Smile Foundation appeals to the public for help with major backlog of child surgeries

The South African public has been urged to support Sandton-based Smile Foundation which helps bring smiles to faces of children with facial abnormalities in providing desperately needed care to patients and their families.

They also need help in addressing the growing backlog of children in urgent need of life-changing surgery as soon as it is deemed safe. All elective surgeries have been postponed across not only South Africa, but globally, to ensure patient safety and enable hospitals to effectively respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Only urgent oncology and trauma patients have received surgery during lockdown, resulting in a significant backlog of elective surgeries, including plastic and reconstructive surgery for children in desperate need.

Hedley Lewis, CEO of Smile Foundation said, “The reconstructive surgery required to assist these children not only puts hundreds of children needing life-changing surgery at a disadvantage, but the costs will run into hundreds of thousands of rands to try catch up to pre-Covid levels of service. Unfortunately, this situation is completely beyond everyone’s control, and as South Africa hits its peak of the Covid-19 virus, it is unclear when elective surgeries will be allowed.”

To help alleviate the backlogs and in order for Smile Foundation to continue providing urgent assistance to these children and their families, the organisation is calling on members of the public to take part in giving these children the chance to smile. Smile Foundation has created a raffle where your name will be entered into a draw for R100 per ticket. Participants stand the chance of winning an incredible R100 000 cash prize.

Lewis said the postponement of these surgeries has had a significant psychological impact on the patients as well as their families, and in a number of cases, could have long-term effects for the patients. An example of how the lockdown has impacted patients is the story of Rhiaadra, a 2-year-old child diagnosed with Apert syndrome, a genetic disorder which involves the skull, the face and both hands and feet.

Rhiaadra’s surgery was scheduled to take place on 2 June but given the lockdown, the surgery has been provisionally rescheduled for September this year.

The raffle draw date is on World Smile Day, 2 October this year.

For more information click here or visit www.smilefoundation.co.za

Related articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/138137/raising-funds-for-little-facesorraising-funds-for-smile-foundation/

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/214319/refer-a-child-who-needs-a-smile/