ISLAMABAD:Islamabad Cleft Lip and Palate Association (ICLAPA) continued providing free medical treatment to the children with cleft lip and palate.
“We welcome the affected patients to get the treatment on urgent basis free of charge,” senior member of the association Farhat Akhtar Rehman said in a news release on Sunday.
She said an ICLAPA’s team of surgeons was available to operate the affected children at the Fauji Foundation Hospital and the Hearts International Hospital in Rawalpindi.
The parents of the affected children have been advised to contact Farkhan Akhtar Rehman on her cell numbers 03335157676 and 0300-5192490 to get them registered for the normal treatment or surgery.
The organization is providing free medical facilities to the poor families since 2004 with the support of families, friends and philanthropists.
The ICLAPA is a group of volunteers, which relies on donors to bring hope and happiness into the lives of people, for whom it was financially difficult to give treatment to their children.
According to doctors, delays in treatment of the suffering children could lead to speech, behavioural and psychological problems making them vulnerable in society. Nearly 10,000 children with these deformities are born every year in Pakistan and alarmingly about 200,000 kids with these deformities are waiting to be operated upon.
The cleft lip occurs more frequently than the cleft palate. Boys are more commonly affected by only cleft lip or cleft lip with cleft palate whereas girls suffer more from cleft palate. The causes of cleft lip and palate are still unknown; however, it is believed that it is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors or as a result of exposure to viruses and chemicals during the development of the fetus.
Problems in eating or feeding, ear infections, hearing loss, speech impairment, dental issues and social isolation are also issues associated with such deformities.