Dr. Sampath Chandra Prasad Rao and his team conducted a Bilateral Cochlear Implantation (CI) procedure successfully on a 2 year old child at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bangalore on 19 November 2022.
The patient has been suffering from bilateral profound hearing loss since birth, with inability to hear in both ears. The 10-hour-long procedure was undertaken on the young child to have the Cochlear implantation on both sides with the new advanced model of Cochlear Nucleus implant, CI632. The child will receive state of a art Kanso 2 sound processor. The switch-on will be done next month. The child visited the hospital for 2 consultations in the month of October, for history and clinical examination, hearing evaluation and counseling for surgery.
The Cochlear Implant is a high-end long procedure conducted for patients with deafness. This unique procedure was conducted at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bangalore daycare center with their top-end facilities and technologies under the experienced team. The cochlear implant is a small device that converts sound to electric signals to stimulate the Cochlear nerve and enable hearing. It is a sensitive procedure to perform on a 2-year-old child, as operating on delicate bony structures in a child can lead to complications if not meticulously done. The structures are not completely developed in a very young child. The procedure requires high precision and highly trained audiologists specialized in cochlear implantation to assess Impedance and Neural response telemetry. Intraoperative facial nerve monitoring by electrophysiologists is also required.
Speaking on the successful incident, Dr. Sampath Chandra Prasad Rao, Chief Auditory Implant Surgeon, and Skull Base Surgeon said, “Hearing issues in infants have been identified commonly these days and the hearing solution for such kids is Cochlear implantation. We did a bilateral Cochlear implantation for a 2-year-old child who was born deaf in both ears. If there is no intervention done for such kids, they will become mute as well. So it is imperative to intervene early to restitute hearing and give these children a new leash of life. It gives us immense pleasure to bring back hearing to the child”.
Being overwhelmed by the successful implantation the patient’s family expressed “We are extremely satisfied with the services and hospitality of all departments at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bangalore. The team is very approachable and the patient is provided with a homely environment. Dr. Sampath is a perfectionist with his approach, technique and the skill that he carries is exceptionally well and unique, which helped me in clearing all my doubts about the procedure and understand all required information for an informed decision. I was comfortable handing over the responsibility of my child due to Apollo’s well-featured OT, techniques and doctors who are highly specialised in this surgery. In addition to this, Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bangalore has an exclusive surgical center for cochlear implantation. Overall it has been a great experience.”
