Disabled kids receive medical test

At present, there are more than 6,000 disabled children in Binh Dinh, including 500 harelip and cleft palate ones. They all find difficult to eat due to their disabilities, according to Vice Director of Binh Dinh Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, Phan Nhu Hai.

Due to lack of suction, an infant with a cleft may have trouble feeding. An infant with a cleft palate will have greater success feeding in a more upright position. Gravity will help prevent milk from coming through the baby's nose if he has cleft palate. Children with cleft also face many middle ear infections which can eventually lead to total hearing loss, he added.

Together with different surgeries in the past years, Binh Dinh Fund for Children has mobilized many foreign and domestic charities as well as benefactors to contribute to the free operation for children.

The doctors of local hospitals carried out 17 surgeries, brining smile to 1,633 harelip and cleft palate children. The Resurge International’s doctors came to Binh Dinh for the first time to provide free surgeries for disabled kids across the province.

So far, the American doctors have coordinated with the provincial Fund for Children and Binh Dinh to offer free operations to children with disabilities.

116 children were tested on April 18 and 63 were selected to be operated from April 19-28.

The Resurge International’s doctor will return to Binh Dinh next year to help other disabled children as we believe in the success of the program, said doctor Le Thi Hien, a representative of the organisation.

After 6 years of cooperating with American doctors, Vietnamese doctors experienced many useful issues, particularly advanced technologies, said Tran Quy De, a doctor of Binh Dinh General Hospital.

The children are very happy when they were offered free surgeries. They are now able to integrate in the community and continue their study as other children.

• La Anh