It's speeding up now
I met the actual surgeon, a Mr Freeman, last Wednesday to discuss my case further. It was really informative and I left feeling more confident and optimistic about the procedure and outcomes.
In short, my case can be summarised as follows:
1 - I have bilateral hypoplastic cochleas, which is essentially 'under formed' cochleas. I have three quarters of a turn as opposed to the two and a half turns typically found.
2 - My cochlea on the left side looks like a very flat number 9 in that there is a curve at one end but it is very small. Regardless, the surgeon is optimistic that an electrode array could be inserted along the cochlea's length thereby giving me a full range of pitch perception, theoretically speaking.
3 - Medel has two cochlear electrode arrays which are suitable. One which is 12mm (tiny) and the other which is 19mm. The surgeon is optimistic having looked at the scans, that the small one will fit. However, they will have a small probe they can insert to check whether they can fit the slightly longer one.
4 - A CSF gusher is a risk but Mr Freeman was very relaxed about it all, explaining that it would be plugged up and that Medel's array comes with a plug at one end.
5 - Mr Freeman has never operated on an adult with hypoplastic cochleas. But, he assured me that in the young children with hypoplastic cochleas, that outcomes have been positive except in the case where a child had abnormal nerves.
6 - Er...... that's it!
I have my pre-op this coming Wednesday, two parter: surgical and then pre-operative hearing test to establish that my hearing has not changed since I qualified for surgery.
Have a listen of this, one of my all time, top songs. Love, love, love it.
In short, my case can be summarised as follows:
1 - I have bilateral hypoplastic cochleas, which is essentially 'under formed' cochleas. I have three quarters of a turn as opposed to the two and a half turns typically found.
2 - My cochlea on the left side looks like a very flat number 9 in that there is a curve at one end but it is very small. Regardless, the surgeon is optimistic that an electrode array could be inserted along the cochlea's length thereby giving me a full range of pitch perception, theoretically speaking.
3 - Medel has two cochlear electrode arrays which are suitable. One which is 12mm (tiny) and the other which is 19mm. The surgeon is optimistic having looked at the scans, that the small one will fit. However, they will have a small probe they can insert to check whether they can fit the slightly longer one.
4 - A CSF gusher is a risk but Mr Freeman was very relaxed about it all, explaining that it would be plugged up and that Medel's array comes with a plug at one end.
5 - Mr Freeman has never operated on an adult with hypoplastic cochleas. But, he assured me that in the young children with hypoplastic cochleas, that outcomes have been positive except in the case where a child had abnormal nerves.
6 - Er...... that's it!
I have my pre-op this coming Wednesday, two parter: surgical and then pre-operative hearing test to establish that my hearing has not changed since I qualified for surgery.
Have a listen of this, one of my all time, top songs. Love, love, love it.
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