Pakistan Cleft Lip and Palate Association (PCLAPA) will inaugurate the first ever Cleft Centre of the country in Gujrat on April 23 to provide treatment to thousands of patients. This was announced by US-based renowned cleft surgeon, Dr Riffat Hussain and General Secretary PCLAPA Dr Ijaz Bashir during a joint press conference held here on Tuesday.
It will be the first permanent centre in the country to cater the needs of cleft lip, palate or nose patients on regular basis. The centre costing Rs 25 million has been established by the PCLAPA on the land donated by a philanthropist, Dr Ijaz Bashir, with the financial support of Japanese government.
The main role of the Centre will be training the young surgeons of conducting surgery of cleft lip, palate or nose. They hoped that the new hospital will equip the plastic surgeons with the latest knowledge and help ensure high quality standard treatment with intellectual honesty in spirit of human service.
The centre will cater to the needs of over 35,000 children every year in Pakistan with condition of cleft lip or cleft palate, said Dr Rifat Hussain. Speaking at the news briefing regarding Pakistan's only specialised hospital for treatment of cleft lip and cleft palate patients to be inaugurated on April 23, 2012 in Gujrat, he said that the condition of cleft lip or cleft palate is found in one out of every 582 births in Pakistan.
He said that the cleft centre in Gujrat, a project of Pakistan Cleft Lip and Palate Association (PCLPA), would be the first hospital of its kind in the country exclusively designed for the treatment of cleft lip and cleft palate. The project is funded with the financial grant from the Japanese government and will treat deserving patients free of cost.
For the past 14 years, plastic surgical team under the leadership of Dr Nicholas Hart from UK has been coming twice a year at Basheer Hospital, Gujrat. So far, the PCLPA has organised 28 free plastic surgery camps and operated more than 2500 patients.
Dr Rifat said that besides treating deserving patients, the aim of the project was also to train surgeons and practitioners so that they could be able to provide best treatment to the patients. For the past 14 years, a plastic surgical team under the leadership of Dr Nicholas Hart from United Kingdom visit Bashir Hospital, Gujrat twice a year to provide free-of-cost surgery treatment to the cleft patients. The team operates about 20 cases per day during its weeklong visit.
They informed that the new Cleft Centre would be expanded in term of capacity and capability to treat the cleft patients to the highest level of excellence. The project of Cleft Centre will be a role model in health system by providing standard facilities regarding cleft lip, palate or nose surgery, peads dentistry, audiometry, speech therapy, psychological and diagnostic services.
PCLAPA has organised 28 free plastic surgery camps and operated more than 2500 patients so far. The association organizes events to increase the interaction of these patients with the community and reduce depression and isolation and arranges seminars to increase awareness in public about this defect.