Free cleft lip operation starts at Ho hospital
A free surgical operation has begun at the Ho Regional Hospital in the Volta Region to repair cleft lip and cleft palate deformities.
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About 35 patients, mostly babies aged between three and nine months, have been registered, while 21 of them have been screened and are to be operated upon.
A 17-member surgical charity team, made up of surgeons, paediatricians, social workers, nutritionists and nurses are taking part in the five-day programme which will end on Friday, April 4. About 50 patients are expected to be treated in the course of the programme.
The programme is being organised by the Ghana Cleft Foundation in conjunction with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) and Smile Train, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO).
Statistics
According to researchers, between 300 and 400 babies are born with this deformity annually in Ghana and the Volta Region has been identified as one of the regions with a high number of cases.
However due to the fact that there were no specialists within the region to handle these cases, authorities of the Regional Hospital had invited the Ghanaian surgeons to assist the patients.
Cleft lip
Cleft lip and cleft palate are facial and oral malformations that occur very early in pregnancy.
Cleft lip is a physical split or separation of the two sides of the upper lip and appears as a narrow opening or gap in the skin of the upper lip.
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This separation often extends beyond the base of the nose and includes the bones of the upper jaw and/or upper gum.
In Ghana, the superstition attached to the illness has created grounds for persons suffering from these deformities to be ridiculed and stigmatised, making it impossible for some school-age children to attend school.
To relieve the plight of patients, the cleft foundation was established in 2007 to provide free quality care to Ghanaian children born with cleft and palate deformity as early as possible.
No real cause of cleft
According to the president of the foundation, Professor Peter Donkor, scientists have not yet discovered the real cause of cleft for which there could be preventive measures.
He said the causes of about 70 per cent of the cases were not known, while the 30 per cent could be traced to family history.
He indicated that it could be detected before the child was born but nothing could be done until the baby was three months old when he or she could be operated upon.
Proper nutrition and medical care during pregnancy, he said, could reduce the risk of giving birth to babies with the cleft condition. He, therefore, encouraged pregnant women to attend ante-natal clinics regularly to help prevent this deformity.
Prof. Donkor also said cleft patients could be operated upon at any aged but encouraged patients to seek early medical attention.
The acting Medical Director of the Volta Regional Hospital, Dr John Tampuori, observed that the success of the operations by the Ghanaian surgeons would build the confidence of people to seek medical care at the appropriate quarters, without waiting for foreign surgeons.
Describing the exercise as very important, Dr Tampouri also said the hospital had decided to organise the exercise annually but indicated that further collaboration would depend on sponsorship and number of cases reported.
He, therefore, called on philanthropists to donate generously to promote the programme.