Doctors at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology HCM City perform a cleft lip and palate surgery. Photo courtesy of the hospital

HCM CITY — Nearly 30 scientific reports are being presented by domestic and foreign medical professionals at the 3rd International Congress for Cleft Lip, Palate and Craniofacial Deformity that opened in HCM City on November 13.

The annual congress provides the attendees with up-to-date knowledge and applications of new technologies in the care of patients with cleft lip and palate, and craniofacial anomalies.

It features training sessions on a 3D-printed simulator, a physical model developed using 3D printing, and adhesive and polymer techniques to create the most realistic simulation environment.

For the first time, surgeons and trainees in Asia can access the most advanced physical simulator available.

Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common birth anomalies in Asia, according to Dr. Lê Trung Chánh, director of the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology HCM City.

One in 500 births in Việt Nam have cleft lip and palate.

In 2018, the hospital established the Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre, the first of its kind in Việt Nam, with support from the Canadian BC Children’s Hospital and British Columbia University.

The centre has provided medical examinations, consulting and treatment in accordance to its comprehensive cleft lip and palate care protocol and multidisciplinary coordination for more than 12,000 patients over the past four years.

It has also transferred the comprehensive cleft lip and palate care protocol to hospitals in southern provinces.

The event, co-organised by the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology HCM City, Planet Smile for Kids Society and Smile Train, runs until November 15. —VNS