Volunteer doctors from the HCMC hospital will perform the surgeries on patients at hospitals in Tien Giang, Kien Giang and Vinh Long provinces.

Viettel donated VND1.4 billion (US$82,000), covering all expenses for the campaign including all patient fees.

More than 500 patients have already registered for the surgery, which normally takes 45-60 minutes and costs $150 for medicines, hospital fees, meals and transportation during the operation, according to OSV.

Each year, about 3,000 infants are born in Vietnam with cleft clip and/or cleft palate, OSV said.

Established in 1989, the nongovernmental OSV, part of the US-based Operation Smile Inc., has helped more than 12,000 Vietnamese children and young adults with cleft clip and palate deformities through local and international surgical missions.

Reported by Van Khoa