The 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 degree of hearing loss and one adult with Single Sided Deafness (SSD) recently. Thus, becoming the first government hospital across the country to procure and conduct such an operation successfully.

The ENT department of Command Hospital (Southern Command) is a designated Neurotology centre of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). The department has been providing Implantable hearing solutions to dependent clientele for a number of years. The active piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant system is an implantable medical electronic device for hearing-impaired patients [conductive loss (including aural atresia), mixed hearing loss, and single-sided deafness]. The cost of the equipment has always been a concern, making its outreach limited, said a statement here.

These patients were implanted successfully by a team comprising of Lt Col (Dr) Rahul Kurkure, Neurotologist and Implant Surgeon under the guidance of Col (Dr) Nitu Singh, Senior Advisor and Head of Department.

There are certain groups of patients with conductive/mixed hearing loss or patients with single-sided deafness, who are not candidates for cochlear implantation and do not benefit with hearing aids or middle ear surgery.

To reduce the associated disability, it is imperative to provide 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 realize this, according to the statement.

DG Armed Forces Medical Services Lt Gen Daljit Singh and DGMS (Army) Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee have congratulated the Command Hospital (SC) and wished many more laurels to the institute.

The 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 most prestigious “Raksha Mantri” trophy as the best hospital in the entire AFMS.