The Department of Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) at Command Hospital (Southern Command) in Pune has conducted two piezoelectric Bone Conduction Hearing Implants (BCI) in a 7-year-old male child suffering from congenital external and middle ear anomalies with severe hearing loss and one adult with Single Sided Deafness (SSD). This accomplishment marks Command Hospital as the first government hospital across the country to procure and conduct successful piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implants.
The ENT department of Command Hospital (Southern Command) is a designated Neurotology center of the AFMS, providing implantable hearing solutions to dependent clientele for many years. The piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant system is an implantable medical electronic device for hearing-impaired patients, including those with conductive loss, mixed hearing loss, and single-sided deafness. However, the cost of the equipment has been a concern, limiting its outreach.
Certain groups of patients with conductive/mixed hearing loss or single-sided deafness, who are not candidates for cochlear implantation and do not benefit from hearing aids or middle ear surgery, require hearing augmentation for better academic outcomes in children and social life in adults. Bone conduction implantation is the definitive hearing solution in such groups of patients to rehabilitate them, and the Armed Forces Medical Services were quick to realise this.
The team includes
DG Armed Forces Medical Services Lt. Gen Daljit Singh and DGMS (Army) Lt. Gen Arindam Chatterjee have congratulated Command Hospital (SC) and wished many more laurels to the institute.
These patients were successfully implanted at Command Hospital (SC), Pune by Lt. Col (Dr) Rahul Kurkure, Neurotologist, and Implant Surgeon under the guidance of Col (Dr) Nitu Singh, Senior Advisor & HoD (ENT). Command Hospital (SC), Pune is one of the premier institutes of AFMS, presently commanded by Maj. Gen. B Nambiar. The hospital was recently awarded the prestigious “Raksha Mantri” trophy as the best hospital in the entire AFMS.
