In a first, PGIMER performs brainstem implant on 2-year-old

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) department of otolaryngology on Monday performed northern India first-ever auditory brainstem implant (ABI), and gave the gift of hearing to a two and a half-year-old boy from Haryana

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) department of otolaryngology on Monday performed northern India first-ever auditory brainstem implant (ABI), and gave the gift of hearing to a two and a half-year-old boy from Haryana.

An expert team conducted the successful surgery and the child will be discharged in two weeks, PGIMER officials said. (HT File)

Most patients with childhood deafness, wherein the defect is in the cochlea (inner ear), are addressed with a cochlear implant — a procedure that the PGIMER has been doing for the past 19 years. This patient, however, was born without a cochlea or auditory nerves and the implant was not an option.

An auditory brainstem implant (ABI) provides auditory rehabilitation to patients with hearing loss who can’t benefit from a hearing aid or cochlear implant, bypassing the cochlea and the cochlear nerve.

Giving out details, head of the department of otolaryngology Dr Naresh Panda said, “The department does an average 20 to 25 cochlear implants in a year, but every year, we get 2-3 patients with childhood deafness where cochlea or auditory nerves are absent and we would refer them to Chennai for ABI surgery.”

“This time, however, an expert team conducted the successful surgery and the child will be discharged in two weeks. After a month, we will switch on the implant and with regular rehabilitation and therapies, the child will be able to hear as a normal person,” he added.

This complex surgery that cost ₹16 lakh was performed by a team comprising Dr Naresh Panda, Dr Pravin Salunke, Dr Sanjay Munjal, Dr Parul Sud and Dr Nidhi Panda and Dr Babita Ghai.