Stop stigmatising children born with clefts lips, palate – Korle-bu CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Opoku-Ware Ampomah, has urged the public to end the stigmatisation of children born with cleft lips and palate deformities. 
He said that while these conditions are treatable through reconstructive surgery, stigmatisation often drove some parents to hide or abandon their children, leaving them feeling hopeless. 

Dr Ampomah, who also serves as the Medical Director of Operation Smile Ghana (OSG), said during a press conference on cleft awareness held last week at the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre Auditorium at the KBTH in Accra that stigma could lead to physical or emotional abuse and contribute to low self-esteem in affected children.
The conference was to reaffirm OSG’s commitment to providing free, comprehensive cleft surgeries to children across the country and to announce its September outreach.

Causes and solutions 

Addressing the causes and solutions for cleft conditions, Dr Ampomah explained that they are primarily due to genetic and environmental factors. 

“Cleft conditions are congenital deformities that occur early in pregnancy, resulting in a child being born with an opening in the lip (cleft lip), the roof of the mouth (cleft palate) or both. These conditions can cause difficulties in breathing, eating, hearing and speaking”, he explained. 

He expressed concern that illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, could lead to an increase in such cases. 
Dr Ampomah noted that heavy metal contamination from galamsey could enter water bodies and food sources, raising the risk of children being born with these deformities.

He emphasised that comprehensive solutions were needed, including nutrition, dental care, speech therapy, and reconstructive surgeries. 

The medical director noted that the partnership between KBTH and OSG, which is aimed at reaching more children and providing these services free of charge would help address those issues and improve the lives of the children.

Work of Operation Smile Ghana

The acting Country Manager of OSG, Mr Henry Quist, encouraged parents and guardians to take advantage of the organisation’s outreach services, noting that approximately 2,500 people had already benefitted. 

He explained that corrective surgeries were more effective when the child was under six months old.

“Within the first six months of a child’s life, their system is not fully developed allowing us to provide the necessary nutritional, speech and other essential care to ensure that by the time the child is six months old, they are prepared and ready to undergo the surgery”, he noted.

Mr Quist added that these surgeries not only correct physical deformities but also significantly improve the overall quality of life for the children, boosting their self-esteem and opening new opportunities.

Operation Smile, founded in 1982, operates in over 60 countries and partners various hospitals in Ghana, including the Tamale Teaching Hospital, the Ho Teaching Hospital, the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and the Eastern Regional Hospital to provide cleft care services to children.