The Shija Hospitals and Research Institute (SHRI) on Friday announced that the hospital conducted free cleft lip and palate surgeries for 10 cleft patients from Nagaland under the Smile Train Shija Cleft Project Imphal, Smile Train India and Oking Hospital Nagaland on Thursday.
In a release, SHRI stated that Smile Train, India in collaboration with the Smile Train Shija Cleft Project team sent a 41-seater bus with four of its staff to pick up awaiting cleft patients from Oking Hospital in Kohima, Nagaland on Monday.
Ten patients and their attendants along with the respective negative RT-PCR reports were brought and admitted to Shija Hospitals where they were provided with free corrective surgery, medicine, meals and travel allowances, it stated.
“Most of the patients were from remote villages of Nagaland who had to travel more than 350 km by road and took about two days just to reach the partnered hospital in Kohima,” it mentioned.
Smile Train partnered with Shija in 2006 and since then the programme has been named Smile Train Shija Cleft Project, under which more than 4,000 free cleft surgeries have been successfully performed till date, it further stated.
Highlighting the commonness of cleft lips, SHRI further stated that cleft lip should be corrected from the age of 6 months onwards and cleft palate from 14 months onwards for best results. It informed that cleft patients who want to avail free corrective surgery may call Oking Hospital, Kohima at 0370 2290080, 9436000494, or Smile Train Shija Cleft Project, Imphal at 9436869799, 9436235270.
