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Operation Smile medical volunteers are working in Guwahati in our largest mission to date.

February 3, 2010: Images From Screening

February 1, 2010: Screening

The team in Guwahati has screened 1,195 children so far for cleft lip and cleft palate surgery!

- Shannon Mintz, International Programs Manager

January 29, 2010: Expanding Our Efforts in India

From January 30-February 17, Operation Smile will work in Guwahati, India, in its largest medical mission to date. The mission will entail two surgical weeks with 16 tables - 14 general anesthesia, 2 local anesthesia.

Operation Smile is prepared and excited about helping hundreds of children with correctible facial deformities. The Indian government has already registered 1,800 patients for screening.

The team includes medical volunteers, literally from all over the world, with a large contingency from Latin America. Six Operation Smile program coordinators have been dedicated to planning and implementing this mission for months.

This mission follows Operation Smile's 500 patient mission in India held December 2-19, 2009, in which Operation Smile brought together a team of 166 medical volunteers from 15 countries. This milestone medical mission in Guwahati, India, provided 871 free medical evaluations and 509 facial reconstructive surgeries for children and young adults.

During an eighteen-day period, two teams of local and international volunteers, including medical professionals, students, and members of the local community, worked side-by-side to bring new smiles to the largest number of patients during a single medical mission ever conducted in India.

Operation Smile’s work in India is representative of the organization’s global effort to bring high quality care to areas of the world that have a tremendous need for cleft lip and cleft palate treatment. Operation Smile has been working closely with the Assam government, and earlier this year entered into a public-private partnership with the state of Assam and the Tata Group to treat children with facial deformities within the region.

In September 2009, Operation Smile presented the Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, with the distinguished Universal Smile Award in recognition of his dedication and leadership in establishing this landmark public-private partnership.

Operation Smile’s first mission to India was in 2002. To read stories from our volunteers in the field as well as view photographs from our previous medical mission in Guwahati, visit www.operationsmile.org/guwahati.

Operation Smile Completes Successful Mission In Bhavn agar

Bhavnagar: August 20-28
- Allison Bradshaw Gonzalez, Program Coordinator

Dear Friends at Operation Smile,

It is with great honor that I announce the completion of Operation Smile India’s mission to Bhavnagar. Volunteers from India, the Philippines, Russia, Ecuador, Canada, Israel and the United States came together to provide new smiles for 53 patients – 47 of whom returned for post-op! It was truly inspiring to see this group come together to change so many lives.

One patient in particular was sure to bring a smile to all of our faces. Rakesh was born with a facial cleft, much more than just a cleft lip. Despite his disfiguring condition that even other patients noticed as different, Rakesh was full of a bright spirit and a brave heart.

After his surgery, his parents joined him in the recovery room, their tears of joy acknowledging the different life their son would now have. When the surgeon walked in, Rakesh’s mother leaned over to touch his feet, a true sign of respect and gratitude. It was an amazingly touching moment for the entire team. The pictures attached are of Rakesh before his surgery and then after his surgery, looking at his own before and after pictures.

We would like to thank the volunteers for their tireless work, as well as the immense support from Operation Smile India and Operation Smile International. It was only with the teamwork involved that we were able to accomplish what we did.

Wishing you all the best,
Allison and Rohan

Operation Smile Partners with India to Make Assam Cleft-free by 2012

Read the story on The Telegraph.

Since Operation Smile's first mission to India in 2002, volunteers have provided free physical examinations for more than 6,000 patients and life-changing surgery for more than 2,700 children and young adults during international medical missions in India.

Operation Smile conducts international missions in Bolpur, Deesa, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Himachal Pradesh, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Manipal, Rajkot and Vijayawada; and local missions in Kolkata and Deesa.

Following Megan Mylan’s Oscar-winning documentary "Smile Pinki," telling the story of five-year-old Pinki, an Indian girl with a cleft lip, Operation Smile recently provided life-changing surgery for 226 children in Guwahati, India.

Operation Smile Completes Successful Mission in Guwahati, Assam

Guwahati, India: May 21 - 29, 2009

I am happy to announce the successful completion of the second Operation Smile international mission in Guwahati, Assam, in the north eastern part of India! In many ways, this mission was a very important mission for Operation Smile.

This was the first time we did a seven (6+1) table mission in India; and the results were exceptional. We achieved something we had always dreamt of: 200+ surgeries. In six surgical days we were able to change the lives of 226 kids and their families.

We had an incredible team of 70 volunteers, lead by a very strong leadership team. There were volunteers from six different countries.

Above all, we were privileged to have amongst us Dr. Magee and Kathy Magee, their presence was very inspirational for the team.

As a team we did face some obstacles and problems, but I feel all these obstacles and the willingness and determination to overcome them is what made us feel like a family, and what made this mission great.

Operation Smile India is planning extensive activities in the North East of the country, and this mission has been a great foundation stone. In two weeks, our team was able to change the lives of not only 226 children and their families, but we have also created hope in the minds of several children and their families. We have shown them that a cleft lip and cleft palate is curable. We have shown that it is not a miracle that they have to wait for - there is a solution.

