GUNTUR: The ENT surgeons sought inclusion of cochlear implant surgeries in the NTR Vydya Seva programme to help children suffering from congenital hearing impairment. Renowned ENT surgeon Dr Y. Subba Rayudu, addressing mediapersons in Guntur, said that for the first time, doctors performed cochlear implant surgeries on three children in Guntur, with the help of CM relief funds.
He said that hearing impairment can be corrected with the help of cochlear implant and that these surgeries were conducted in Guntur, Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada. He said that for ther first time, cochlear implant surgeries were performed on three children at a time. Dr Subba Rayudu said that children Deepthi Srujana and Balatripura Sundary are sisters belonging to Neeliguntla village near Vishakapatnam and that Tanvir Ahmed belongs to Tirupathi. All of them have deformity in the ear.
He said that they went to many hospitals for treatment but due to congenital ear deformity no one came forward to perform surgeries on the trio. He said that cochlear implant surgery can be done but ear deformity is very difficult to rectify due to anatomical malformation. Dr Subba Rayudu said that he decided to treat anatomical malformation to the trio and further to conduct cochlear implant surgery. He said that ENT surgeons Dr Sobhan Babu and Dr Susritha and anesthetist Dr J Ravindra Kumar and audiologists Harsihita and Lavanya cooperated for the successful three surgeries at a time. He said that in foreign countries the ear screening tests would be held within one year to the children which will help to treat the ear deformity and hearing impairment.
Dr Subba Rayudu and other doctors lamented many children were suffering from hearing impairment unable to bear the cochlear implant costs hence they asked minister for medical and health Dr K Srinivas, NTR Vydya Seva CEO Dr Ravisankar Ayyanar, directorate of medical education, Guntur medical college and GGH Guntur to include cochlear implant surgery in the NTR Vydya Seva but still it was not implemented. They stated the inclusion of cochlear implant surgery will give new life to many hearing impaired children and appealed the government to include the same in NTR Vydya Seva.
