The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) has said that on Saturday, Oct. 16, its medical team will operate on children with cleft, for free.

Adult patients, with abnormalities on their lips or upper jaw, will also undergo surgeries, at no cost to them.

AKTH Deputy Director of Communications, Hauwa Muhammed, disclosed this on Sunday in a statement.

According to the statement, the Chairman of the Cleft Team, Dr Adeyemi Efunkoya, a Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, noted the free cleft surgeries started in the hospital in 2018 and 100 patients had so for been operated on.

It pointed out that because the cleft surgeries were done by the hospital’s dental and maxillofacial surgeons, as part of their routine activities, it made it very difficult to reach out to many of the target patients.

The AKTH cleft team, according to the statement, comprised 30 members drawn from different specialties and subspecialties.

The hospital, however, called on the public to disseminate the information for the benefit of patients with cleft lips or cleft palate, to come for evaluation and surgery.

The team commended the Smile Train Initiative for partnering with AKTH, to assist patients with cleft problems.

It urged other individuals and organisations to emulate the gesture.