Indian performs live cochlear implant surgery

From: Daily Times, Pakistan - Sept 1, 2005

* First Cochlear Implant Symposium held

Staff Report

LAHORE: An Indian surgeon did live cochlear implant surgery, for the first time in Pakistan, at the First National Cochlear Implant Symposium held at a local hotel in Lahore, said a press release on Wednesday.

The symposium was organised by Pakistan Cochlear Implant Programme (PCIP), which was established in 2000. Dr Nadeem Mukhtar, PCIP audiologist consultant and coordinator, told reporters that the symposium was held to share experiences with experts who had come to Lahore from the UK, Austria, Turkey, India, Nepal and various parts of Pakistan.

Scientific sessions, lectures, temporal bone dissection, audiology and rehabilitation workshops were held at the symposium. After the symposium, eight live cochlear implant operations were performed and Indian Prof Dr JM Hans, Dr Shakeel Saeed and Dr Iqbal J Khan from the UK showed different cochlear implant surgery techniques.

Prof Rakesh Prasad, from Nepal, explained how he had established an implant programme in Kathmandu and discussed the problems that might crop up in establishing such a programme in developing countries. Dr Khan, who helped develop the cochlear implant programme in Pakistan, gave a lecture on the implant programme in Pakistan.

Dr Saeed highlighted difficult surgery cases and cochlear implantation. He spoke at length about new technology of implanting auditory brain stem in patients whose hearing nerve was either not functional or absent. Indian Dr Hans discussed a different surgery technique of cochlear implant.

Julie Koasner from Turkey gave a presentation about rehabilitation after cochlear implantation. Sebastian Foidl from Austria discussed new implant technology.

Prof Dr Zubair Iqbal Bhutta said that the symposium’s special features were the three practical training sessions, cochlear implant fitting and rehabilitation workshops.

At the conclusion of the symposium, Dr Mukhtar, Dr Bhutta, and Dr Khan told reporters that cochlear implants was a modern and established technique.

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