Meet Adolphe: A Bubbly Baby with Bright Eyes and a Brand-New Smile 

Like every parent thinking about their baby’s future, Nikuze has a basic wish for her first-born son, Adolphe. “I want my child to have the best life possible, and I want to do whatever it takes to help him achieve that life,” she says. 

Born in the northwestern corner of Rwanda, not far from the misty mountains and volcanoes of the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border, Adolphe bubbles with energy, and his big eyes don’t miss a thing, taking in faces and colors that surround him. But immediately after his birth, his mother was filled with worries about what his life may be like. “As soon as my doctor held him, he immediately told me your child has been born with a cleft lip,” recalls Nikuze. “They told me that my child may have difficulty eating, drinking or smiling.” 

Adolphe is one of hundreds of thousands of children born each year with a cleft condition, which is a gap in the mouth that didn’t close during the early stages of pregnancy. Even though this condition is believed to be one of the most common craniofacial differences worldwide – an estimated one in 500 to 750 children are born with it – there can be a great deal of misinformation about it as well.  

“When you are born with the cleft the children have issues with breastfeeding, and on top of that, they often have recurrent upper airway infections,” shares Dr. Faustin Ntirenganya,  a plastic surgeon and Operation Smile volunteer. “As they also grow there is a stigma which is attached to cleft conditions and your social integration into society is affected as well.” 

Nikuze and Adolphe’s father, Josue, had seen older people whose lips looked Adolphe’s but no children. “A lot of people who have never seen anything like this come up to me and ask things and stare at him,” says Nikuze. 

Thankfully, when he was about 6 months old, Adolphe’s parents learned about care he could receive free of charge from a nearby hospital that works with Operation Smile. Each year, in over 35 countries, the global nonprofit provides cleft surgery and comprehensive care to patients like Adolphe and their families. But the demand is great, and often the wait for care can be very long, sometimes months or years for help. 

At Ruhengeri Referral Hospital, Adolphe and his parents met Dr. Ntirenganya. After a careful medical screening to ensure the surgery would be safe for Adolphe, he was able to receive care.

After the procedure the only mark that remains visible on Adolphe’s lip are the fine stitches which will heal over time. The whole family is ecstatic at the results. “I cannot thank our doctor enough because what they did is a gift. Our child is now going to be able to eat, drink and laugh without a problem.” 

Watch: AI technology created especially for Operation Smile is helping doctors provide best in class care for patients like Adolphe.