After struggling for 20 years with hearing disability, a 41-year-old woman based in Thanjavur district is able to hear due to a rare surgery performed in Karaikal Government Hospital.
The procedure, called stapes surgery, was performed by the Ear, Nose and Throat (E.N.T) department for the first time in the hospital. S. Kannagi, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said such surgeries were performed only in super specialty centres. “When the patient came for a general checkup, we identified the issue. Her stapes bone inside the ear was not functioning. The stapes, the smallest bone in the human body that connects middle ear and inner ear, works as a transmitter of sound vibrations between the middle ear and the inner ear. When the stapes stops moving, no sound transmission is possible, leading to hearing difficulty,” said S. Vijay Shankar, head of the Department (in-charge) of the E.N.T.
“A hole was made in the inner ear of the patient, the immovable stapes bone was removed and replaced with an artificial implant. This process is called stapes prosthesis,” he said.
Dr. Vijay said this issue was quite common among women, especially after pregnancy. The 90-minute surgery was performed on June 6 and the patient’s hearing has been restored. This surgery would cost at least ₹2 lakh in private hospitals and was done for free of cost in the government hospital.
