IN PICS | Life-changing surgery for children in Operation Smile

Forty children have received life-changing cleft surgery at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.

A team of 52 medical professionals, led by Operation Smile in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and Life Healthcare, performed cleft lip and palate operations on the children during a surgical drive.

The initiative aimed to reduce a growing surgical backlog in the public healthcare system where many children wait months or even years for this procedure.

All procedures were provided free of charge and patients will remain in care until post-op assessments are completed.

Beyond the surgery, the initiative focused on transferring specialist skills to local healthcare workers to help strengthen long-term surgical capacity in South Africa.

A team of doctors share a happy moment with a mother and her child after they performed surgery on a cleft lip. Since its establishment in South Africa in 2006, Operation Smile has built a network of more than 150 active volunteers, comprising cleft surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists, pediatricians, dentists, speech therapists, psychologists, biomedical staff and more. They have travelled across South Africa and in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa to perform thousands of life-changing surgeries. (Zeke du Plessis)

Prof Chrysis Sofianos, a plastic surgeon and head of department at Wits University, and also a craniofacial surgeon with Operation Smile, said the project was voluntary and team members had the same drive.

“This project represents the ideal intersection of purpose and service. It's a chance to bring specialised care to children who might otherwise wait for years to get treated in situations such as suffering from a cleft lip,” he said.

“Personally, it's a powerful reminder of why we entered medicine, to restore dignity and function, especially to the most vulnerable.”