Tuan was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. He lives with his family in a remote mountain region in northern Vietnam. Because of the cleft, he cannot drink properly. He often cries from hunger and gains very little weight. His parents are deeply worried.
When they hear about our medical project in Hanoi, they feel hope for the first time. The journey to the hospital takes six hours. For Tuan’s parents, it is their first long trip—carried by trust and the hope that their son will soon live a healthy life, free from stigma.
During the medical consultation, Tuan’s mother, Thi Ky, tells our team about her worries. In their village, many people believe the malformation is fate—something the family must simply accept. Whenever she leaves the house with her son, she feels the neighbors’ stares. “Rabbit,” they call out to mother and child. Very few people offer help. The stigma and teasing have already left their mark.
Fortunately, Tuan’s medical condition is stable, and he can undergo surgery with our surgeon Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan (pictured on the right). Dr. Lan has led our projects in Hanoi since their beginning. She previously trained in cleft surgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Today, the experienced surgeon and her team perform around 600 cleft operations each year at Hanoi Children’s Hospital.
The operation is successful. One hour later, Tuan is back in the arms of his parents and grandmother. Dr. Lan has successfully closed the cleft lip. When the family returns to their village, everyone admires Tuan’s new smile. Now he is lovingly called “little one.” No one calls him a rabbit anymore.
In Vietnam, about one in every 500 babies is born with a cleft condition. The need for treatment is great, even though medical care has improved in recent years. For many families in Vietnam, the average monthly income of €220–320 is above the poverty line—but a life-changing cleft operation often costs several times that amount.
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