The challenges faced by children born with hearing disability are enormous. It significantly impedes with their speech development leading to profound impact on their normal livelihood in present and future. The Cochlear Implant is becoming boon for all these candidates.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur has strived for its vision of “Passion for Excellence” in all the fields of medical sciences. Under the dynamic leadership of Executive Director & CEO Dr (Prof.) Prashant P. Joshi, department of ENT carried out first Cochlear Implantation in AIIMS, Nagpur on 21-month child. The Cochlear Implant program is going to benefit children who are having sensory-neural hearing disability at birth.  Best quality cochlear implant and best clinical, surgical services have been made available by Executive Director & CEO.  

The procedure was carried out under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) scheme. Dr. Vikas Gupta Professor Department of ENT, AIIMS Bhopal mentored first surgery and team of Dr. Vijay Bidkar Additional Professor, Dr. Sandeep Dabhekar Associate Professor and Dr. Kiran Kumar Prathipati Associate Professor, Dr. Dharanya G S, Assistant Professor, Post graduate students and Senior Residents of department of ENT were involved in the procedure and care.

Dr. Manish Shrigiriwar, Nodal Officer, MJPJAY facilitated patient approval for the scheme. Medical Superintendent Dr. Seema Parvekar ensured logistical care. Dr. Meenakshi Girish (HoD), Dr. Urmila Dahake of Pediatrics ensured perioperative care. Dr. Suyog Jaiswal (HoD) Psychiatry did mental assessment. Dr. Avinash Dhok (HoD), Dr. Ashwini Umredkar of radiodiagnosis provided support with CT and MRI studies. Head of department of Anesthesiology Dr. Gajanan Chavan and Dr. Tanvi Meshram with team provided expert anesthesia for the procedure. Dr. Meena Mishra (HoD Microbiology), Dr. Neeta Gade facilitated OT infection control measures. Dr. Nilesh Nagdeve and Dr. Nitin Marathe of OT Committee provided valuable support. Dr. Ganesh Jadhav and MJPJAY team ensured prompt processing of scheme. Senior Nursing Officer Suman and Garima were present for the procedure.

The department of ENT is well equipped with Audiology Speech Language Pathology (ASLP) services. Two expert ASLP are available for various tests including Oto Acoustic Emission (OAE) and Brain Stem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA). Under national Neonatal Hearing Screening Program all new born are screened for potential hearing loss at AIIMS Nagpur. This helps in early detection of the hearing disability and hence effective treatment can be ensured without delay.

The institute is having MoU with Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK). This will help beneficiaries of Vidarbha and rest of Maharashtra region making the Cochlear Implant program available with quality services of AIIMS, Nagpur. Parents of suspected children with hearing disability are advised to avail these services for children below 2 years of age.