Free surgery by Ganaga Hospital
Ganga Hospital in the city will perform free surgery on 25 persons, mostly children, to correct cleft lip and palate, a congenital defect that causes deformity in the face. The hospital said 21 patients were selected at a camp held on Tuesday in association with the State Bank Staff Union, Chennai Circle. Four more cases were included on Wednesday.Director of Ganga Hospital and Head of its Department of Plastic, Hand and Microsurgery S. Rajasabapathy said the patients would be operated upon over the next several weeks to correct the deformity.The hospital also said that very young children are not operated upon. For instance, one of the cases at the camp was a 50-day-old child. The parents were asked to bring it for surgery when it was three months old.The hospital said the project was being done under the auspices of the U.S.-based charity organisation Smile Train that focused on correcting this problem across the world through partial funding. The surgery may cost Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000. While Smile Train would provide half the cost, the balance would be met by the hospital.It was said at the camp that about 35,000 children were born with this defect every year in India.Though Ganga Hospital had been performing these surgeries for a couple of months, this was the first major camp.This is one of the 130 hospitals in the country performing these surgeries under Smile Train’s project.
