Pune’s Command Hospital first govt med facility in country to perform piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implants

The piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant system is a costly implantable medical electronic device for hearing-impaired patients, with conductive loss (including aural atresia), mixed hearing loss and single-sided deafness

The Command Hospital Pune performed two successful piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implants, making it the first government hospital in the country to do the medical operations.

The ENT department of Command Hospital (Southern Command) is a designated neurotology centre of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). (HT FILE)

The positive results give a ray of hope to patients suffering from conductive or mixed hearing loss and those with single-sided deafness (SSD) who are unfit for cochlear implantation and do not benefit from hearing aids or middle ear surgery.

A team of doctors from the Southern Command hospital’s ear, nose and throat (ENT) department operated on a seven-year-old boy suffering from congenital external and middle ear anomalies with a severe degree of hearing loss, and another adult with SSD, according to statement released by the hospital authorities.

The piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant system is a costly implantable medical electronic device for hearing-impaired patients, with conductive loss (including aural atresia), mixed hearing loss and SSD.

Lt Col (Dr) Rahul Kurkure, neurotologist and implant surgeon under the guidance of Col (Dr) Nitu Singh, senior advisor and head of department (ENT) carried out the implantations.

The ENT department of Command Hospital (Southern Command) is a designated neurotology centre of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS).