During the latest Smile Week, hosted at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley, the lives of 17 children were changed though corrective surgery.
Among the young patients in the hospital’s burns unit, where Smile Week commenced on 22 March, was a ten-year-old boy who sustained severe burns wounds to his right hand while his mom was at work. He also has a tumour on his left hand.
Because of the extensive scarring and imperfections on his hands, he is emotionally tormented by children who bully him at his school. Whenever he is in public, he feels the need to hide his hands.
His surgery involved a syndactyly repair, contracture release and tumour removal, which will improve both the appearance and functionality of his hands.
A 15-month-old patient, born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, struggles to eat and drink. Whatever nourishment she tries to ingest, escapes through the gap in her lip. Her mother finds herself constantly fielding intrusive questions from people wanting to know what caused her daughter’s facial abnormalities.
The little patient underwent a cleft lip and palate repair, which will help her to eat and drink more easily and assist her in later speech development.
Another patient, the one-year-old Leona Verona Vis, was born with a cleft palate. Because her condition has affected her speech, Leona is unable to make sounds like other babies her age.
During Smile Week she was booked for a cleft palate repair, which will help her to eat, drink and speak with more ease.
Furthermore, given the vast number of children affected by burn wounds in South Africa every day, the Smile Foundation has extended its mission to include burn reconstructive surgery.
“Our heartfelt gratitude and admiration goes out to every one of the outstanding medical professionals at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital,” said Kim Robertson Smith, chief executive officer of the Smile Foundation.
“Surgeons, administrators, sponsors, volunteers, colleagues and friends have gone above and beyond to sacrifice their time, change lives and make miracles happen.”
