Fort Worth Doctor Collaborates With Operation Smile To Treat Patients With Cleft Lip, Palate

Arlington TX

09 December, 2021

8:03 PM

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By Cecilia Lenzen, Fort Worth Report December 9, 2021 Growing up in South Africa, Dr. Gavin Fine's parents and grandparents instilled in him a strong moral code. He saw his grandmother heavily involved in the Black Sash, a human rights organization advocating for social justice, which inspired him to always give back to his community. Now, Fine, 57, sees himself as privileged to have received a higher education and work as a staff pediatric anesthesiologist at Cook Children's Health Care System. He is also a medical volunteer with Operation Smile, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to treating patients with cleft lip and cleft palate. Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby's lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cleft palate is formed when the tissue that makes up the roof of the mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy, which leaves the palate open. Cleft lip happens when the tissue that makes up the lip does not join completely before birth, resulting in an opening in the upper lip. Cleft conditions are not fatal, but they make it difficult to eat or speak clearly and can lead to hearing problems. Globally, a child is born every three minutes with a cleft condition, equalling about one in every 500 to 750 births, according to Operation Smile. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.