Medical Programs

To compound the complexity of the problem, there is lack of appropriate awareness mechanisms at the level of individual as well as at the level of prevailing Health care system. Especially in rural areas people lack awareness that these deformities can be cured through plastic procedures and people can live a normal life.

In India an infant born with a cleft lip or other facial deformities is considered as a curse to both self and the family, even leading to being treated as outcasts, and suffer from an avoidable stigma. Many times the primary reason for people to not get operated, despite harboring a wish to do so, is the exorbitant cost of such surgeries, which is well beyond the reach of the poor & economically backward classes. Also, there is a dearth of good plastic surgeons in the country. The people in the rural areas are the worst affected, who neither have the money for such expensive surgeries nor is there the required infrastructure for such surgeries. Deformities like cleft lip, facial scars or squint eyes are a mental agony too for girls growing up & getting into marriageable age.

BJS has taken up this social issue as one of its prime focus area & has been organizing plastic surgery camps every year in the state of Maharashtra & other parts of the country with the aim to progress towards a society that is free from the malady of congenital deformities. Objective of the program is to support persons to overcome the congenital deformities and related social stigma and help them live a life of dignity and confidence. The objective relates to addressing the social stigma faced by large number of persons who are born with the various types of ingrained physical, facial and ophthalmic disorders by arranging medical and infrastructure support through camps. The entire project focuses on helping such persons to overcome various types of facial deformities and help them a live a mainstream normal life. On an average the BJS organized medical camps have potential of 800 medical checkups and about 500 surgeries per camp, a unique activity in itself. BJS also arranges for preliminary tests that are required before the medical surgeries, and post operation assistance with free medicine etc. The plastic surgery camps commenced in the year 1990 as a result of the visionary thinking and inspiring social commitment of Shri Shantilal Mutha in visualizing this problem and its adverse impact on a large social segment, & launching this initiative with the help, association & participation of Dr. Sharad Kumar Diksheet, an world renowned plastic surgeon based in USA who visited India every year and carried out the surgeries himself along with his associate doctors who travelled with him. Dr Dikshit unfortunately expired in 201, but his team of doctors resolved to carry on with the exemplary participation & contribution every year, & the plastic surgery camps have continued to be organized by BJS every year with the help & dedicated participation of this team of doctors. Starting with 2-4 camps in a year, the no of such camps have gradually increased to double digit figures, even touching the no 24 such camps in a year.