“Our baby girl was born with unilateral cleft with her nose a bit tilted on the left. We were directionless and completely in the dark as we didn’t know what was ahead. It is a God’s blessing that we found Dr. Vijay Joseph and Dr Sarojini Joseph. They were extremely patient, empathetic and gave us confidence that we had come to the right place. Dr Vijay is senior Plastic Surgeon at St. Johns who first saw our baby and advised us to meet Dr Sarojini for correction of the upper jaw (alveolar) as it was not aligned. We started treatment when she was just 20 days old. She was given a specially created Naso Alveolar Moulding Appliance to keep in mouth for correction of upper Jaw and nose. Dr. Sarijoni and Dr. Shalini were very patient and would see or speak to us anytime to address our concerns. Over time the results become more visible and we could see the cleft gap was reducing and nose taking the normal shape. At 8 months the lip surgery was done by Dr. Vijay. Post lip repair care was also taken care by them with multiple follow-up with Dr Sarojini and Dr Vijay. They always kept us informed of what is the next step and always set right expectation. We can’t thank them enough. We are extremely happy with the result.”

“Respected Madam/Sir, I am Hemavathi Shetty. I have two daughters. They both are cleft children born in 1996 in St. John’s Hospital. The first operation was lip close operation when babies were in 4 months babies. It was done in Bo(w)ring Hospital due to financial problem. And the palate surgery was done in EST hospital in Rajajinagar, but that surgery was not succeed it was failured, so the palate surgery was again done in St. John’s Hospital in 3 years baby for both babies. Then Dr. Vijay Joseph suggested to Dental treatment to Mallika Dental Health Centre to Halsur. From 3 years baby we are going for regular check up and treatment with Dr. Sarojini. The treatment is very good and we are very satisfied with the treatment. She also help in treatment like financially. She is like God to us. Now we have final surgery in St. John’s hospital on july for both daughters. Thanking you, Hemavathi Shetty.”

(Translated from Hindi) “My name is Ghouse and my wife’s name is Khwaja Muni. We had a baby boy on the 8th of November, 2017. We began to grow very apprehensive because he was born with cleft lip and palate. When we found out that this is what he was suffering from, we came to St. John’s Medical College and Hospital in Bangalore for treatment. Our baby was admitted to the NICU for 10 days. On the seventh day we got an appointment with Dr. Sarojini Ma’am. When we came to her, we were filled with courage. After seeing our baby, Dr. Sarojini Ma’am said, “it’s very difficult but we must do it”. After listening to her words, we were filled with a lot of courage and strength. After this, Dr. Sarojini Ma’am and Dr. Shiney Ma’am together made such a material that the gap between our baby’s lip started to reduce gradually. They also made a plate which made feeding very easy. Indeed, it is difficult to express how much they have helped me. We would go to Dr. Sarojini Ma’am every week for a check up, and every week we saw a little improvement. Finally, our baby got operated by Dr. Vijay Joseph Sir and Dr. Narender Sir. They carried out the operation with a lot of care. When the operation was over we were so happy to see him. It is hard to express how happy we were in words. Our baby looks so good. He looks like any other ‘normal’ baby. When I found out that New Faces funded the operation, I was so grateful. I had to pay so much, but the Trust helped with the payment. Very very very thank you so much Dr. Sarojini Ma’am, Dr. Vijay Joseph, Dr. Shiney Ma’am, Dr. Narender Sir and New Faces Trust. Thank you so much Ma’am”.

Before I finish my treatment I wanted to wish you warm regards. A big thanks from the bottom of my heart. It was my luck that I have been treated by you. I will always remember you as my mentor, my friend and my doctor. I will always regret that I could not meet you at the end of my stay. However, if ever I come back here I will try to meet you for sure. Thank you and God bless you.