A team of local and foreign medical volunteers will arrive today for the Operation Smile Surgical Mission in Negros Occidental, Edith Villanueva, over-all chairperson of the mission, said yesterday.

The team is comprised of medical practitioners from seven countries – USA , Canada , Australia , Russia , Brazil , China and the Philippines , she said.

Led by plastic surgeon Irene Tangco, the team will perform reconstructive surgeries on children with harelip and cleft palate. They will be supported by the medical personnel of the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City under Dr. Ma. Estrella Ledesma and chief nurse Ma. Teresa Severino, Villanueva said.

The Operation Smile Team and Hope Foundation organizers welcome patients to come for screening tomorrow and Saturday between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. , she said.

Surgery begins on Monday and ends Friday. Feb. 29.

Operation Smile has been reaching out to indigent children with facial deformities in the Philippines since 1982 with the initiative of its founder Dr. William Magee, Villanueva, a member of the HOPE and OpSmile Philippines boards, said.

In Negros Occidental alone, more than 2,250 patients have undergone cleft surgery and rehabilitation through the efforts of HOPE Foundation and its volunteers, she said.

For more information, she said, interested parties may call the HOPE office at 433-61-38.*

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