The surgery which otherwise would have cost Rs.2.5 to 3 million was performed on the child free of cost. The cochlear implant surgery helps restoring the hearing ability
From Our Correspondent
Gambat Sindh
The cochlear implant surgery was performed at Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) on Saturday to restore the hearing loss of a child.
Director Dr. Raheem Bakhash Bhatti announcing the conduct of the cochlear implant at the hospital, said that the surgery was performed on 3-year Muhammad Yasir Phulphoto, resident of Naseerabad, District Qambher- Shahdadkot.
ENT Department of GIMS, led by Dr. Maqbool Ahmed and his team, conducted the successful implant surgery. The surgery which otherwise would have cost Rs.2.5 to 3 million was performed on the child free of cost by GIMS with the support of Tahafuz PMU.
Dr. Maqbool Ahmed said that as many as 142 Cochlear Implant surgeries were performed so far without any financial support of Sindh government. He said that Federal government supports rarely.
He said that there were many children registered with GIMS, but due to lack of financial support cases were in pending and he feared if the financial support was not provided, there are the possibilities of the forever disability of the children.
He said that many times they had held meetings with CM Sindh, Chief Secretary and others for seeking financial support to restore the hearing capacity of the children.
He said that no any Public Sector Hospital is doing the Cochlear implant surgery, but only GIMS is conducting it. He said that Agha Khan Hospital and Indus Hospital in Sindh were doing limited cases.
He said that a cochlear implant is an electronic device that improves hearing. It can be an option for people who have severe hearing loss from inner-ear damage who are not able to hear well with hearing aids.
He said that Cochlear implants can improve hearing in people with severe hearing loss who are no longer helped by using hearing aids. Cochlear implants can improve their communication and quality of life.
He said that adults of any age, and the children who are as young as 6 to 12 months old can benefit from cochlear implants.
People who have cochlear implants report improved. The cochlear implant restores ability to hear speech without needing visual cues such as reading lips, recognition of everyday environmental sounds, ability to listen in a noisy environment; ability to find where sounds are coming from, ability to hear television programs, music and telephone conversations, symptoms of ringing or buzzing (tinnitus) in the implanted ear.
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