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Iraqi Girl Receives a Cochlear Implant

8/9/2006

Amina has never heard her mother or father speak, never heard the words I love you. Now, thanks to Thomas Balkany, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at the Miller School of Medicine, and the International Kids Fund (IKF), that is about to change.

Today Dr. Balkany successfully placed a cochlear implant in Amina’s right ear during a two-hour operation, and he said the operation went well with no complications. After a three-week period of healing, doctors plan to turn on the device by the end of this month.

The Iraqi girl, who turns 3 on September 27, recently flew to the U.S. with her father, Mohammad, to receive the implant at Holtz Children’s Hospital. “She was born deaf and had no chance for language development, education or marriage in Iraq without this device,” said Balkany. “By placing this electronic computerized implant in her ear, we allow her to hear for the first time. It’s critical, because it allows kids to grow up.”

When the implant is turned on, Balkany said she will hear sound for the first time. The father and daughter will return to Iraq, where she will receive extensive training to help maximize her hearing skills.

The monumental task was finding help and getting her to the United States, a process her father began more than two years ago. He and his wife first noticed the hearing problem when someone slammed a door in his home and 4-month-old Amina didn’t react. Alarmed, they began to seek help.

“We knocked on the door of the British, the Italians, even the United Arab Emirates,” Momammed said through interpreter Nabel Salem. “Nobody could help us until someone put us in touch with the International Kids Fund.”

The Army also was instrumental. A physician from the U.S. Army Special Forces eventually contacted Dr. Balkany at the Miller School, and soon the ball was rolling to bring the father and daughter to Miami, and arranged for the transplant, which will soon allow her to hear.

Her father can’t wait: “It will be a leap from darkness to brightness when she can hear,” he said.