The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, cleft team says it will resume free cleft surgery next week Saturday for children and adults with congenital or any abnormalities on the lips or upper jaw.
The Chairman of the AKTH Cleft Team, Dr Efunkoya, a consultant and Maxillofacial surgeon disclosed this during a chat with the media in Kano.
He said the free cleft surgery was started in the year 2018 where about one hundred cases were attended to before the services was suspended due to some logistics problems.
Dr Efunkoya noted that during that period, the surgery was conducted by the Dental and Maxillofacial surgeons as part of their routine activities thus making it very difficult to reach out to many targetted patients.
He said Akth Cleft Team is one of the largest Cleft Team established in Nigeria, that comprised of thirty (30) members drawn from different specialities and subspecialties in a particular hospital.
Among which are Otolaryngologist, Pediatrician, Social Workers, Orthodontist, Child Dentists, Dental Nurses Information/ Public Relations Practitioner and as work continue the team is going to be expanded to include Nutritionist, dietetics and Social Mobilisation Officers.
Dr Efunkoya called on the general public to assist in disseminating information and directing people with cleft lip or cleft palate to come to the Department of Child Dental of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano for evaluation and surgery.
He also thanked the Smile Train Initiative for partnering with AKTH to assist patients with cleft problems and urged other individuals and organisations to emulate such gesture.
Abdullahi Jalaluddeen
