THE passion and dedication of Dr Surandar ‘Sikki’ Singh has forever changed the lives of over 500 people born with a cleft lip or palate.
For the past two decades the Durban North resident, through his non-profit organisation, the Wentworth Foundation, has aspired to treat and provide support for people who are unable to afford treatment for the congenital condition.
According to Singh there remains a deficiency in facilities that provide the vital support and follow up treatments for the poor communities. As July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month, Singh said he wished to highlight the treatment gap.
“When a baby is born with a cleft lip and palate a number of problems arise. The most depressing problem is the psychological impact of the parents seeing their child with a facial deformity. To add to this there are a host of problems such as feeding, hearing, breathing, speaking and other related problems. Social stigma is also a major issue, which often leaves these individuals ostracised from their community. In some cases parents have abandoned their babies,” he said.
“With modern advancements, the condition is treatable and patients can live a normal life, but there are no facilities in KwaZulu-Natal that provide follow up treatments to the poor,” he said.
Hospitals, such the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, he said can only perform the initial surgery, to repair the malformation.
“In order to correct the deformity additional surgeries and treatments might be necessary. Patients also need to see speech therapists or occupational therapists to help them learn how to speak or breathe properly. Treatment can take up to seven years. In most cases the mother also needs to be taught how to feed her baby as it can be a difficult process,” he explained.
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