Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department of Command Hospital Pune (Southern Command) has reported the case of a 7 year old child suffering from hearing loss due to severe congenital anomalies of external and middle ear and deafness of one ear (SSD). It has become the first government hospital in the country to procure and successfully implant piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implants by implanting two piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implants (BCIs) in an adult patient.
The ENT department of the Command Hospital (Southern Command) is a designated Neurotology Center of AFMS. The department has been providing implantable hearing solutions to dependent customers for many years. Active Piezoelectric Bone Conduction Hearing Implant System is an implanted medical electronic device for hearing impaired patients [conductive loss (including aural atresia), mixed hearing loss and deafness of one ear]. The cost of this equipment has always been a concern, limiting its accessibility.
There are many patients with conductive/mixed hearing loss or deafness in one ear who cannot undergo cochlear implantation and who do not benefit from hearing aids or middle ear surgery. To reduce related disabilities, it is necessary to enhance hearing ability for better educational outcomes in children and social life in adults. Bone conduction implantation is the definitive hearing solution for the welfare of such patients, and the Armed Forces Medical Services were quick to realize this.
Armed Forces Medical Services DG Lt Gen Daljit Singh and DGMS (Army) Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee congratulated the Command Hospital (SC) and wished the institution many such successes in the future.
Implants were successfully performed in these patients by Neurotologist and Implant Surgeon Lt. Col. (Dr.) Rahul Kurkure under the guidance of Senior Consultant and Head of Department (ENT) Col. (Dr.) Neetu Singh at Command Hospital (SC), Pune. Command Hospital (SC), Pune is one of the premier institutions of AFMS, currently commanded by Major General B Nambiar. Recently the hospital has been awarded the most prestigious “Raksha Mantri” trophy as the best hospital in the entire AFMS.