Bringing back the smiles

Every year,more than 35,000 babies are born with cleft problems. However,many are not operated upon at the right time owing to reasons such as inadequate finances.

Cleft problems affect food intake and the nasal tract and often leads to social embarrassment.

“It was difficult for me to talk. People could not understand what I was saying. When I drank water,it used to come out from my nose,” said Shambhu,who works as a technician in a shop selling air-conditioners. He added that he had to drink extremely slowly to avoid overflow from the nose.

“Cleft palate surgery is among the most challenging. It is age-specific and treatment is done on an individual basis. Generally,cleft problems affect the lower strata of society,” said plastic surgeon Dr Vinay Jacob.

Apart from Shambhu,four patients from the city recently got access to a relatively new technology for palate correction from Regenerative Medical Services (RMS) through Smile Train. The surgery,which takes around 20 minutes,involves restructuring of soft tissues in the palate followed by an implantation known as TheraForm.

While traditional methods involve an incision in the palate followed by grafting,RMS representatives claim TheraForm helps in eliminating the grafting stage. “Generally,incision in palate takes months to heal and can also cause infection. But Theraform,made of animal collagen,acts as a porous filler and encourages growth of soft tissues,” said Satyen Sanghavi,chief scientific officer,RMS.

“Improper diet and smoking during pregnancy can be leading causes for cleft problems. Even after surgery,the dental gap takes a long time to get filled,” said Jacob. However,with Theraform,the recuperation period would be two-three weeks and bleeding would be controlled quickly,claimed Shanghavi.

Smile Train,which was launched in 2000 in India,has provided free surgeries to more than 3.25 lakh people. The NGO reaches out to doctors and pools in donations to fund surgeries.

tabassum.barnagarwala@expressindia.com