US-Based Medical Group Wants Year-Round Free Surgery For Kids With Cleft-Lips In Cebu

A United States-based non-profit humanitarian and medical relief organization is planning to conduct a year-round free surgical operation of children with cleft lips and palates in Cebu City.

Dr. William Magee, Operation Smile chief executive officer and co-founder, said they are planning to establish an office at the new Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) on N. Bacalso Avenue, this city, once their PHP1.5-billion building is completed.

Magee also vowed Operation Smile will shoulder the cost of the architectural design on one of the floors at the new hospital and to provide state-of-the art equipment and facilities for the repair of cleft lip and cleft palate of children and adults alike.

He said Operation Smile also plans to train doctors from CCMC on the nature of their job so that Operation Smile can do free surgeries and cater to cleft lip and cleft palate patients daily instead of just doing a mission in Cebu once a year.

Magee said the organization has committed to help CCMC in providing better health services.

The commitment was made after the Operation Smile saw thehospital’s state after it was damaged by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on October 15, 2013.

“Helping CCMC is not an option but a responsibility on what we could do to help. We want to make everybody to believe that every life is worth every effort. We could create something here. The last thing you want is nothing but to make it the best in the world so that people will come here to be taken care of,” he said.

Magee said there are 200,000 people in the country with cleft palate and cleft lip.

In the Visayas, there are estimated 35,000 of them.

Magee said Operation Smile, which started in 1982, has so far catered to 30,000 patients in the entire country.

Operation smile has offices in 60 countries. (PNA) LAP/EB/EBP