Pingalwara to start free cochlear implant surgery

Pingalwara to start free cochlear implant surgery

The All India Charitable Society Pingalwara Charitable Society here will conduct free cochlear implant surgery for its deaf children and the needy at its Manawala centre. The surgery, which costs Rs 7 lakh (Rs 5 lakh for the implant and Rs 2 lakh for the operation), will be done free. “Our children at the deaf school will be the priority followed by the needy,” Pingalwara chaiperson Dr Inderjit Kaur said. She said the organisation will raise dona- tions for conducting the oper- ations. It has already bought machinery for audiology and speech therapy.

Noida-based ENT specialist Dr J.M. Hans will conduct the surgeries along with Dr Jagdeepak Singh, an ENT specialist from the local Government Medical College. “Dr Hans has spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur, who has asked him to go ahead with the project,” the chairperson said.

A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a deaf person. While the Pingalwara has initiated hearing tests for newborns at its Manawala centre, they are making space for an operation theatre. “At present, there are vacant classrooms in our school complex, which will be converted into the operation theatre and will be functional with- in three months,” Dr Inderjit Kaur said. Pingalwara chief administrator Col Darshan Singh Bawa (retd) said the charity home will also rehabilitate children who undergo the surgery. “Since the deaf are not familiar with speaking, they have to be reha- bilitated for speech. We have procured machinery for audiology and speech therapy, which will help children learn speaking skills,” he added.