Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]
MPILO Central Hospital in partnership with Operation of Hope, a US-Canada volunteer surgical organisation, has successfully performed free cleft lip, cleft palate, jaw reconstruction and lipoma excision surgeries on 90 children and adults.
The free surgeries were recently done by a team of medical professionals from Operation of Hope that provided life-changing medical procedures to help affected children lead normal lives, free from discrimination and stigma and adults with medical complications that require surgery.
A cleft palate is a birth defect where the roof of a baby’s mouth does not fully fuse during pregnancy, leaving an opening between the mouth and nasal cavity, while a cleft lip is a common congenital facial birth defect where an infant’s upper lip does not join completely during foetal development.
A cleft lip may appear as an opening or gap in the lip, ranging from a small notch to a complete split that extends up into the base of the nose.
Lipoma excision, on the other hand, is a standard, outpatient surgical procedure to remove benign fatty lumps under the skin, usually in adults.
The initiative by Operation of Hope is expected to transform the lives of the children who benefited from cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries, as they faced challenges with eating, speaking and smiling confidently due to their condition.
Mpilo Central Hospital spokesperson Mrs Norma Mabhena expressed gratitude to Operation of Hope for the gesture.
“The management and staff of Mpilo Central Hospital sincerely express their gratitude to Operation of Hope for the successful cleft lip and palate surgical programme that was conducted at Mpilo Hospital. Their generosity, dedication and compassionate service have transformed the lives of many patients across Zimbabwe by restoring hope, confidence and smiles to children and families in need,” she said.
“We greatly appreciate their continued partnership and commitment to improve the health care services in the country.”
Ms Gloria Mhlanga (24), who travelled from Lupane with her three-year-old daughter, said she was grateful that her child received the life-changing medical procedure.
She said the thought of her daughter starting school with a facial defect that could potentially make the little girl a target of ridicule from other children was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I was afraid that my daughter would be a target of crude jokes from other children when she started school because of the condition of her upper lip.
Primary school children are just young kids who have no idea that laughing at someone with a condition that my child had is not right and that it destroys that child’s confidence,” said Ms Mhlanga.
Continues at www, cundsy news .com“Now my child can smile again and go to school next year without thinking about how other kids will look at her.”
The team from Operation of Hope has, in the past, expressed concern about the lack of widespread information regarding their visit, which may disadvantage mothers from remote areas.
They have emphasised the importance of early intervention, noting that children with cleft lip and cleft palate typically begin developing speech between 18 months and two years of age.
If left untreated, such conditions can hinder speech development and lead to long-term pronunciation difficulties.
Operation of Hope, led by a team of highly skilled surgeons specialising in cleft lip and palate repair, has performed over 5 000 free facial reconstructive surgeries in hospitals across Zimbabwe.
