Girl undergoes free cochlear implant surgery at GH

May 04, 2010 02:53 am | Updated November 17, 2021 07:14 am IST - CHENNAI:

A thoughtful donation from one government department to another has ensured that an eight-year-old girl from Cuddalore will soon hear and talk like others in her family.

Shabana Azmi underwent cochlear implant surgery at the Government General Hospital last Tuesday. The little girl is the first patient to receive the implant free of cost at a government hospital in the State. A cochlear implant costs Rs. 5 lakh and though the hospital does surgeries free of cost, the disposable consumables used for the procedure also cost money, said Hospital Dean J. Mohanasundaram.

TIIC offered support

Shabana, who was born deaf, hails from a poor rural family and could not afford the expensive implant. Doctors at the GH decided to approach philanthropists and their search ended with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC), which offered to support the surgery. The effort provided the hospital the impetus to take forward the project. “We were trying to start the programme in our hospital, but cochlear implant is very expensive and the Kalaignar insurance scheme does not cover the entire expenses. That was when we approached others for funds and the TIIC came forward.”

TIIC chairperson Sheela Rani Chunkath said her department came forward to fund the surgery when the GH dean made the request. “Once it has been demonstrated that the GH has the expertise to do this kind of surgery the funds will automatically flow, particularly in an era of private healthcare,” she said.

Shabana will undergo a long session of speech therapy after she recuperates from the surgery. It will be some time before the girl starts talking, hospital sources said.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.