The Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) has commenced plans to train surgeons on cochlea implant surgery both in Nigeria and in the West African sub region.
This was made known in an interview with the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Edmund Banwat in Jos recently when he confirmed that accredited doctors in this field in Nigeria and West African College of Surgeons will be coming to Jos for this training.
Cochlea implant is an electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged inner ear which provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard, hearing with both ears. It is invisibly fixed at the back of the ear to provide sound signals to the brain.
Banwat stated that part of the plans was the establishment of the temporal bone laboratory where surgeons are taught surgery on the ear.
He said that the temporal bone laboratory had eight stations which are not obtainable anywhere else in Nigeria. “It is one of the largest in the country if not in the West African sub region and it is the state of the art equipment that will go a long way in training the doctors,” he added.
“JUTH is making plans for the national postgraduate medical college of surgeons to come and accredit the laboratory for the purpose of the training and it is for the training of the ear, nose and throat (ENT) department.”
The ENT department is involved in the surgery thereby restoring sound to the hearing impaired.
“In this training, the ENT doctors will acquire the skills to do the cochlea implant surgery leading to the fact that people with this disability will get to hear and live ordinarily lives.”
Banwat while describing the equipment said the machine is capital intensive thereby making the cost of surgery beyond the reach of many but the Plateau State Government is willing to help in subsidizing the cost of surgery so that many people can have access to this health care services.
The CMD therefore appealed to other governments within the region and beyond, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and also public spirited individuals to come to the aid of the patients in need of the surgery when the machine is finally fixed.
The patients need an estimated amount of about $55,000 to $70,000 which in the Nigerian currency is about 18 to 23 million naira.
By REGINA ADUDU AND BRIDGT AUTA
