New op restores Sarah’s hearing
Patient thanks medics after ground-breaking treatment
After an operation to remove a cancer in her face left her deaf in one ear an East Kilbride woman has had her hearing restored using a new technique.
Sarah Campbell was given a high-tech bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), using a new method to fit the device that needs only a small hole in the skin rather than a more invasive surgical incision.
She is the first person in Lanarkshire to undergo the procedure.
Sarah (51) lost part of her outer ear through the cancer surgery and spent four years without full hearing.
BAHA, which has been used in Lanarkshire for only two years, transfers sound by bone vibration directly to the inner ear.
Sarah, from The Murray, said: “I had a large lump beside my right ear and was shocked to find out it was caused by a tumour in my salivary gland.
“I had an operation that involved removing part of my face and replacing it with muscle and a skin graft from my leg.
“I was told at that time that the graft would block off the hearing in my right ear and it later transpired that it couldn’t be opened up again through surgery.
“The option of the hearing aid was discussed last year but I was concerned about having another operation after what I went through with the cancer.
“I was delighted when my surgeon explained that he could fit the BAHA in the less invasive way, drilling a titanium fixture into the bone above my ear so the BAHA could later be attached to it. That meant I would recover quicker and get my hearing back sooner.”
NHS Lanarkshire consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon Mr Arun Iyer carried out the procedure in January at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie and Sarah returned to the hospital in May to have the BAHA attached and switched on.
“It is amazing – like night and day. I hadn’t realised how much I’d compensated for having hearing in only one ear. It’s great to hear simple things like traffic and the wind in the trees and it’s really helped at work where I use a phone headset,” added Sarah.
“I’d like to thank to Mr Iyer and his colleagues for giving me my hearing back as well as all the staff who looked after me previously through my cancer.”
Arun Iyer said: “Sarah’s case was different because her hearing loss was due to the cancer treatment, not ear disease.
“Due to the effect on her external ear, no hearing aid was possible other than the BAHA.
“She was the first in Lanarkshire to undergo the new minimallyinvasive technique with no incision, just a five-millimetre hole in the skin.
“The healing is much quicker and more comfortable for the patient. I have since carried out several more procedures using this technique.
“We worked very hard over a number of years to get the BAHA in NHS Lanarkshire and had great support for our business case from Graeme McGibbon, the service manager for surgical and critical care at Monklands. The BAHA has certainly proved of great benefit to many patients since it was introduced.”