Operation Smile will be committed to fulfill this hope and promise. As a step to fulfilling this promise we inaugurated our first Comprehensive Care Center in the North East and the third in the country on this mission.

The Care Center will be fully functional in a couple of months. This was inaugurated by the Chief Minister and the Health minister of the state along with Dr. Magee and Kathy Magee at a small function at the hospital. Also present for the occasion was Mr. Prateek Hajela, District Commissioner, and other members of the Operation Smile family including Mr. Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman of the Board, Operation Smile India, and Mr. Ajit Varma, Executive Director, Operation Smile India.

We have also planned two big missions in Guwahati. We plan to do a 500 Smiles (500 surgical objective) mission in November and 1,000 Smile mission in February 2010!

Regards,
Abhishek Sengupta
Regional Coordinator
Operation Smile India

Since Operation Smile's first mission to India in 2002, volunteers have provided free physical examinations for more than 4,880 patients and life-changing surgery for more than 2,306 children and young adults during international medical missions in India.

First international mission: 2002
International mission sites: Bolpur, Deesa, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Himachal Pradesh, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Manipal, Rajkot and Vijayawada
Local mission sites: Kolkata and Deesa

Operation Smile's medical mission to Guwahati, India, May 21-29, 2009. (Photo credit: Diana Mulvihill, volunteer photographer for Operation Smile)

Rajasthan Royals Support Operation Smile in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan Royals have committed their support to Operation Smile's programs in Rajasthan with the goal of creating a cleft-free state. Read more >>

Operation Smile Completes Successful Medical Mission in Bolpur, West Bengal

Operation Smile recently completed its sixth cleft lip and cleft palate medical mission in Bolpur, West Bengal, from March 15-21, 2009. The 33-member Operation Smile volunteer team from Australia, Belgium, China, Ireland, the Philippines, Vietnam and the United States joined their Indian colleagues to provide life-changing reconstructive surgery to 57 patients.

Although this was Operation Smile’s sixth medical mission to Bolpur, it was the first mission held at the Pearson Memorial Hospital: a 60-bed hospital located within the campus of Visva-Bharati University. Visva-Bharati University authorities and hospital staff went out of their way to ensure the success of this mission. The William H. Donner Foundation Fund sponsored the medical mission in addition to generously funding five previous medical missions held in Bolpur.

The Operation Smile medical mission was formally inaugurated March 26 by Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, the Honorable Speaker of Lok Sabha. Mr. Chatterjee welcomed the Operation Smile team to Bolpur and wished them luck. He emphasized the immense need for such work in this district. Also present for the occasion was Mr. Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman of the Board, Operation Smile India; Mr. Ajit Varma, Executive Director, Operation Smile India; Mr. Mukut Mani Mitra, Registrar, Visva-Bharati University; and Mr. Amiyava Chowdhury, Public Relations Head, Visva-Bharati University.

A medical mission to Bolpur is special to Operation Smile India because of the hundreds of people in this part of the country who suffer from cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. During the first medical mission in 2005, an Operation Smile team provided medical evaluations to 595 patients, but the team only had the time and resources to provide surgery for 140 children. Each subsequent Operation Smile medical team has been met by hundreds of families who hope their loved one will be selected for surgery. This is exactly what brings Operation Smile back to Bolpur year after year.

Operation Smile Completes First-ever Medical Mission in Jamshedpur.

Operation Smile recently completed its first ever cleft lip and cleft palate medical mission in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. The 45-member Operation Smile medical team from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States, joined their Indian colleagues to provide reconstructive surgery to 181 patients whose lives were changed forever. This medical mission was unique in terms of the unprecedented involvement and cooperation received from the Tata Group, principal sponsors for this mission. Funded by the Dorabji Tata Trust, this medical mission was held at the Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur. The host hospital, along with the management of Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, went out of their way to facilitate and ensure the success of this program.

Operation Smile medical missions always expose us to deeply touching stories of love and compassion, and the Jamshedpur mission was no exception. Pinki, a young woman of 19, had come to the mission site in hopes of receiving surgery to repair her cleft lip. When the Operation Smile team announced the names of those patients who had been selected for surgery, they noticed a woman’s face gleaming with joy upon hearing Pinki’s name amongst those selected for surgery. The woman was Kheloo Devi, Pinki’s mother, who also suffered from the same cleft lip deformity as her daughter, but had not undergone the medical evaluation process at the mission site. When Operation Smile medical volunteers asked her why, Kheloo Devi said she feared if there were two members from the same family needing surgery, it might hurt her daughter’s chances of being chosen; Pinki’s surgery was the obvious priority to her mother. Operation Smile volunteers immediately facilitated Kheloo Devi‘s medical evaluations, and after being cleared for surgery, she was placed on the surgery schedule along with her daughter. Their surgeries were a great success. The sight of the mother-daughter duo, filled with so much happiness and renewed confidence, brought a great deal of joy to the entire Operation Smile team.

