Second Annual Brasil Cleft Week Brings 108 New Smiles

Smile Train, the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery, and Fundação IDEAH recently reunited for the Second Annual Brasil Cleft Week.

A group of Brasilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP) members recently visited four Smile Train Brasil partner hospitals to reinforce Smile Train’s ‘teach a man to fish model’ and provide hands-on surgical training of the newest cleft lip and palate methods. Their combined efforts helped provide 108 free, top-quality cleft surgeries in one life-changing week.

The primary goal of Brasil’s Cleft Week was to raise awareness of clefts and reduce the backlog of those living with untreated clefts throughout Brasil. Smile Train partner surgeon Dr. Adalberto Novaes Silva said, “Our hospital had 60 children in need of cleft surgery and in a few short days we were able to drastically reduce that number.”

Top residents from across the country also participated in the campaign by observing surgeries and coordinating with patients’ families. “The best classroom to teach a surgeon is in an operating room. With this initiative, SBCP and Smile Train provided these medical residents with an invaluable learning experience," says Dr. Nivaldo Alonso, an SBCP surgeon and Smile Train Medical Advisory Council Member in Brasil.

Mariane Goes, Smile Train, Regional Director, South America, said, “Collaboration and partnership have always been at the heart of Smile Train's model of providing free cleft surgery and post-surgical care. I was so pleased to see how well Smile Train’s local partners, the SBCP professors, and medical residents worked together all week. This national campaign is a major step forward for public awareness about cleft lip and palate in Brasil and Smile Train’s efforts in the region."