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We are proud to share unforgettable story of Cleft Palate Surgery happened in TIPS. So it Starts like this:
Shireen an eleven month old infant, born with bilateral cleft lip in the deep icy, harsh, treacherous terrain of India. Yes you guessed it right, nearby Siachen Glacier, even where eagles dare to fly. The spine chilling temperature of -20 to -30 degree centigrade. This gives one a shiver down the spine by just by thinking what kind of adverse conditions do these people live.
But the determination of her grandfather, a war veteran of Kargil war (formally awarded by Mr Vajpaae), knew no limitations. He choose to walk for 20 kilometers on frozen lake along with his whole family to reach leh. And catch a flight run by Indian air force to Chandigarh (even waiting time is too long as it’s subsidized!!!!!!!)
Infact it was an honour for us to have them here at Tricity institute of plastic surgery ( TIPS ). As a leading centre for cleft lip and cleft palate surgery we listened to their gruesome and mind blowing journey. And we left no stone unturned to operate the child as early as possible because they had a window period of one week only. Or else they would be missing the subsidized flight which was to leave after 1 week. And their turn would have come after a month.
After the cleft surgery, when her grandfather saw Shireens face- he pulled out his badge of honour and presented it to us. It was such an emotional and overwhelming moment that it is difficult to express in words .
Nevertheless after getting the surgery for cleft, they caught the flight back home on time and left us with some memories and stories which we would continue to cherish for the rest of our lives.
