More than 101,000 Chinese cleft lip and palate patients have
received free surgery provided by a charity project over the past
eight years, a charity official said on Thursday.
Free surgery provided by a charity project has been received by
more that 101,000 Chinese cleft lip and palate patients over the
past eight years, a charity official said on Thursday.
The treatment project was jointly initiated by the China Charity
Foundation (CCF) and US-based charity "Smile Train" in 1999. It has
assisted impoverished patients under 40 in 30 provinces,
municipalities and autonomous regions.
"It's one of the largest charity projects in China," said Peng
Yu, vice president of the CCF, explaining that 151 hospitals across
the country performed the plastic surgery free of charge.
Victoria Z. Moy, managing director of the "Smile Train" China
branch said "Smile Train" had invested about US$ 35 million in the
project in China and funded the training of more than 4,000 Chinese
doctors over the past eight years.
Urban and rural patients can apply for the free surgery at the
nearest appointed local hospital with certification from local
governments. It also allows rural migrant worker patients to
receive treatment in cities instead of going back to their
hometowns.
Harelips, which are often associated with cleft palates, are a
common congenital malformation caused by hereditary and
environmental factors.
China has 2.4 million children with cleft palates and about
25,000 babies are born with the ailment each year, government
statistics show. Many children from poor families miss the best
time for surgery -- 10 days to three months after birth. The
operation takes just 45 minutes.
In Beijing plastic surgery for a cleft lip costs 6,000 yuan (US$
750) and the treatment for a baby with both cleft lip and palate
can cost 20,000 to 30,000 yuan (US$ 2,500 to 3,750).
Peng said the appointed hospitals had the capacity to treat
50,000 cleft palate patients each year but only 20,000 came to
hospital annually. "The CCF must promote the free treatment to give
poor patients operation opportunities," said Peng.
The condition was highlighted earlier this year when Chinese pop
diva Faye Wong gave birth to a baby daughter with a cleft lip.
Later Wong took her daughter to the US for plastic surgery.
Wong set up a foundation last month in collaboration with the
Red Cross Society of China to help children under 14 with the
problem.?
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)