A gap in the upper lip is called a cleft. This is one of the commonest forms of birth defects among humans. It is estimated that one child in every 700 born are affected with this defect. Any birth defect is tragic and painful. A cleft results in extreme facial deformity.
The child is unable to eat or speak properly and often suffers other difficulties such as hearing impairment which accompany a cleft. If untreated the child is left helpless and condemned to lead life as a social outcast. However this is one of the few birth defects that can easily be corrected by surgical repair that could take as little as 45 minutes. Yet due to ignorance and poverty, over 60% clefts remain untreated in poor under developed countries. The Smile Train is a global charity organization reaching out to millions of children suffering from cleft defects and deformities.
The Smile Train began in 1999, with one surgery in China performed by a....
