Clinic: Meeting and Evaluating Patients

Clinic:  Meeting and Evaluating Patients
Originally uploaded by interplast

Qiqihaer, China--Susan W. Hayes, Interplast president & CEO

There were lots of babies and small children at clinic day, the first day at the hospital where our medical volunteers meet and evaluate patients.  Most need surgery for cleft palates; there are some who need their cleft lips repaired; and there are others who need revisions.  Bhawani Pradhan, speech therapist from Interplast’s Surgical Outreach Center in Nepal, joined our team this year and worked all day to screen many speech pathology candidates.  Speech therapy is very important for patients who have had their cleft palates repaired; it helps them learn how to properly form words and be understood after the hole in the roof of their mouths is closed.