hearing loss.
Dental problems such as uneven or missing teeth often occurred with clefts involving the upper gum or palate. Orthodontic treatment like braces could be given during school years, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Dental problems such as uneven or missing teeth often occurred with clefts involving the upper gum or palate. Orthodontic treatment like braces could be given during school years, he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said that cleft lip and cleft palate patients were being operated upon free of charge including medicines at Shivam Medical and Research Institute Bhopal with the help of Smile Foundation, America. The district collectors and their teams from Social Welfare Department could be a great help in carrying out the campaign, he said. They could help in organising screening camps in their respective districts for identifying affected children and sending them to hospital for free surgery.