Usman A., 1

The child was born on Thursday 4th September as at the time of writing this report he is 3days old. He is the 3rd child of his mother but the last of 9children. His father is a petty trader that sells soup items in the market, while his mother is a housewife. The child was born with the condition and was rushed to the hospital for specialist care. Upon presentation at our hospital he was diagnosed with cleft palette with hydrocephalus. His case was an emergency and was rushed to the ICU where he would be worked up for emergency vp shunt Insertion. His cleft palate would be undertaken by another NGO "Smile Train"

A newborn baby boy was rushed to our facility shortly after birth with multiple congenital anomalies. On presentation, he was diagnosed with cleft lip and palate complicated by hydrocephalus. Due to the emergency nature of the case, he was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and prepared for urgent ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt insertion to relieve the increasing intracranial pressure. While in the theatre, multiple additional congenital abnormalities were discovered, and the baby nearly lost his life during the complex procedure. Despite successful shunt placement and intensive post-operative care in the ICU, the infant passed away one day after surgery due to overwhelming complications from his multiple congenital anomalies. Helpster Charity provided critical financial and logistical support that enabled us to offer this emergency intervention when the family had no other options. The family remains deeply grateful to Helpster Charity for standing by them during this heartbreaking time and for giving their baby a fighting chance.

Early treatment of the hydrocephalus will reduce the pressure on the brain and therefore reduce the risk of brain damage and loss of function. The prognosis is significantly improved with early Ventriculo-peritoneal (vp) shunting