|
Today's News | Dubai | January 1, 2007
American Hospital provides aid to hearing impaired
children
By Debasree
S., Contributing Editor
(ArabMedicare.com) Dubai's bid for the slot of a top-notch
medical tourist destination has strengthened in recent years with
tourists traveling from different parts of the world to Dubai to receive
medical attention at many of its private multi-specialty hospitals.
At the swank American Hospital in Dubai, the Cochlear Implant program,
which started in 2005, has since attracted patients from Africa, Iraq,
Afghanistan, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. It has also
gained a substantial reputation as an 'oasis for hearing and speech
therapy' for children with hearing disabilities following the cochlear
implant surgery.
"We have developed a holistic program to correct hearing
disabilities among children and our services start from diagnosis and
end with rehabilitation," said Dr. Rana Batterjee, bilingual
clinical audiologist and a part of the Cochlear Implant team at the
American Hospital.
A cochlear implant - a device that provides stimulation directly to the
auditory nerve, bypassing damaged hair cells in the cochlear - is
relevant treatment for anyone who has a total hearing loss, patients
with significant hearing loss where other hearing aids are no longer
making a difference or with children who are as young as one year old.
"Cochlear implants are designed to last a lifetime and reliability
measures for cochlear implants are very high," Dr. Batterjee said
during an interview with ArabMedicare.com. "Children who are
implanted at a young age benefit the most. After undergoing auditory
verbal training, they are able to integrate with the 'hearing world' and
can attend regular schools and hold regular jobs."
"Referrals from the UAE and other GCC countries to the American
Hospital in Dubai have escalated indicating that the local and the regional
community is becoming more familiar with cochlear implants,"
highlighted Dr. Batterjee.
Simply speaking, a cochlear implant involves a microphone and a
transmitter that is attached to a magnet worn behind the outer ear. A
magnetic disk receiver is implanted under the skin behind the ear; it
leads to electrodes that are placed in the inner ear. A speech processor
worn on the body, either behind the ear or on a belt is attached to a
transmitter by a special cord.
The team, which has helped to correct hearing disabilities among many
children through surgery and a subsequent intensive rehabilitation
process, has at its helm, Dr. Muaaz Tarabichi, ENT Surgeon and American
Board Certified Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist.
Dr. Muaaz Tarabichi who has more than 20 years of experience in the USA
and the UAE was honored by the American Academy of Ear, Nose and Throat
for excellence in basic research. Other members of the team include Ms.
Lubaina Sharafully, Audiologist, Dr. Rana Batterjee, Audiologist, Ms.
Nadine Ewanchyshyn, Speech Language Pathologist and Ms. Maha Salem,
Early Childhood Educator.
However, the highlight of the hospital's Cochlear Implant program is in
its Habilitation Center and the Hearing and Speech Oasis where implanted
children learn to hear and speak a particular language so that they can
be integrated into a regular school. The Habilitation Center at the
hospital runs on a non-profit basis and the members of rehabilitation
team work in close tandem with teachers of different schools to train
them to handle cochlear-implanted children.
The American Hospital in Dubai is a 143-bed private hospital operating
to American standards of healthcare led by the North American Board
Certified or equivalent physicians. It is accredited by the Joint
Commission International Accreditation (JCIA) and certified by the
College of American Pathologists. With the new outpatient clinic
building, 6 rooms have been dedicated to the Cochlear Implant program so
that it can provide better post-surgery rehabilitative support.
Source: ArabMedicare.com
|
Dr. Rana Batterjee, Audiologist,
American Hospital in Dubai
|
