A 14-month-old Moroccan child with a rare facial deformity has undergone life-changing reconstructive surgery at Dublin's Temple Street Children's University Hospital.
The operation on Abdul Kerroumi's bilateral cleft lip and ocular facial cleft took five hours and was carried out under Operation Smile's charitable programme earlier this week.
Plastic surgeon Dr Michael Earley carried out the surgery. He said he was volunteering with Operation Smile in Morocco last July when the little boy was taken to him by his mother. Such was the child's deformity, he decided it would be safest to operate in Ireland. Travel was arranged by Operation Smile's World Care Programme.
Dr Earley said the child's cleft was such that it was extending from the mouth to the eye on both sides of his face. He said it was so rare, he had seen only six cases during 20 years of practice.
The boy, who received a visit from President Mary McAleese yesterday, is recovering well and is expected to return home in January.