CLEFT PALATE EVALUATION CLINICS & SURGERIES

What would your life be like if your child couldn’t smile? Or couldn’t eat? That’s what happens to children born with a cleft palate or cleft lip. No smiles! Infants born with a cleft palate or cleft lip can be faced with a cascade of possible problems that further impede their development. They can develop middle ear infections, hearing loss, and loss of their ability to speak. If cleft palates and cleft lips are not treated, children affected may also face a severe impact on their self-esteem, social skills and behavior as they grow into teenagers.

Since 1985 IFC has been providing solutions to such children and their families. It was then that we began offering free assessments, surgeries and follow-up treatments to children from poor families. Three or four times a year, a team of caring, compassionate medical personnel fly from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta. They donate their time, and CMQ Hospital donates its operating theatre, but the travel costs and the medical supplies must all be paid for by IFC. We co-ordinate everything.

Nearly 900 surgeries later, we can look back on the success of enabling those children and their families to smile again.

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