Partnership Projects of Children’s Lifeline™ & Smiles International

• Number of patients screened for review: 34
• Number of cases selected for surgery: 12
• Surgical reconstructive procedures performed: 42
  • (reason for multiple procedures performed under the same pediatric anesthesia; it was performed this way to make best use of the opportunity for child’s overall safety with less exposure to anesthesia throughout care.)
• Relative value of cases if performed in the USA at hospital setting with specialist anesthesia , surgeons, and nursing facility charges: $350,000.00 USD

Mechanism of Patient Notifications

This time there were Telephone connection appointment reminders by Smiles International volunteers on the Wednesday before the clinic, at a business center at the Kumiai Hotel, with calls made to patients operated or seen at the last two clinics in November and May of 2024. Additional Radio and television announcements were made by the Rotary Club of Tecate one and two weeks prior to the clinic.

Still So Many Cases

There are still many more cases appearing within the local community and in the nearby State of Sonora after the lengthy closure of health care facilities and clinics during the Pandemic. Children’s Lifeline International/Smiles International Foundation projects are now focusing efforts at both the northern AND southern end of Baja, Mexico. This is at the heart of the mission to provide cleft lip/palate reconstruction health care to the entire Baja Peninsula of Mexico, as well as care for patients traveling from the neighboring Mexican State of Sonora. Here in Tecate van transportation is provided by the orphanage group Caring Hearts of Mexico. Group hotel accommodation are typically provided as well, since the journey takes a full day’s travel by land.

Unfortunately, some of the patients were syndromic, and require further growth and development before safely including them into this clinic’s capabilities with outpatient care. The ones not selected due to medical and anesthesia concerns were given baby care instructions, feeding bottles, and appointments for the next clinic in November.

The Team

Team members working at the November 2024 TecateSmiles clinic:

An example of one of our cases is this young child with bilateral cleft lip and palate. Due to distance, parental work commitments and travel difficulties, the child just presented now at age 2.5 years. She was examined, treatment planned, and noted to have a condition called, Syngnathia, where her upper and lower jaws are fused by soft tissues. She has been unable to chew for her entire development to date. The anesthesia team was able to safely put her to sleep so we could release her jaw and repair the clefted lip.

Various Cases

The joint efforts through Children’s Lifeline International and the Smiles International Foundation, along with Rotary International, have over the years given hundreds, if not thousands, of children afflicted with facial cleft differences and deformities hope for a more normalized future, allowing them to grow and flourish in their communities. These procedures improve patients’ abilities to eat, speak, breath, hear and SMILE.

The value of these benefits cannot be underestimated, and allow these children to integrate into their communities and function as productive young adult members of the work force.

Prof. Jeffrey J. Moses DDS, FAACS
Diplomate, Amer. Board Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery President/Founder,
Smiles International Foundation