Globally and nationally innovative technological solutions are now available to Polish patients: The World Hearing Center in Kajetany has hosted three cutting-edge hearing implant surgeries. For the first time in the world, a Mi2000 device was completely implanted in a patient with partial deafness. For the first time in Poland, a SENTIO device was implanted in an adult and an OSIA-type middle ear implant was used in a child.
The operations were carried out by Prof. Henryk Skarżynski and Prof. Piotr H. Skarżynski and their team. This is a milestone in world oto-surgery.
Among the patients operated on is a 36-year-old female patient with partial deafness, who received an implant completely hidden under the skin. The patient is feeling well after the surgery. So far, she has been using a traditional cochlear implant and will now be able to compare the performance of the new device with the one she used before.
Mi2000 fully implanted cochlear implant system
The World Hearing Center was among the first centers in the world (after Belgium and Germany) where this type of device has been implanted in clinical trials. This breakthrough technology represents a significant step in the field of hearing implants – the first fully implantable cochlear implant. The traditional cochlear implant system consists of two main components: an external sound processor detects sounds and an internal implant (located under the skin, behind the ear) to which sounds are sent. This design causes some limitations – external sound processors, are sometimes prone to damage, can cause discomfort in daily use and are visible, which can discourage some patients. The Mi2000 system solves these problems by offering a completely implantable solution in which the entire system, including the sound processor, is discreetly placed under the skin without external devices. This dramatically improves patient comfort and the quality of daily interpersonal communication.
Middle ear hearing implant – SENTIO
Poland is the third country in the world, after the U.S. and Germany, where SENTIO implant surgery has been performed so far. It is one of the world’s most advanced solutions in this area; it received worldwide certification in July 2024.
The implant is designed for patients suffering from conductive and mixed hearing loss and unilateral deafness. It is the smallest active hearing implant for the middle ear, using bone conduction of sound. The size of the device enables it to be used for a wide range of patients for whom other solutions have not been possible due to the many limitations, like difficult anatomical conditions or acquired post-inflammatory or traumatic damage.
OSJA 3 middle ear hearing implant
OSJA 3 is an active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing system that uses piezoelectric stimulation to transmit sound through the middle ear bone to the inner ear.
The variety of anatomical, genetic and physiological hearing defects and diseases continues to pose challenges in otorhinolaryngology. More innovative solutions emerging each year meet the therapeutic needs of a growing number of patients.
