WALES: Dr Chris Puts Smiles on Kids’ Faces

By GARETH HUGHES

A NORTH Wales consultant is about to leave for India where he will quite literally be helping to put the smile back on the faces of many children.

Chris Penfold is one of three surgeons who will be carrying out operations on youngsters with cleft palates and lips under the auspices of a charity called the Northern Cleft Foundation.

Chris is a maxillo-facial surgeon based at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodel-wyddan, and holds cleft palate clinics at the Maelor Hospital,’ Wrexham, and at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool.

This is the fifth visit to India by the charity but the first time for Chris, of Derwen near Ruthin, to be part of the team.

The 20-strong team, which includes anaesthetists and nurses, will leave on Wednesday and spend two weeks at the Co-operative Hospital in Irinjalakuda, near Cochin in Southern India.

The trip is funded by the individuals taking part, most of whom come from the north-west of England, and by schools, churches and Rotary clubs in their area. They have to take with them much of the equipment, instruments and items such as sutures.

The Indian hospital is paid about pounds 100 for each child to cover the cost of theatre expenses, antibiotics, blood tests and the salaries of local staff. "We expect to deal with around seven cases a day, and so will do about 70 while we are there," Chris said.

"We would like to put the smile back on the faces of a few more children, who come from the surrounding villages, are often destitute and afraid to go to the big government hospitals for their operation.

"These children are often neglected by their families, have severe speech disorders and do not have any education because they avoid going to school. Our team will make a small, but hopefully significant, difference to their lives.

"There is always a queue for surgery and unfortunately we’ll have to turn many away because they are unsuitable or we simply won’t have the time to see them all," he added.

CAN YOU HELP? To support the charity send cheques made out to the Northern Cleft Foundation to Chris Penfold at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan

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