What is a cleft lip and how often do cleft conditions happen? Why do cleft conditions happen and can they be prevented? Does a cleft condition cause problems for a child? Can cleft lip and cleft palate be repaired?
Through our expertise in treating cleft lip and cleft palate, Operation Smile creates solutions that deliver safe surgery to people where its needed most. What started as a family-led, medical-mission based organization has grown into a global network of passionate individuals united under the belief that access to safe surgery is not a privilege, but a universal human right.
Operation Smile began nearly 40 years ago, through the compassion and commitment of our visionary co-founders, Dr. Bill Magee and Kathy Magee. Meet the Magees, our senior leadership and board of directors.
Committed to being the best steward of your gifts, we direct funds to programs that bring the highest standards of care to people living with cleft and other facial and dental conditions, as detailed in our annual reports and financial statements.
Operation Smile revolutionized cleft surgery globally in 1982. With nearly four decades of experience as one of the largest surgical volunteer-based nonprofits, Operation Smile staff, its private-public partnerships and thousands of volunteers have improved the health and dignity of patients with cleft conditions, helping them to better breathe, eat, speak and live lives of greater quality and confidence.
While one cleft surgery can transform a childs life in as little as 45 minutes, Operation Smile is committed to providing patients with health that lasts by being there to offer patients additional surgeries, dentistry, psychological services, speech therapy and other essential cleft treatments. Its training and education programs elevate local surgical standards and entire health systems, aid safe surgery and enable a global network to reach more people earlier in their lives.
A cleft conditionis a gap in the mouth that didn't close during the early stages of pregnancy, and thishappens more often than you may realize. It is estimated that, worldwide,a child is born every threeminutes with a cleft condition about one in every 500 to 750 births. Sometimescleft condition can be easy to see because its an opening in the lip. Other times, its harder to tell if someone was born with a cleft condition because its an opening in the roof oftheir mouth, which is called the palate.
There are many risk factors that can increase the likelihood of a cleft condition. While somecauses are still unknown,genetics and family history, pre-existing medical conditions, poornutrition and exposure to harmful environmentalsubstances can affect the healthydevelopment of a baby. As a result, these factors could contribute to a baby being bornwith a cleft lip and/or cleft palate.
While there are still many misconceptions surrounding the causes of cleft conditions, Operation Smile has teamed up with the University of Southern California and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to conduct the International Family Study (IFS) to better understand why theyhappenand, hopefully in the future, find a way to ensure that nomore people areborn with cleft lip and/or cleft palate.
Our IFS research has revealed a potential connection between smoke inhalation from cooking over an open flame and asignificant increase in cleft conditions.Stay tuned aswe continue todeepen our understanding of the causes of cleft lip and cleft palate.
Depending on the type and severity, a cleft condition can create severe health issues for a child if it's not treated. It's common for babies to have difficulty with feeding, whichcan lead tomalnutritionor even starvation. Recurring ear infections can occur, which canlead to hearing loss. Jaw and dental development can also be affected. For people with cleft conditions, especially those with cleft palate, speech and languagedevelopment can also be hindered. Children may also suffer from bullying and socialisolation.
While cleft surgery is vital to ensuring a child will live a happier and healthier life, it acts as only a single step along the path of a patient's journey toward healing. This is why the comprehensive care we provide patientsafter surgery at our care centers in countries like Morocco, Colombia andIndia is essential forthe people we serve.
With surgery, a child suffering from cleft lip and/or cleft palate can have a brand-new, beautifulsmile. In an ideal situation, a pediatrician and a reconstructive plastic surgeon work with a childs parentssoon after the childs birth to choose the best timing for surgery. Most surgeons agree that acleft lip should be repaired by the time a baby is 3 months old, and a cleft palate shouldbe repaired between the ages of 12 and 18 months. Several subsequent surgeries may also be required throughout one's childhood and adolescence.
But for many of the patients and families we serve in low- and middle-income countries, early surgical interventionisn't an optiondue to lack offinancial resources, access to qualified medical staff and other factors. Operation Smileremains dedicated to finding these families around the world and providing them withsurgery and ongoing care earlier in life sothat they can live happier and healthier lives.
Nocountry nor community around the world is the same. That's why we work with local medical professionals, governments, hospitals and other nonprofitsto createvarious models of surgical care. Together,we determine which solutions workbestin order to reach as many children as possible wherever we work. Were going to keep doing this and refining our approach as we move forward, asour goal is to give the most effective surgical care to patients worldwide.
First and foremost, we bring the highest quality of care to every child. We were the first cleft surgicalorganization to support the World Health Organization'sSafe Surgery Saves Livesinitiative. Our Medical Global Standards is our commitment to ensuring that every patient cared for by Operation Smile will benefit from the same sophisticated equipment, procedures and highly trained, credentialed medical professionals, no matter where they live.
In the United States, people in need of surgical intervention, including families affected by cleft conditions, have access to the necessary health care infrastructure, treatment andresources. However, Operation Smile works with individuals living in countries where this access to surgical care for cleft conditions often does not exist.
We are just one member of a larger community of health care providers working together to make sure that every individual born with a cleft condition has access to life-saving surgical care. For a list of resources available to U.S. citizens, please follow this link:https://cleftline.org.
The majority of these childrens families are unable to receive the surgery and comprehensive care they need because its too costly, too far away from their homes, of inadequate quality, or not available at all. Without treatment, cleft conditions cancause severe health problems which can become fatal. The children who survive may face years of painful bullying and social isolation.
What started as a family-led, medical-mission based organization has grown into a global network of passionate individuals united under the belief that access to safe surgery is not a privilegebut a universal human right.
Empowering local health professionals through training and education creates surgical solutions that last. Were proud that most of our medical volunteers are from the low-and middle-income countries we serve. By partnering with ministries of health, academic institutions, corporations, local health professionals and other organizations, our goal is to change lives and revolutionize how entire health systems deliver surgical care.
Operation Smile was founded in 1982 when Dr. Bill Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathy, a nurse and clinical social worker, traveled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children's cleft lips and cleft palates.
We also provide comprehensive care based on each childs needs including speech therapy, nutritional support, dentistry, orthodonticsand psychosocial support. This increases their likelihood of living a healthier and more fulfilling life, attending school and pursuing a brighter future. Were committed to providing our patients with health that lasts because its the right thing to do.
When we meet families affected by cleft conditions who live in some of the most impoverished communities in the world, were reminded of the transformative effect surgery can have on the lives of people like Dede and his daughter Clara.