MP Shah Hospital recently partnered with Cochlear Implant Group of Kenya (CIGOK) to perform cochlear implant surgeries on six patients, bringing treatment that has not been available in the country.
The cochlear implant team included four ENT surgeons, two audiologists, anesthetists and theatre staff who helped to transform lives of five children and an adult from severe hearing loss.
Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices that provide sound signals to the brain of patients with severe hearing loss in one or both ears.
Unlike hearing aids which simply amplify sound, a cochlear implant bypasses the damaged cochlear cells and stimulates the hearing nerve through electrical signals.
"The hearing loss that this corrective procedure address is in people who cannot hear even with the traditional hearing aids," said Prof Isaac Macharia who was part of the surgical team.
“There is an internal and external component to the implant. The internal component is an electrode which is implanted in the skin through the drilling of a bone just behind the external ear. The electrode is attached to the external component of the device which looks like a hearing aid," said ENT Surgeon Dr Mujahid Din of Cochlear Implant Group.
Speaking on the theatre procedures which were conducted on Saturday and Sunday of 23rd and 24th June, the hospital Chief Operating Officer Mrs Toseef Din noted that MP Shah Hospital has done the highest number of cochlear implants in the country, affirming its stature as a center of excellence in healthcare.
She also noted that having the service available locally was a noble idea that saved patients from traveling abroad.
Cochlear implants were pioneered in 1970s but have remained rare in Kenya and Africa as a whole.
As a result, patients have to travel abroad for assessment to undergo surgery and to have their implants programmed – all of which require three to four trips and days away from home.
CIGOK began cochlear implants in the country four years ago saving many patients from the financial and emotional turmoil that comes with hearing loss.
The team has since conducted 36 procedures with 100% success rates.
Patients are expected to wait up to six weeks before the cochlear implants are switched on to jump-start the hearing process.