Eighteen children from different parts of the Eastern Cape will receive free corrective facial reconstructive surgery as part of the Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital Smile Week.
Mini Smile Week, running from 23 to 25 May, is part of the Smile Foundation's initiative to provide surgery to children who suffer from treatable facial anomalies such as cleft lip, palates and burns around South Africa.
The Smile Foundation, with the of support of Australian Aid, is a South African non-governmental organisation currently based in seven of the best academic hospitals in South Africa.
Smile Foundation Operations Director, Moira Gerszt, said surgeon, Dr. Chris van der Walt and his team, have ensured that the needs of the children and their families are considered to ensure that the hospital stay is not too traumatic.
"It is always a pleasure and humbling to be in this hospital where Dr Chris van der Walt and his team offer the surgery. The care and consideration of this team is shown in the appreciation of the mothers who often travel vast distances to get to the hospital. Eastern Cape is a large region and these children receive support with transportation and workshops within the ward on a daily basis" she said.
Gerszt said six children had already been operated on since Friday, with a seven-month-old baby from Uitenhage also expected to have his first surgery by having his bilateral cleft lip corrected.
"The children come from all over the province, some of them have been waiting for surgeries, so it's an opportunity for surgeons here in PE Provincial to give them a smile and to allow them to go back to their communities and be happy children" she said.
Gerszt said the remaining patients range in age from six month to 13-years-old .She said all surgeries will be completed on Wednesday and a second Smile Week initiative would take place in August.
