The new cochlear implant management program began at the hospital at the American University of Beirut (AUBMC). The Minister of Health, Rakan Nassereddine, visited the first child operated under the scheme on Thursday, 5 November. The novelty concerns ministerial funding, not a first medical in Lebanon.
The Minister welcomed the progress of the intervention and recalled the planned coverage: 80% of the cost of the operation and about fifty follow-up sessions. The programme targets Lebanese children between the ages of one and six.
Cochlear implants: aid launched on 27 October
The ministry had announced the take-over on 27 October. It then estimated the cost of an establishment at $22,000. The announcement included the device and the necessary sessions after it was placed. It provided for the examination of applications by a scientific committee composed of doctors and academics, according to medical criteria.
This aid therefore does not amount to general free aid. The rate announced is for ministerial coverage of the intervention. The details of each case must be confirmed with the programme teams.
Operation opens a path of rehabilitation
The surgeon who performed the procedure, also chair of the National Cochlear Implant Commission, described the following steps. The external part of the device should be set up approximately two weeks after the operation. Then start hearing rehabilitation with speech specialists.
Therefore, implant placement does not mark the end of treatment. The planned sessions are part of the announced course. The prospects outlined by the medical team for this first patient are not a guarantee of results for all children.
During his visit, Rakan Nassereddine insisted on maintaining essential care despite the limited resources of the ministry. He thanked partner university hospitals, which agreed to provide such care prior to the settlement of their claims.
The department did not communicate, on this occasion, any total number of beneficiaries already accepted or any timetable for future interventions.
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