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Sibongile Maruta Herald Reporter
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals will today start corrective surgeries on people with lip deformities medically known as cleft lip and or palate condition.

The operations, which will take place at the hospital is targeting all people with the condition regardless of age. In an interview with The Herald yesterday, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Public Relations Officer Mr Linos Dhire said a total of 100 people are expected to benefit from the programme.

“People born with a cleft lip and palate should join this programme and undergo a surgical repair. The programme is starting tomorrow (today) and ending on the 16th of February. It is set to benefit 100 patients and there are no age restrictions.” A non-profit Indian organisation, The Love without Reason (LWR), founded in 2007 by Mr Santhosh Mathews and his wife Susan, is sponsoring the operations.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are facial and oral malformations that occur very early in pregnancy while the baby is developing inside the mother. A cleft lip is a physical split or separation of the two sides of the upper lip and appears as a narrow opening or gap in the skin of the upper lip.

This separation often extends beyond the base of the nose and includes the bones of the upper jaw and or upper gum. Most scientists believe clefts are due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Cleft lip and palate may occur along with other syndromes or birth defects, and also problems with genes passed down from one or both parents, drugs, viruses, or other toxins can all cause these birth defects Cleft lip and palate can affect the appearance of the face, they lead to problems with feeding and speech and can also lead to ear infections.

Babies are more likely to be born with a cleft lip and palate if they have a family history of these conditions or other birth defects. There are other causes of cleft lip and palate; and include problems with genes passed down from one or both parents, drugs, viruses, or other toxins.