Smile Train Expands Comprehensive Cleft Care Centers in the PH to Bring Smiles to More Filipinos

Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused organization, is celebrating over 24 years of providing 100% free cleft repair surgeries and comprehensive cleft care to Filipinos born with cleft lip and palate. Following the launch of its Filipino language Speech Therapy App in 2021, Smile Train is now focusing on expanding its Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC) centers beyond Metro Manila to reach more Filipinos in need of support.

Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Smile Train’s Vice President for South East Asia, said, “Over the years, Smile Train has worked toward providing comprehensive cleft care for Filipinos at zero cost – from surgery to post-surgery care, and other cleft treatment such as speech therapy, orthodontics, and even breast-feeding support for mothers of children with cleft. To continue providing high-quality treatment for the years to come, we have worked toward training more Filipino medical professionals and partnering with more healthcare institutions such as Marikina St. Vincent General Hospital and Allegiant Regional Care Hospitals to launch more CCC centers across the country.”

Bringing Smiles to More Filipinos

In 2022, Smile Train marked the first anniversary of its CCC center in Cebu, in partnership with Allegiant Regional Care Hospitals and Mabuhay Deseret Foundation. Since its launch, over a hundred patients have received life-changing cleft surgery and post-surgery care in the Eastern Visayas region.

Additionally, Smile Train celebrated its 12-year partnership with Marikina St. Vincent General Hospital by launching its CCC Center, which has helped over 5,000 patients with cleft surgery and other treatments at no cost. The CCC Center provides free treatment and care to residents of Marikina, Rizal, and nearby provinces throughout the year.

Partnerships Key to Success

Smile Train’s success is based on partnerships with local medical professionals and hospitals in the Philippines. To further support these partnerships, Smile Train has been providing skills enhancement training opportunities for local medical professionals.

In 2022, Smile Train and the Philippine Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (PAPRAS) organized the PAPRAS – Smile Train Cleft Training Program, which trains plastic aesthetic and reconstructive surgeons through a three-month-long observership. Participants receive hands-on training in various cleft surgeries and experience managing comprehensive cleft care.

Smile Train and Glaxo-Smith Klein (GSK) Consumer Healthcare also supported a three-day Comprehensive Cleft Care Webinar series organized by the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO). The webinar series provided highly informative online sessions on the various stages of cleft treatment for children born with cleft.

Advancing Cleft Lip and Palate Expertise

Another significant milestone for Smile Train was the introduction of its first and only Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Simulator, a high-fidelity cleft surgery simulator produced by Simulare Medical, a division of Smile Train. The simulator aims to accelerate learning in cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgical training, reducing patient risk, lowering training costs, and elevating the competence of surgeons locally and globally.

“Last year, Smile Train celebrated many milestones in the Philippines that helped advance our local expertise in treating cleft and then eventually expanding by launching more comprehensive cleft care centers in farther communities. By investing in our local healthcare professionals and hospitals, we can reach more patients and provide safe, high-quality, and timely treatment for adults and children born with cleft lip and/or palate,” said Flaviano.

According to Flaviano, Smile Train Philippines is preparing for the launch of even more Comprehensive Cleft Care centers this 2023.

For more information about Smile Train’s global efforts or to donate, please visit smiletrain.org. To learn more about Smile Train’s local programs in the Philippines, please visit smiletrain.ph.