The KKR ENT Hospital and Research Institute has completed 100 Cochlear implant procedures in less than six months, according to its authorities.
Cochlear implant surgery, which was recently included in the list of medical procedures included in the Tamil Nadu Government’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, has been performed successfully on children under the age of six by the hospital.
While each surgery costs around `7 lakh, due to the government scheme extended to children from impoverished families, over 100 children with hearing impediments since birth have had their hearing restored.
The sheer scale and number of these procedures is unmatched anywhere in India, said Ravi Ramalingam, the head of the team, which has been performing the surgeries.
He added, “The surgery itself is technically challenging and pulling it off requires coordination among the surgeons and people dealing with post-operative care.”
Ramalingam said that rehabilitation of the child, once the hearing functions are restored, was also covered under the Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. “Once the child can hear, he automatically starts trying to speak. So, a dedicated team of child psychiatrists, paediatricians and speech therapists conduct sessions for a minimum of one year to help them with the formulation of speech,” he said.
Five-year-old Hari, who was born with a hearing impediment, now converses like any other child after his hearing was restored with a cochlear implant surgery.
A parent from Rameswaram said that the hospital’s post-operative care was excellent, with teachers and speech experts helping children overcome difficulties in speaking. “These children have no experience in speaking as they are hearing for the first time. So, it helps having professionals to teach your children how to speak,” she said.