Day 19 - Love Without Boundaries Cleft Exchange
In addition to Timmy's story, I want to add my perspective on the need for Cleft Exchanges like this one. What? What? You don't know Timmy's story? You didn't read it on Day 5? Then you have to go to Day 5 and read all about him. This is a story you don't want to miss. Go ahead, do it now. Then make a donation and partner with Love Without Boundaries so another Timmy can have his life changed.
Okay, back to what I was saying. It seems like cleft lip surgery is generally a pretty routine thing, and something that can be done in China without a Cleft Exchange and the expense of bringing doctors, support staff and equipment all the way over here, right? That would be true, pretty much. However, the level of expertise is lacking, and the results are often not good. For example, one baby that I know had a cleft lip surgery that came "undone" within weeks of surgery. He had it redone by a foreign team, who reported that the original repair had only been done on the external part of the lip, the outside. Nothing had been repaired on the inside of the mouth. This could have resulted in a lot of problems for him as he grew. At another cleft exchange, I witnessed row upon row upon row of parents who had brought their children to have surgery by a foreign team. Talking to the team later I found out that the majority of these children had come hoping for lip revisions...surgery to redo a poorly constructed or unsightly lip repair done in the past. I also often hear of children who are adopted who need to have the surgery redone once they are in their new country. The LWB cleft exchange with its excellent team of surgeons can not only prevent these children from the trauma of another surgery in the future, but also help develop higher skill levels in local surgeons to improve outcomes for many more children every day. Be a part of something great today!
~Donna
Okay, back to what I was saying. It seems like cleft lip surgery is generally a pretty routine thing, and something that can be done in China without a Cleft Exchange and the expense of bringing doctors, support staff and equipment all the way over here, right? That would be true, pretty much. However, the level of expertise is lacking, and the results are often not good. For example, one baby that I know had a cleft lip surgery that came "undone" within weeks of surgery. He had it redone by a foreign team, who reported that the original repair had only been done on the external part of the lip, the outside. Nothing had been repaired on the inside of the mouth. This could have resulted in a lot of problems for him as he grew. At another cleft exchange, I witnessed row upon row upon row of parents who had brought their children to have surgery by a foreign team. Talking to the team later I found out that the majority of these children had come hoping for lip revisions...surgery to redo a poorly constructed or unsightly lip repair done in the past. I also often hear of children who are adopted who need to have the surgery redone once they are in their new country. The LWB cleft exchange with its excellent team of surgeons can not only prevent these children from the trauma of another surgery in the future, but also help develop higher skill levels in local surgeons to improve outcomes for many more children every day. Be a part of something great today!
~Donna