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CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital
Dr Sadam, in blue CoRSU scrubs, smiles beside a toddler after cleft repair and her mother, who wears a pink headscarf.

Surgery

Plastic and reconstructive services

Surgery that restores form and function, from cleft lip and palate repair to burn contracture release and hand surgery.

Book an appointment Call +256 761 002 111

Overview

About plastic and reconstructive surgery

Plastic and reconstructive surgery restores the form or function of a part of the body by reconstructing, remodelling or rebuilding it.

The need for surgery may follow an injury or an earlier operation, or a person may have been born with the condition. Many conditions that affect appearance, movement or function can be largely corrected by plastic and reconstructive surgery.

The department provides a wide range of care, including cleft lip and palate repair, treatment of post-burn contractures, complex wound management, and the management of head and neck tumours, hand and peripheral nerve injuries, soft tissue tumours and limb injuries.

CoRSU serves patients from within Uganda and from neighbouring countries.

A baby with an open cleft in her upper lip lies on a blanket, before surgery.
The same child, older, after her cleft lip repair.

Plastic and reconstructive operations carried out at CoRSU include

  • Cleft lip and palate repair surgery
  • Post-burn contracture release
  • Complex wound management
  • Head and neck surgery
  • Benign jaw tumour surgery
  • Surgery for soft tissue tumours
  • Hand surgery
  • Hypospadias surgery
  • Select cosmetic procedures
  • Chest wall reconstruction
  • Pressure sore surgery

In more detail

Nutrition support alongside surgery

CoRSU offers nutrition services to children with disability, including assessments, inpatient care, caregiver education and take-home nutritious packages for vulnerable children. The aim is to address malnutrition and to promote recovery.

In 2024, 1,467 patients were assessed and screened in the nutrition clinic. Of the children supported, 990 had a cleft lip or palate.

A dysphagia clinic addresses feeding and swallowing difficulties in children with oral-facial and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Specialist clinics

Named clinics linked to this service, as reported in the CoRSU Annual Report 2024.

  • Cleft care clinic

    Run by the paediatric unit.

    Mondays

  • Hand surgery clinic

    Clinic days were increased to two a week in 2024 as demand for hand surgery and therapy grew.

    Mondays and Thursdays

Clinic days can change. Please call+256 761 002 111to confirm before you travel.

Who makes this care possible

This service is supported by partners who share our commitment to people with disability.

  • Smile Train (cleft lip and palate surgery)
  • Transforming Faces (cleft lip and palate surgery)

Meet all our partners

2024 in numbers

This service in 2024

Figures from the CoRSU Annual Report 2024.

Read our annual reports

plastic and reconstructive surgeries2024
887
plastic surgery outpatient consultations2024
4,828
children with a cleft lip or palate supported by the nutrition clinic2024
990
Limra, a toddler, after her cleft lip repair.

Patient story

Limra is thriving and speaking clearly

Limra was born with a cleft lip and palate. Surgery supported by Smile Train, counselling for her mother and nutrition support followed, and now she speaks clearly and goes to school.

Read Limra’s story See all patient stories

What we do

Other services at CoRSU

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For patients

Need this service?

Request an appointment, call us, or come to the hospital during clinic hours. Our team will guide you from there.

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For supporters

Help fund this care

Children aged five and under are treated free at CoRSU, and older children at a subsidised rate. Gifts from people like you make that possible.

Donate See other ways to help