CHENNAI : Chennai-based facial cleft reconstructive surgeon Dr S M Balaji had the honour of being the first Indian president of a World Conference on Cleft Lip and Palate, a congregation of over 300 leading surgeons from around the globe.The focus of the seventh biennial conference, organised by the International Cleft Lip and Palate Foundation in Seychelles last week, was on evidence-based research on the usage of adipose (fat) derived stems cells, bone morphogenetic proteins and growth factors to replace missing tissue in facial corrective surgery.Balaji led a team of surgeons in the discussions and brought out, for the first time in the history of the world conference, a 651-page book containing the synopsis of all the research papers presented at the meet.Also for the first time, a master's course on advanced cleft surgery was conducted as part of the conference by Balaji, who is known for his path-breaking work on growth factors and human recombinant protein for large reconstruction.Ten live complex surgical demonstrations were performed to educate the young surgeons at the conference, which concluded by emphasising the need for translating laboratory research on craniofacial tissue biology, now making rapid progress, into surgical practice at a faster pace in order to help children born with facial deformities.Balaji, director of Balaji Dental and Craniofacial Hospital in Teynampet, has been entrusted with the task of bringing the ninth world conference in 2016 to India. The next meet, in 2014, will be held in Vietnam. Earlier conferences were in South Korea, the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
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