Forming the cleft lip & palate surgical team

Dr Chow Sik-kuen is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who has joined the “HIS Foundation” for 22 years since 1995.

In the early 1990s, Dr Chow learned that there were large numbers of people suffering from cleft lip on the mainland China, where one in every 600 to 800 babies was born with this condition. Every year, tens of thousands of its cleft lip patients were in need of surgery. Given the high risks involved, cleft lip surgeries must be carried out in hospitals and could cost up to RMB3,000 per operation. This was beyond the affordability of peasants whose gross annual income was only RMB2,000 each, back then. Even with the higher government subsidy in recent years, many patients still could not afford the high medical expenses. In addition to that, there is a severe lack of doctors capable of providing full cleft lip surgery services. These prompted Dr Chow’s decision to form a medical team to provide low-income and impoverished patients in different Chinese provinces with the medical services.

Regain patient’s dignity

The Foundation’s cleft lip & palate surgical team led by Dr Chow consists of plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, anesthetists as well as operating room and ward nurses. The team serves in various provinces of mainland China, such as Henan, Jiangsu, Qinghai, Yunnan, Guangxi and Shandong. In 2010 and 2014, their services were extended to Indonesia and Madagascar respectively. Each medical mission lasts one to two weeks, with its team members paying for their own airfare, accommodation and food expenses. Every year, there are about 100 to 120 volunteers participating in the cleft lip & palate missions.

Dr Chow strives to train local healthcare workers to raise the professional levels of their surgery and anesthesia techniques. This helps reduce delays in treatments or even prevent patients from missing the “golden hour” for palate repairs. He also hopes that after surgery, patients could return to the society without any discrimination due to their looks and unclear speech and that they could regain their confidence and dignity.