Some of the parents with their children cured of cleft condition

 The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, has asked Ghanaians to disregard myths and misconceptions surrounding children born with cleft, insisting that such children are not cursed.

According to him, cleft was a med­ical condition that can be corrected by surgery within 45 minutes.

However, due to stigmatisation, parents of such children often hide them at home, denying them oppor­tunity to receive treatment which later affect them in life.

Dr Ampomah made the disclosure last week at a press conference to mark the cleft awareness week ob­served on August 26-29, 2024.

Operation Smile is a global non­profit service organisation that bridges the gap in access to essential surgeries and health care, starting with cleft surgery and comprehensive care.

It also provides medical expertise, training, mentorship, research and care through its dedicated staff and volunteers around the world, work­ing alongside local governments, nonprofits and health systems, and supported by generous donors and corporate partner

The period was one the Operation Smile team will educate Ghanaians on various media platforms.

According Dr Ampomah most chil­dren with cleft were often said to have been stroked by an evil spirit, cursed, or were children born out of adultery or facing punishment from God.

But he indicated that “cleft is not a curse, it is a medical condition that is surgically correctable in a 45 minute surgery.”

He explained that cleft was a con­dition that occurs in the early stages of pregnancy, resulting the cleft lip or cleft palate.

Cleft lip is an opening or split in the upper lip that occurs when developing facial structures in an unborn baby do not close completely.

A cleft palate is an opening or split in the roof of the mouth that occurs when the tissue does not fuse together during development in the womb.

He said a child with cleft condition finds it difficult to breast feed, hear or speak and mostly produce nasal sounds when they speak.

Dr Ampomah, who is also the Medi­cal Director for Operation Smile said the condition was caused genetically while there were also environmental factors that could cause it.

Some of the environmental factors, he said, were alcohol use, smoking, drug abuse and lack of vitamin B (folic acid) during pregnancy.

He said heavy metals and toxin from galamsey sites which pollute water bodies could result in cleft problems, adding that “with the ‘galamsey’ activities, I will not be surprised if there are increases in the cleft conditions, we do not have to wait for it to happen.”

Dr Ampomah said Operation Smile was the largest provider of cleft care in Ghana since it started operation in 2011, adding that it provides free and safe surgeries to both children and adults.

He advised women to stop taking unprescribed drugs and visit the hospital when there are challenges to avoid such conditions.

Mr Henry Quist, the Acting Country Manager of Operation Smile-Ghana, encouraged parents and guardians with cleft children to take advantage of their outreaches to correct the condition.

According to him, surgery could be performed on babies with cleft lip from three to six months and for those with palate, between nine and 12 months of birth.

 By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu