A mother kisses her daughter before her turn to be operated on during the November 2012 Operation Smile medical mission at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
The Operation Smile medical mission will return on June 6-13 for its 16th annual mission at the Adventist Hospital Cebu (formerly Miller Hospital) on Tres de Abril St., Cebu City.
This was announced by Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung, chairman of the MSY Charitable Foundation Inc.
This free reconstructive surgery, which often lasts for 45 minutes, will transform the lives of children with cleft lip and palate.
Lips and cleft palates are among the top 12 birth defects in the country.
It is estimated that one in 500 babies are born every year with a cleft lip, cleft palate, or both.
This means approximately 4,004 out of 2,064 million Filipinos born very year have this deformity.
The screening of patients will be held on June 8 at 8 a.m. at the Adventist Hospital.
The surgery is scheduled from June 9 to 13.
Patients will get a financial assistance of P250 for their transportation upon registration.
For further information, call Mariella or Monette of MSY Foundation at 2311829./ PR