Department of Charles Pinto

Overview

Welcome to our Department, a dedicated center for comprehensive care of congenital clefts of the lip, palate, and complex facial clefts. For over 53 years, we’ve been the sole institution of its kind, performing over 16,000 cleft surgeries.

From birth, our compassionate team provides crucial support, counseling families on feeding, explaining the nature of the deformity, and dispelling misconceptions. Treatment includes surgeries at specific stages of childhood development, ensuring optimal outcomes.

We’re proud partners with Smile Train, a New York-based charity funding cleft treatments worldwide. Our center, meeting stringent safety and skill criteria, was the first in India accepted by Smile Train.

Join us in our commitment to transform the lives of cleft patients, one smile at a time.

About the Department:

This department provides comprehensive care for patients with congenital clefts of the lip, palate and complex facial clefts. This is probably the only Department of its kind that is dedicated solely to the care of cleft deformities. It has been in existence at the Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute for more than 53 years, and a total of more than 16,000 cleft surgeries have been performed at this Centre.

The Saga of the Cleft Patients:

The care of the cleft patient begins soon after birth. Counselling the patients about feeding, explaining to them the nature of the deformity, allaying fears and misconceptions start soon after birth at our out-patients clinic. The cleft lip and palate child requires surgery for the cleft lip at about 6 months, repair of the cleft palate at around 1 year, improvement of minor deformities of the nose at 5½ – 6 years, Alveolar bone graft for proper eruption of the teeth at 7 years, surgically bringing the upper jaw forward for gross deficiency of growth after 16 years with orthognathic surgery.

Partnership with Smile Train:

Smile Train is a charitable organization based in New York, USA, that helps in funding for the treatment of Cleft Patients. Partner hospital are meticulously screened for proper safety protocol, infrastructure and skills of the treating surgeons and anaesthetists. The Charles Pinto Centre was the first to be inspected and accepted as a partner in India by Smile Train.

Services Rendered:

SURGICAL TREATMENT – includes surgery for primary correction of unilateral and bilateral cleft lips, primary repair of cleft palate, secondary correction of the lip and nose, alveolar bone grafts, Maxillary distraction, orthognathic surgery includes LeForte osteotomies, secondary surgery for Velopharyngeal incompetence including Pharyngoplasty. These surgeries are available FREE OF CHARGE to the patients under the Smile Train Scheme.
NON-SURGICAL SERVICES:
- Orthodontics: A state of the art department has been developed that will soon be providing modern facilities like nasoalveolar moulding for Pre-surgical orthodontics.
- Speech and Language Therapy: There is a full-fledged speech and language therapy department with a well-trained Speech Pathologist Ms. Elizabeth Saju.

Facilities:

Four Operation Theatres equipped with modern anaesthetic equipment are available for cleft-related surgeries:

Nasoendoscopy and Videofluroscopy to assess the state of the Velocardial Sphinchter mechanism.
Nasometry to detect nasality of speech,
Dedicated 9 bedded surgical ICU especially for cleft patients.
High Dependency Unit for cleft patient. (5 bedded)

Academics:

The department is visited by trainees from all over India and abroad from departments of Plastic Surgery, Paediatric Surgery and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery with trainees coming here for exposure to cleft surgery and to further hone their skills in this specialty.

Publications:

National Journals : 9
International Journals: 3

Award & Distinctions :

Dr. H.S. Adenwalla was awarded the Sushruta Oration in 1999 by the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India.
He delivered a guest lecture at the International Cleft Lip and Palate foundation in Zurich, 2000 where he was awarded a citation which reads “in recognition of outstanding contributions in supporting patients with cleft lip and palate and advancing the medical skills in developing countries with deep gratitude and thankfulness”.
He was awarded the Joseph McCarthy award for Excellence in Medicine and Humanitarian services in November 2006 in New York.
Dr. H.S. Adenwalla is Member of the Smile Train Medical Advisory Board (South Asia and New York).
He was the 1st President of the Indian Society of Cleft Lip, Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies.