Programme "Smile" — Cleft Lip & Palate Surgery
Free corrective surgery and speech therapy, so babies and children can smile naturally, speak clearly and eat well.
Programme "Smile" — Restoring Smiles & Futures
Careful check-ups, expert surgical repair and caring follow-up after the operation, all at no charge.
Background & Human Impact
Every year in Bangladesh, thousands of babies are born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. For poor families this makes daily life very hard — babies struggle to feed, which leads to malnutrition, frequent ear infections and lasting speech problems, along with the pain of social stigma.
Surgery in early childhood can fully repair these conditions, but the surgeon's fees, anesthesia and hospital stay are far beyond what a daily wage-earner can pay. Programme "Smile" was set up at Shilmoon Specialized Hospital to take away every cost — expert surgery, hospital care and speech therapy are completely free for affected children.
Comprehensive Clinical Protocol & Care Spectrum
Programme "Smile" follows a step-by-step care plan that looks after the child's surgical, nutritional and developmental needs, from infancy through recovery:
Reconstructive surgery, including Cheiloplasty (cleft lip repair at 3–6 months) and Palatoplasty (cleft palate repair at 9–18 months).
Pre-operation blood tests, pediatric anesthesia, operation theater charges, medicines and the hospital stay are all covered, with a bill of 0 Taka.
Guided speech and pronunciation exercises to help clear speech develop and prevent lifelong difficulties.
Guidance and special feeding techniques that help mothers through feeding problems, so babies reach healthy weight milestones.
Regular developmental check-ups, hearing tests and dental alignment monitoring through the child's early years.
The costs of the operation theater, surgical supplies and recovery sessions are fully covered by corporate social responsibility funds.