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Patient Stories

Lives transformed in as little as 45 minutes.

Children who are born with cleft lip or cleft palate are faced with challenges many of us cannot ever imagine. Many have difficulty eating, speaking or even smiling and in some parts of the world, they are hidden away, kept from socialising, attending school or playing an active role in their community.

Operation Smile reverses this in less than an hour. Our volunteers work tirelessly to help these children have a bright and hopeful future. Throughout the world, more than 135,000 children have experienced this transformation, and a few of their stories are told here.

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Ngan Total transformation in Danang, Vietnam	Min Zhu Delivering hope to a whole family in China	Brigid It took a village - and a world of compassion - to bring life-changing surgery to this Kenyan boy
Guillermo Life can be hard enough in Nicaragua - free surgery made one easier	Arnoldo One of 160 children healed on a Barinas, Venezuela, mission	Thanh Reclaiming his birth name – and future – after surgery in Vietnam