Community helps to make patients smile
"It was incredible to see how many members of the community pitched in to help, not only with finances, but also offering their time and help, transporting the patients from their dwellings to the hospital. A few people also donated blankets and toiletries to the patients."
MBOMBELA – After months of waiting, those with cleft lips and palates finally have reason to smile with confidence. In the past week, the philanthropic doctors and nurses of Operation Smile South Africa (Ossa) performed a series of surgeries at Rob Ferreira Hospital to correct a total of 46 clefts – for free.
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Ossa performs these operations only once a year in South Africa, and for the third time in nine years, Mbombela was chosen to host the campaign. While Ossa are, at present, only conducting one South African mission a year, they do provide year round referrals to patients.
“The initial goal was to perform 100 operations, but due to health reasons, many patients who were not eligible for the surgery were either referred to specialists or scheduled for a forthcoming mission and were provided with the necessary information to be eligible in in future,” said Ossa spokesman, Mr Sean Robson.
“Also, we only received 57 applicants from throughout the country.”
Robson added that the support from the community of Mbombela had been invaluable. “It was incredible to see how many members of the community pitched in to help, not only with finances, but also offering their time and help, transporting the patients from their dwellings to the hospital. A few people also donated blankets and toiletries to the patients.”
According to Dr Conrad Pienaar, a volunteer surgeon of Cape Town, these surgeries last only 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the severity of the cleft. “Most South Africans are not even aware that there are surgeries to correct the defect, let alone simple surgeries which could be free of charge.”
Pienaar explained that the palate consisted of three parts, namely the mucus membrane, the muscle and the bone. To repair the palate, the surgeon starts by joining the muscle together, and then the membrane.
After the surgery, other Ossa volunteers educated the patients and their parents about oral hygiene and provided them with toiletries. In addition to the smiles they brought to these faces, the well-doers of Ossa brought about improvements in the hospital’s paediatrics ward.
“Again, the community’s input cannot be overestimated,” Robson said. “Woolworths provided us with paint to redecorate a room in the ward and snacks for all the volunteers. Crossfit Nelspruit helped with painting and CityBug offered patients transport to the hospital. For that, we are ever grateful.
“Also, we are extremely grateful for the support from both the Mpumalanga Department of Health and the Rob Ferreira hospital. Without their assistance this mission would not be possible. ”
DHL Couriers and Cipla Pharmaceuticals were two of Ossa’s major sponsors for the operations. Ossa will be at Rob Ferreira until October 7 for post-operation check-ups. Those with clefts who missed this year’s campaign, can still visit them to be added onto the global register. These patients will be helped during the next campaign.
