MUSCAT: Acting in cooperation with Al Nahdha Hospital’s Cochlear Implant Programme and Anaesthesia Department, a specialised medical team from the hospital’s Otorhinolaryngology (ENT surgery) Department successfully conducted a unique, complex cochlear implant surgery on the world's youngest infant - a 9-week-old boy suffering from cerebral meningitis. The operation lasted about two hours.
Dr Yousef bin Ali al Saidi, ENT consultant surgeon at Al Nahdha Hospital (Head of the medical team), said that the cochlear implant procedure aims to improve hearing ability in individuals suffering from profound hearing loss, by directly stimulating the auditory nerve.
Al Saidi pointed out that such a surgery poses a medical challenge, notably when conducted on very young children, due to the sensitivity and complexity of the inner ear at this age. Before this, the youngest child to undergo this procedure was a 10-week old baby in the United States, he explained. - ONA
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