Smile Train World's Largest Cleft Charity Featured on the Emmy Award-Winning 'The Doctors'

NEW YORK, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Smile Train, the world's largest cleft charity, in partnership with Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon, one of the hosts of the hit syndicated series "The Doctors," from Stage 29 Productions and CBS Television Distribution, traveled to India this past March to perform free cleft palate surgeries. Smile Train's mission is to help the millions of children in developing countries who are suffering with unrepaired clefts.  Footage from Dr. Ordon's trip to India will air in an episode of "The Doctors," on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 (visit www.thedoctorstv.com for local listings).

Dr. Ordon performed surgery on Mantasha, a 19-month old girl from a desperately poor family who needed surgery to correct her cleft lip.  In just 45 minutes, Mantasha had a new smile and a second chance at life.  

"We were thrilled to have this opportunity on 'The Doctors' to tell our story and build awareness of the problem of clefts so that even more children can be helped," says Brian Mullaney, Co-Founder and President of Smile Train.  "It is an honor to have Dr. Ordon become a Smile Train partner surgeon at one of our hospitals in India and we are very grateful for his work," adds Mullaney.

"I have been a doctor and surgeon for 30 years.  Working with Smile Train in India was the best experience I have had in my career!  I was so impressed with Dr. Singh and the Smile Train Team.  The whole trip left me inspired with a sense of accomplishment I have not felt before.  Helping to change the lives of such deserving and sweet children born with cleft lips and palates made me feel proud to be a plastic and reconstructive surgeon...utilizing my skills for such a noble cause.  The Smile Train Organization is such a class act, changing lives with a purpose.  I was privileged to be part of that mission and hope to do more in the future," says Dr. Andrew Ordon, Co-Host of the Emmy nominated, "The Doctors."

THE DOCTORS, taped in front of a live audience in Hollywood, is produced by Stage 29 Productions and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Jay McGraw, Carla Pennington and Dr. Phil McGraw are executive producers, and Andrew Scher is the co-executive producer.  CBS Television Distribution is the preeminent company in worldwide television syndication. CTD produces or distributes 11 first-run series and holds the largest internationally distributed television library at 70,000 hours strong. CTD is a unit of CBS Corp.

SMILE TRAIN'S mission is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate. Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren't allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache.  The good news is every single child with a cleft can be helped with surgery that costs as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes.  Smile Train has performed over 620,000 of these surgeries in 78 countries around the world.  

SOURCE Smile Train