Operation Smile co-founder meets Indian cricket star

During a trip in November to India, Operation Smile Co-founder and President Kathy Magee (right) and Emily Ford Webb, Operation Smile Senior Coordinator of Global Development, met Dinesh Salunkhe of the Rajasthan Royals cricket team. The Rajasthan Royals won the first Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, by defeating the Chennai Super Kings by 3 wickets in the final played in June 2008. Team owners are Manoj Badale, Chairman of Operation Smile UK, and Ranjit Barthakur, Chairman of Operation Smile India.

Operation Smile Supports WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative

On June 25th, Operation Smile participated in the global launch ceremony of the World Health Organization's Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative.

Hosted by Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, WHO Regional Director for the Americas, the event highlighted the WHO's new global campaign to improve the safety of surgical care. The event was attended by ministers of health and world leaders in surgery, anesthesiology and nursing joining together to focus on reducing deaths and complications from surgery globally.

During the ceremony, Dr. Randy Sherman, Operation Smile's Chief Medical Officer, formally announced Operation's Smile endorsement of the new WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. The list includes simple safety checks that the WHO team has shown could halve the rate of surgical complications. The list is intended to improve anesthetic safety practices, avoid infections and improve communication among members of surgical teams. Operation Smile is one of almost 200 surgery, anesthesia, nursing and patient societies formally endorsing the checklist.

Major surgery now occurs at a rate of 234 million procedures per year - one for every 25 people - and studies indicating that a significant percentage result in preventable complications and deaths.

"Preventable surgical injuries and deaths are a growing concern," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. "Using the checklist is the best way to reduce surgical errors and improve patient safety."

Operation Smile's involvement in the WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative is part of the organization’s broader efforts to advocate for and provide high quality, safe surgery in developing countries.

For more information on the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative, please see:http://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en/

Hundreds of Students Convene for Operation Smile's Mission Training Workshop and International Student Leadership Conference

Operation Smile's Mission Training Workshop is taking place July 29-August 1 at San Diego State University in California. Forty-six students from 13 United States, Ireland, Mexico and Paraguay will receive training to participate on international medical missions taking place during the next year. From August 2-6, more than 350 students from 17 United States and 16 other countries will participate in Operation Smile's 16th annual International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC), also being held at San Diego State University. The conference offers students an overview of Operation Smile's work around the world and teaches them how to be leaders, learning confidence, public speaking, fund-raising and club organization.

Click here for the latest from Mission Training and the ISLC

Operation Smile India Opens its First Comprehensive Care Centre

On 12th of April 2008, Operation Smile India was delighted to open its first Comprehensive Care Centre, in partnership with the Jubilant First Trust Health Care Ltd. It is located at the Kalpataru Hopital, Taki Road in Barasat, 15 km away from Kolkata international airport.

The Comprehensive Care Centre will provide surgeries to children who suffer from cleft lips and cleft palates year-round as well as provide education and training to medical professionals in the region. It includes operating and recovery rooms as well as rooms for medical, dental, speech therapy, parental and patient consultations.

The Comprehensive Care Centre coordinator, Mr. Soumen Dey Malakar, can be contacted on +91 9231897980 for more information.

Operation Smile India participates in the World Journey of Smiles

In November 2007, Operation Smile India participated in Operation Smile's 25th Anniversary initiative, the World Journey of Smiles (WJOS). From November 7-16, 2007, more than 1900 Operation Smile volunteers gave new smiles to 4086 children at 40 sites in 25 Countries.

Operation Smile India held two successful, simultaneous medical missions in different locations as part of the WJOS.

The first medical mission site was at the Student Health Home in Moulali, Kolkata, where medical and non-medical volunteers from India, Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United States medically evaluated 114 patients and provided 82 life-changing surgeries.

The second medical mission site took place at the Dr. Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute in Gannavaram, Vijayawada. The Operation Smile volunteers medically evaluated 221 patients and treated 89 children and young adults suffering from facial deformities.

Operation Smile India was pleased to have been a part of the WJOS.

Operation Smile's Asia Regional Conference

Representatives from Operation Smile's partner countries in Asia came together for Operation Smile's Asia Regional Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, in July 2007. The conference focused on the ways that Operation Smile's Foundations in Asia can work together and share resources to improve the quality of life for children, families and communities.

The meeting was designed to ensure that Operation Smile's partner countries in Asia have the tools and resources they need to continue to run efficient and effective organizations. Representatives from Australia, Cambodia, China, India, the Philippians and Vietnam had the opportunity to exchange resources and discuss goals and strategies with regards to sustainable development, fundraising and volunteerism.

By creating Asian regional partnerships, Operation Smile India builds trust, bridges cultures and bestows dignity at home and abroad.

Operation Smile India will continue to work with its Operation Smile Asia partners to raise medical standards of care to the highest level.

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