Quick Facts

• It takes as little as 45 minutes to repair a cleft lip.
  
  
• A cleft lip surgery costs Rs-10,000/($240 USD).
  
  
• Approximately one in every 600 Indian children is born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate.
  
  
• It is estimated that there are more than 1 million people in India living with untreated facial deformities.
  
  
• Children with facial deformities who do not receive reconstructive surgery often have difficulty breathing, drinking, eating and speaking. As a result, many suffer from malnutrition, medical and psychological problems.
  
  
• Since Operation Smile’s first mission to India in 2002, volunteers have provided free medical evaluations to more than 3,000 patients and performed life-changing surgery to more than 2,000 children.
  
  
• Operation Smile India was established in 2003 as a registered Indian Trust and is operating with a local Board of Directors & Medical Advisory Council.
  
  
• Operation Smile India opened its country office in 2004, in Mumbai.
  
  
• The current executive director, Ajit Varma, is supported by a dedicated team of coordinators and support staff.
  
  
• Operation Smile’s humanitarian work helps children by correcting their facial disfigurements through the gift of medicine and surgery – a change that brings about a more positive life along with a healthier self-image.
  
  
• Since Operation Smile‘s first mission to the Philippines in 1982, the organization coordinates more than 30 Medical Mission sites in 26 countries annually.
  
  
• Since 1982, more than 115,000 children and young adults have been treated by thousands of volunteers worldwide and thousands of healthcare professionals have been trained globally.
  
  
• Operation Smile has an active volunteer network of more than 5,000 medical professionals.