The first cochlear implant operation was successfully performed at Mater Dei Hospital today on a 16-year-old girl.
The head of Mater Dei Hospital's Ears, Nose and Throat Department, Mario Said, said the operation had been successful and the electronic device inserted to stimulate the patient's auditory nerves would be switched on in about a month's time.The operation consisting in implanting the electronic device that bypasses damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerves to reinstate hearing.
Today's operation was carried out by British surgeon Kevin Green, from the Manchester Royal Infirmary.