SSG Hospital pioneers SmartNav cochlear implant surgery

Vadodara: State-run SSG Hospital has become the first govt hospital in Gujarat to install the advanced wireless SmartNav system for cochlear implant surgeries, strengthening free, high-end treatment for children born with hearing impairment.

The system was inaugurated at the hospital’s ENT and head-neck surgery department under the guidance of medical superintendent Dr Ranjan Aiyer.

Soon after the inauguration, doctors successfully performed a cochlear implant surgery on a one-year-and-nine-month-old child from Jhalod using the new technology.

Hospital officials said cochlear implant surgeries for children with congenital hearing loss are regularly performed free of cost at SSG Hospital under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK).

The newly installed SmartNav System helps surgeons precisely place implant electrodes within the delicate scala tympani of the cochlea, improving accuracy and making the procedure safer and more effective.

Doctors said screening, diagnosis, cochlear implant surgery and post-surgery speech rehabilitation can cost over Rs 9 lakh at private hospitals. These services, however, are provided for free at govt hospitals such as SSG Hospital and other civil hospitals in the state.

They added that many families, particularly in rural areas, are unaware that such expensive treatments are available for free at govt institutions. Early diagnosis and timely intervention play a crucial role in enabling hearing-impaired children to integrate into mainstream society.

Doctors also emphasized the need to increase the number of full-time audiologists at govt medical college hospitals and improve remuneration to strengthen such public welfare programmes.

Installed at a cost of Rs 4.75 lakh, the SmartNav System makes SSG Hospital the first institution in Gujarat to offer this advanced technology.