Former Seychelles President applauds surgeon

CHENNAI: Cleft lip and cleft palate are the most common birth deformities in children. These are seen more commonly among children of third world countries including the African nation of Seychelles. Eminent cleft surgeon Dr SM Balaji was invited by the Seychelles Health Minister to perform advanced cleft surgeries at the Victoria Hospital, Seychelles.Accepting the invitation, Dr Balaji visited the hospital and performed many intricate surgeries to treat clefts and other complex facial defects.Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that affect the upper lip and roof of the mouth. They happen when the tissues that form the roof of the mouth and upper lip don't join before birth resulting in a gap. This affects the way the child's face looks. It also leads to problems with normal teeth eruption, eating, talking, and psychological problems.Cleft causes a bony defect in the upper alveolar (tooth bearing) region. Conventionally, alveolar cleft correction requires bone to be harvested from the patient’s iliac region (hip bone). The bone grafting procedure includes an additional surgery (at the site to harvest bone), incurs undesirable scars, increases blood loss, hospital stay, recovery time and pain.To avoid this, Dr Balaji used a recent and revolutionary invent, the miracle protein rh-BMP2 (recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein). The inclusion of rh-BMP2 at the site of the cleft stimulates the stem cells to rapidly produce new bone and promotes bone growth. This protein has revolutionised cleft surgery by overcoming the need for additional bone graft surgery, unaesthetic scars, pain or discomfort at the donor site. This procedure has no side effects. Following this, normal teeth eruption and teeth align- ment can be achieved.Numerous children afflicted with cleft deformity have hugely benefitted from these efforts. Former President of Seychelles, Sir James Richard Marie Manheim, visited the hospital and greeted the chil- dren. He also commended Dr Balaji on his remarkable achievement.Dr Balaji is believed to be the first to introduce this novel technology in India. In recognition of his pioneering works, he was conferred the top honor of Indian Medical Scientists, the prestigious Dr Brammiah Sastri memorial Award.