Several surgeries are performed every day at Thrissur Jubilee Mission Hospital. But what happened on May 4th was too different. This is the first surgery of its kind in Kerala and may benefit more patients in the future. The surgery was a winning battle the couple fought for their 10-year-old daughter. It was a dream come true for them as they had waited 10 years for a daughter who was born without ear canals and completely deaf. Trissur-based Rajeev and Sangeeta had to overcome several hurdles before finally completing the surgery.
Akshita’s story
Akshita was born in a military hospital in Jodhpur to military officers Rajeev and Sangeetha. Her daughter was born without ear canals. Without hesitation, they consulted several doctors, but the majority said they would have to wait another ten years before something could be done. A certain Akshita patiently waited until he was ten years old.
They chose Vellore CMC to treat their daughter. Meanwhile, Rajeev retired from his army. When she turned 10, they took her to the hospital. However, after having a scan prior to her surgery, Akshita’s surgery was said to be impossible. A problem with her inner facial nerve could have caused her face to turn to one side during her surgery, and her hearing is only 10% restored. When doctors told them they could risk the operation, her parents abandoned the attempt.
But they continued to look for other options to restore their daughter’s hearing. However, the cost was a little higher. They also find out that the operation is possible through ECHS because Rajiv was in the military. A hospital in Kochi was equipped to perform surgery through ECHS. When the doctor arrived at her ECHS counter with all the necessary paperwork, the doctor stuck a piece of paper to her face. You can’t do it here. Who said bring it here? ’ they asked her angrily. She returned her papers to the doctor.
Not only was the official cruel, but he gave no reason or reason. When she leaves her job, a certain amount goes into her ECHS scheme. Apart from that, you will be charged Rs. 1000 per month. “They force us to do this, but no one says we can’t get paid for certain things,” Sangeeta says.
When they were considering another option, they considered using Sangeeta’s ESI. She was her Aadhaar supervisor at the Federal Bank.
A search revealed that ESI’s ENT department was located at Thrissur Jubilee Mission Hospital. After consulting ENT Dr. Ramesh Kumar, they decided to proceed with the operation. The surgical machine alone will cost him Rs 7,87,000. ESI co-director he helped by Dr CHS Mani, they cleared all paperwork and were allocated Rs 5,35,000.
After a three-hour operation two days ago, Akshita has recovered and is scheduled to leave the hospital today. The doctor told them to give them a month. Meanwhile, her parents are ecstatic to think that Akshita started hearing voices after a month.
What is Baja?
BAHA stands for Bone-Anchored Hearing Aid Surgery. This is done for people born without an ear canal. Such surgery is necessary when a normal hearing aid does not work. Implants used for this are very expensive. Dr. Ramesh Kumar, who performed the surgery, said Akshita’s latest implant is his Osia OSI200 from his Cochlear Company. The surgery will be supervised by a representative of this company. Its specialty is that it is the latest model and costs over Rs 7 lakhs. His BAHA surgeries using the old model have been performed in several hospitals in Kerala, but this new model has been implanted for the first time in Akshita.
Older models have a BAHA screw-like piece protruding from the body. Hearing aids are used by attaching them to the top. The new model has a new hearing mechanism and electrodes. What’s more, the entire implant is under the skin of the skull, so nothing is visible from the outside.
Just one month after installing the Cochlear software, the machine is powered on. It takes about a month for the implant to fuse with the bone. This is called osseointegration.
Notes
We just need to take care of a few things that are usually taken care of in a typical ear surgery. To prevent infection, or if you have pain or swelling, it is enough to take only the medicines you normally take during surgery.
If the implant does not osseointegrate with the bone, implant performance may be compromised. This is the only risk factor involved in this. Everyone is convinced that this risk factor does not exist in Akshita’s case.