Cleft lip, palate deformities: ‘Organisations should join hands with Govt. to address deformity among kids’

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao inaugurates ‘INDOCLEFTCON-2026’ at AIISH in city

Mysore/Mysuru: Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said, the Government is providing all possible facilities to extend timely treatment to children having cleft lip and cleft palate deformities.

He was speaking after inaugurating three-day 24th annual conference ‘INDOCLEFTCON-2026’ organised by All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), in association with Indian Society Of Cleft Lip, Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies (ISCLPCA), at the Knowledge Park auditorium in AIISH here on Thursday.

Due to lack of awareness and untimely treatment for cleft lip and cleft palate, children develop such deformities by birth. If gone unnoticed without any proper diagnosis with expert assistance, the children would have to severely suffer in the coming days.

There is a need to create extensive awareness about cleft lip and cleft palate among the people at rural parts and small towns. The volunteers of Health and Family Welfare Department, who visit households, should identify such children and guide them to avail better treatment, said Rao.

Asserting that one time surgery is least helpful in addressing the issues related to cleft lip, Rao said, instead, it is better advised to follow a comprehensive treatment method with multiple surgeries until the natural form is obtained. Most importantly, combined expertise of surgeons, orthodontists and speech therapists, will contribute to the growth of the children on normal course, he advised. The Govt. has been working in association with Smile Train India for the past 20 years and the latter has so far conducted over 7 lakh surgeries in the country alone, which is no mere achievement indeed, said Rao.

In the recently held workshop, over 30 young surgeons have been imparted practical training in ‘Alveolar Bone Grafting (ABG)’ surgery, with the sole intention of expanding the service, said Rao, who exuded confidence of reaching even the underprivileged communities in reaping the benefits of comprehensive treatment method. Calling for the coordination of the Government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to effective cure cleft lip and cleft palate, Rao said, the quality of treatment can be enhanced by using new researches, modern surgical methods and latest equipment.

AIISH Director & ISCLPCA President Prof. M. Pushpavathi, ISCLPCA Secretary Dr. Pritham N. Shetty, Smile Train South Asia Area Director Dr. Renu Mehta & Dr. R. Gopi Shankar were present.