Despite a glitch, first cochlear implant in Malta is successful

The first cochlear implant operation was successfully carried out yesterday despite a glitch that saw the surgeon having to replace the device.

Surgeon Kevin Green, from the Manchester Royal Infirmary, had already implanted an electrode into the cochlear but could not confirm it was working so they had to change it.

"It never happened in 1,200 cases in Manchester," said Mr Green, who was in Malta to perform the first such operation.

After removing the defective piece of equipment, Mr Green turned to the rest of the staff present in the operating theatre and asked: "We have four others, which will be the lucky one?"

The rest of the three-and-a-half hour surgery, which was transmitted live to two conference rooms, continued without a hitch and Mr Green said he was "very happy" with the result.

Mario Said, head of Mater Dei Hospital's Ears Nose and Throat Department, said later the second implant was tested and was found to be working.

Mr Said, who will start performing the operations locally, said the equipment would be switched on in about a month after the wound would have healed. It would then be programmed for the 16-year-old patient who received the implant.

During the operation, Mr Green drilled into the skull bone until he reached the cochlear. The implant, which costs a staggering €25,000, bypasses damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerves to reinstate hearing in otherwise deaf patients.

To date, patients had to be sent to Manchester to undergo the surgery, with multiple trips having to be made. Mr Said explained that an average of five patients were operated upon every year but this number was expected to rise to 10 now that the operations could be done in Malta.

The operation is carried out on babies as young as six months for linguistic purposes, to ensure they can learn how to talk.