Smile House Treats Over 1,600 Patients

Why this is here: Giovanni Bagnasco, a former patient of Smile House who received treatment for a craniofacial malformation at age 14, now works as an actor and participated in a fashion show to celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary.

Domenico Scopelliti, founder of Smile House Fondazione Ets in Rome, explains his organization’s approach to treating craniofacial malformations like cleft lip and palate. Smile House offers continuous, multidisciplinary care from prenatal diagnosis through age 20 and beyond. The program addresses not only surgical correction, but also breathing, eating, speech, and social development.

Between 2010 and 2024, Smile House treated over 1,600 patients, provided more than 93,000 multidisciplinary consultations, and performed roughly 5,000 surgeries. Currently, the organization operates eight centers across Italy—in cities including Vicenza, Rome, and Catania—coordinating care and quality control.

Scopelliti notes that the traditional focus on surgical repair alone is insufficient. The program still faces uncertainty, as the Ministry of Health is currently evaluating whether to designate Smile House as one of Italy’s first national networks for treating these conditions. The team continues to research how to best support patients’ long-term wellbeing.