The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : NIMS enters partnership with NGO Smile Train

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Thursday, Feb 14, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

NIMS enters partnership with NGO Smile Train

Swathi.V

HYDERABAD: Rani, hailing from Marpalli village of Ranga Reddy district, gave birth to a daughter with cleft lip a year ago. Being a carpenter’s wife, she could not have afforded the lip correction surgery in private hospitals. But, she and her daughter are all smiles now, thanks to a free surgery performed at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS).

Notwithstanding the normal charges of Rs.6, 000 for such a surgery, she did not pay even a penny because of the partnership between NIMS and Smile Train, an international charity organisation. “Our tie-up dates back to 2003 and so far, 1,865 free surgeries have been performed,” informed D. Mukund Reddy, Professor and Head, Plastic Surgery Department.

Mission

Smile Train is working towards a mission to provide free cleft lip and palate surgeries for millions of poor children in developing countries.

According to its agreement with NIMS, Rs.10, 000 will be allocated for each case of cleft lip surgery for poor patients. Apart from covering the hospital charges of Rs.6, 000, the funds will be used towards encouraging treatment follow up.

Treatment

“Normally, parents are satisfied with the cosmetic corrections. But if deformities involve cleft palate, they will result in speech difficulty, which is ignored till the patient reaches school going or marriageable age. Comprehensive treatment involves constant follow up with support from other departments like Orthodontics and ENT, and through tests such as nasal endoscopy and video fluoroscopy,” said Dr. Reddy. Speech therapy will be given for those who undergo surgery after they learn to speak.

Surgical incentive

If a one-year child is brought for surgery, Rs.2, 000 for a male child and Rs.3, 000 for a female child will be put in a fixed deposit account as surgical incentive to encourage parents to bring children back for a follow up after five years.

An additional Rs.1,000 will also be given towards travel charges. “If the original surgery is successful, there will not be any need for a secondary surgery. Our record is exceptional with only five per cent partial failures and 0.5 per cent complete failures,” said Dr. Reddy and added that the cases of failures will be addressed by a secondary surgery.

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