About one hundred for cleft lip surgery

About 92 children and adults with cleft lip defects across the country are expected to undergo corrective surgery at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) next week.

Cleft lip is a birth defect that occurs when the tissue that makes up the lip of a baby does not join completely before birth, resulting in a small slit or large opening in the upper lip.

In a statement signed by Mr Simmons Yussif Kewura, the Public Relations Officer of CCTH, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the surgery was an initiative of Operation Smile, an International children’s medical Non-Governmental Organisation from the United States of America.

It said the NGO was working with the Ministry of Health and the CCTH on the project.

The statement said Operation Smile was made up of 45 volunteers from Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Sweden, Canada United Kingdom, Egypt and Kenya.

It said the hospital, as part of its mandate, had dedicated three operation theatres for the seven day-exercise, and was also supporting the team with the needed logistics.

It said the patients were being admitted into the hospital’s paediatric, male and female surgical wards.