Cleft Lip Operations

Venus Mwansa is the mother of six year old Saviour Kangwa who was born with both a cleft palate and cleft lip.

She says that breastfeeding Saviour was a problem as he had problems sucking the milk which led to her putting him on milk formulae at two weeks which is definitely not a recommended practice.

The Chingola based mother narrates how when he was born he was admitted to Nchanga Hospital and then after a few months they were referred to Arthur Davidson Hospital where they stayed for three weeks without seeing a Doctor.

“We just left dejected but in 2009, our pastor talked to a man from a Bible Centre who told us about Beit Cures operations. We came here in 2009 when they operated on his cleft lip and this year they operated on his palate.” Ms Mwansa narrates

She says that one of the major problems that he has faced is at school where his friends would tease him.

Thankfully that is all a thing of the past as Beit Cures one week of cleft lip and cleft palate operations have changed little Saviours life.

“Am really grateful to Beit Cure because they have made a change in my son’s life, the operation would have been very costly for us to do on our own.” She says

Beatrice Mutale, the mother to 2 months old Elizabeth says that her initial reaction when her child was born was of deep sadness.

“I was sad for her because this is a girl and for to have been born with a cleft lip was just so unfair and sad.”

The family who hail from Kapiri Mposhi were referred to Arthur Davidson Children’s Hospital in Ndola who in turn referred her to Beit Cure.

Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip operations are like most correctional procedures better done when a child is very young because the healing is faster.

Rebecca Pengele was not so lucky; now 14 she dropped out of school because her peers taunts became too painful to handle.

Her grandmother Elizabeth Chipola says that her granddaughter faced a lot of taunting and bullying and that it affected her self esteem.

Elizabeth however just received an esteem boost because her cleft lip and palate have been operated in.

Her smile during the interview showed just how much of a difference the operations have made in her life.

As Mr Ebbers says, when cleft palate and cleft lip is not treated, people go through untold misery due to taunting and bullying because it looks quite unsightly.

Beit Cure Executive Director Tim Ebbers says that globally 1 in 700 children are born with a cleft palate though in Africa the figures might be higher.

“In the western countries, it is treated quickly but herein Africa sometimes children are not treated quickly.”

Beit Cure is a Christian mission hospital which originated from Cure International which has ten hospitals globally with six in Sub Saharan Africa.

“Our focus is on working with disabled children in developing countries, at Beit Cure our three focus areas are Orthopaedics, Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT). 

We do not plastic surgery because we don’t have plastic surgeons that can do reconstructive surgery. ”

Mr Ebbers says that’s why Beit Cure brings in qualified surgeons to augment the Hospitals capabilities for one week dedicated to the cleft palate and cleft lip operations.

He reveals that normally cleft lip would cost about K6000 whist the cleft palate would cost about k11000.

For many families this is a lot of money which many cannot afford and that is why Beit Cures free operations are a God Send.

Smile Train compensates Beit Cure of two thirds of all expenses incurred regarding the week long project while the rest of the bill is footed by Cure International.

Cure International gives Beit Cure 20% of funding whilst the Zambian Government gives the hospital a grant that sorts out 15 percent of its operating costs.

The hospital also has sponsors such as Toyota Zambia but obviously more help is needed.

This year the hospital is performing operations on 25 children ranging from a few months old to just over eighteen years of age.

Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate are birth defects that occur when a baby's lip or mouth does not form properly and happens early during pregnancy.

According to Centre for Disease Control and Prevention website; “A cleft lip happens if the tissue that makes up the lip does not join completely before birth. This causes an opening in the upper lip.

The opening can be a small slit or a large opening that goes through the lip into the nose. It can be on one or both sides of the lip or, rarely, in the middle of the lip.

Children with a cleft lip also can have a cleft palate which basically affects the roof of the mouth, this is when the tissue that makes up the roof of the mouth does not join correctly some babies may have both the front and back parts of the palate open, or they may have only one part open.

Children with a cleft lip or a cleft palate often have problems with feeding and talking. They also might have ear infections, hearing loss, and problems with their teeth.”

Mr Ebbers says that at times fluids can seep into the nasal cavity for children with a cleft palate.
Thankfully surgery closes the lip and the palates and with treatment, most children with clefts do well and lead a healthy life.

Joseph Clawson and Michelle Vasselly are in Zambia for the fourth year in a row doing cleft closing procedures.
 Dr Clawson says that procedure takes about an hour and a half to perform.

“In terms of healing, the immediate healing takes about a week but to be healed completely takes about a year. Healing also depends on the age, the younger the child usually the faster they heal. ”

He says that before he accepts to do the operations, there are certain criterions that have to be met;

“I cannot do an operation on children that are underweight or underage, for example a two week baby was brought over, but you simply cannot operate on a child that young.”

There are quite some risks involved if a child does not the criterion such as getting an infection and wounds not healing properly among others.

He admits that there are also risks involved in surgery (like most other medical procedures) such as children having a fistula which has to be repaired among others but he assures that this rarely happens.
Dr Clawson has been performing cleft lip and cleft palate operations for over 26 years now and his passion for children has seen him operate on 3000 children in Africa and other parts of the Americas.

 “I do these operations for free because I am driven by love and care for these children , you see we are bringing our large experience to Zambia, which only has one surgeon and bless him he really can’t do everything.”

He says that for him he’s greatest reward is seeing children he has operated on healed and grown into productive adults.

 This is the gift that Beit Cure is giving the children having the Cleft lip and Cleft palate procedures, a chance for them to smile.