Screening days are often long, starting early in the morning and continuing all day long until late afternoon, depending on the number of patients. Many of the patients have traveled from far, together with their families and care takers. At the screening, they will meet doctors and other health care personnel, and it will be decided if they can get the surgery done. If the patient for example has fever and/or an infection, they have to wait with the surgery until later.
At a medical mission, the doctors try to fit in all the patients for surgery, but sometimes too many patients show up and there is not enough capacity for everyone to get an operation. Operation Smile Thailand will then register everyone and do what they can to follow up, so that the patients can get the surgery next time a medical mission is arranged close to where the patient lives.

Photo credits: ©Kids Action for Kids / Edelhoff, N.O. Photography & Soundhill Photo