Miss-Delectable
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Radio New Zealand News : Latest News : 200705162004 : Deaf Christchurch girl comes through brain surgery
A Christchurch girl has come through pioneering neurosurgery without complications, but her doctors in Melbourne say it will be six weeks before they know if they have restored her hearing.
Jorja Steele, 3, was left profoundly deaf after contracting meningitis in 2005.
On Wednesday at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital she became the first child in Australasia to have an auditory brainstem implant.
It involved placing a prosthetic device directly on the nerve centre at the base of the brain, bypassing the cochlea and the auditory nerve to transmit sound directly to the brainstem.
The operation ran the risk of brain damage but hospital staff say Jorja has emerged from the surgery well.
A Christchurch girl has come through pioneering neurosurgery without complications, but her doctors in Melbourne say it will be six weeks before they know if they have restored her hearing.
Jorja Steele, 3, was left profoundly deaf after contracting meningitis in 2005.
On Wednesday at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital she became the first child in Australasia to have an auditory brainstem implant.
It involved placing a prosthetic device directly on the nerve centre at the base of the brain, bypassing the cochlea and the auditory nerve to transmit sound directly to the brainstem.
The operation ran the risk of brain damage but hospital staff say Jorja has emerged from the surgery well.
