Lip and palate surgery with FKG UI at Sekayu Regional Hospital, Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatera

AP, 10 years old, did not want to go to school anymore when he was in the 4th grade of elementary school because he was ashamed, even since birth his father left him and did not want to acknowledge him. AP was one of 25 children who underwent cleft lip and palate surgery at Sekayu General Hospital, Musi Banyuasin Regency on December 14-17, 2018.

Musi Banyuasin Regency is one of the regencies in South Sumatra that covers the same area as West Java Province, and even before it was split, Jakarta and Banten were merged into one, making it difficult to equalize the level of welfare and public health in the region. However, the local government and health department continue to work hard to improve this by inviting the cooperation of many agencies, such as cleft lip and palate surgery, which in some places still cannot be funded by BPJS, because it is still considered an aesthetic/beauty measure. In fact, cleft patients not only have difficulty eating, drinking and speaking, but also socializing in the community, including finding work.

The Dentistry Faculty of Universitas Indonesia routinely organizes cleft lip and palate surgeries throughout Indonesia every year and this time YPP was again one of the many sponsors of the event. Dozens of doctors from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, UI came from Jakarta with medical equipment for 4 days of surgery and knowledge transfer under the supervision of consulent doctors from Jakarta, Tangerang and Kagoshima University. Kagoshima. After the surgery, the children will be hospitalized and continue their treatment at Sekayu General Hospital. To entertain the children, Sekayu General Hospital also specialized in cosplay and balloon distribution. It is hoped that this activity can make the cleft children smile better in welcoming their future.