Free cleft lip surgery screening begins

preparation for free constructive surgery at Chitungwiza Central Hospital.
Specialists from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and America’s Alliance of Hope surgeons and nurses will begin the operations tomorrow. Chitungwiza Hospital surgeon, Mr Patrick Dhliwayo, said the operations were a skills transfer opportunity for Zimbabwean doctors.
“We are very happy as the exercise is more of a skills transfer opportunity. Local surgeons are being trained on this particular brand of surgery and in the long run our doctors will be doing it alone.
“We want to encourage them to extend their time as there are a lot of children in the community who need this special surgery,” he said.
Dr Joseph Zbylski of the American Board of Plastic Surgery said their organisation was committed to enhancing and enriching the lives of people around the world by providing free specialised medical and surgical services.
“We feel proud to offer our specialised medical services to the nation and we hope these services will go a long way in enhancing and enriching their lives.
“We want to help as many children as we can but because of the complexity of the operations, we might spend more time attending to one child but we will continue to come every year,” he said. Dr Zbylski said children with anaemia would not be attended to despite their conditions.
“We are considering mainly the weight, malnutrition and haemoglobin (blood) of the children that we are screening because this exercise includes loss of blood.
“Children that are under nourished and have got low haemoglobin will take time to heal when operated so they are discouraged to take part in this exercise,” he said.
Children with such conditions often find it difficult to eat or talk.